The Jaguars are walking into Sunday with a different kind of weight on them.
A year ago, Liam Coen arrived in Jacksonville and helped steady a franchise that badly needed direction. Now, after a 13-win season and an AFC South title, the expectations have shifted fast. The talk has moved from recovery to something much bigger, with some outlets even floating the Jaguars as a darkhorse Super Bowl contender.
But inside the building, the message is simpler: last year is over.
“It’s here, it’s now, we want to try to stay in the moment, but yeah, it’s important to have a fast start and to set the tone of kind of how you want these guys to play,” said second-year head coach Coen.
He added, “You hope that your play style does show up in Week 1 because, that gives you the best chance to win, is when we play the way that we have proven to be able to do so at times.”
Jacksonville opens at home Sunday against the Browns at 1 p.m. as an 8.5-point favorite, and the contrast between the two teams is hard to miss. The Jaguars are bringing back Coen, both coordinators - Grant Udinski and Anthony Campanile - and most of the staff. Cleveland, meanwhile, is sorting through change with a new head coach in Todd Monken, who got his NFL start as the receivers coach in Jacksonville in 2007, and a new defensive coordinator in Mike Rutenberg.
The Browns are also expected to start Deshaun Watson, whose last NFL regular-season start came on Oct. 20, 2024. He has been out since then because of a pair of Achilles injuries.
That turnover on the other sideline matters to Coen because it changes how Jacksonville has to prepare.
Since so much is new with Cleveland, Coen said the Jaguars have had to carry more playcalling volume into the opener to make sure they’re ready for anything. At the same time, he pointed out that the Browns have a full season of tape on Jacksonville’s offense and defense from last year.
“And, you’re always a little bit, I don’t want to say at a disadvantage because we’re all very even in terms of going into Week 1,” Coen said. “We could have wrinkles obviously that they’re not aware of that we didn’t put on tape last year. But we’re kind of going in a little bit more blind than maybe they are.”
Even with that, the Jaguars have plenty to like about where they stand.
The defensive front remains anchored by edge rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. The secondary could get a lift from a healthy Travis Hunter, who is set to start at cornerback opposite Montaric Brown. Safety Antonio Johnson is coming off a career year and is in a contract season.
There are still real questions, though. With Travis Etienne gone to the Saints in free agency, Jacksonville’s biggest offseason move at running back was bringing in Chris Rodriguez Jr. He joins second-year backs Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr. in a young group that will be asked to grow up quickly.
The offensive line is unsettled, too. Anton Harrison has shifted to left tackle, rookie Emmanuel Pregnon is starting at left guard, and Ezra Cleveland and Cole Van Lanen are lined up on the right side. Van Lanen, though, is a game-time decision after knee surgery.
For Coen, the biggest test is still the same one that has followed him into Year 2: can Trevor Lawrence keep climbing?
Lawrence had his best season in 2025, finishing fifth in MVP voting and leading Jacksonville to nine wins in its final 10 games, including overtime victories at Las Vegas and Arizona. After years of uneven late-season play, he finally delivered down the stretch.
Now he says the value of a full season in the system is already showing up.
“Yeah, now having a full year of doing it and we’ve seen all the stuff that we did throughout the season last year. When you’re game planning, you can go back and pull from those things and say, all right, we did this last year,” Lawrence said.
“This is our check if the defense did this and so, it’s just easier because last year it was the first time you’re learning a lot of these things. You’re trying to get it down going into that week and now we’ve done it before, so you can look back on tape and say, ‘OK, yeah, I remember this, I got it.’”
In Other News...
Jaguars Face A Fanbase Shift Jacksonville Wont Be Able To Ignore
The Jaguars are about to spend a season in a very different version of home. While EverBank Stadium undergoes its $1.5 billion renovation, Jacksonville will shift its 2027 home schedule to Camping World Stadium in Orlando, a move that comes after the project already started affecting capacity in 2026. Add in the fact that the club will also give up two home dates to London, and the next stretch of seasons will look nothing like the usual NFL routine on the St. Johns.
Orlando makes the transition even more interesting, because the city has never hosted a regular-season NFL game before. For Jacksonville, that means the temporary setup is more than a construction detour - it is a test of how its fanbase travels, adapts and shows up when the teams home base is no longer really at home. The stadium work is meant to set the Jaguars up for the long term, but the short-term picture will tell the organization plenty about where its support really lives. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Hunter Faces A Bigger 2026 Test Than Jaguars Fans Realize
Travis Hunter already arrives in Jacksonville with the kind of buzz that usually follows a top draft pick, but the real intrigue is what happens once the novelty fades and the expectations settle in. If he becomes the two-way difference-maker the Jaguars believe he can be, the conversation around him in 2026 could stretch beyond weekly highlights and into leaguewide award chatter, especially if his work at cornerback is matched by impact plays on offense.
The Comeback Player of the Year race would not be an easy one, either, even for a player with Hunters rare profile. A strong season would still put him in a crowded field with other recognizable names, which is why the bigger test may be less about hype than about sustaining production in two roles and forcing voters to take notice of how unusual his season really is. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Suddenly Have A Crucial Week 1 Backfield Question
LeQuint Allens return to the practice field on Thursday gave the Jaguars a little more clarity, but not quite enough to settle one of their bigger Week 1 questions. After missing previous weeks with a soft tissue injury, the rookie running back was upgraded to limited participation, and coach Liam Coen said he remains a game-time decision for Sundays opener against the Browns.
Allens availability matters beyond simple depth in the backfield, because Jacksonville has also valued him for what he can do in protection. Offensive coordinator Grant Udinski has pointed to Allens pass-blocking as an important part of the offense, which means his status could shape more than just the snap count behind the starters. For a team trying to get its first-week rhythm right, his final pregame outlook is still one of the more notable items to watch. [Read more 🡒]