The Jacksonville Jaguars have heard the Super Bowl talk before, and it’s usually come with a catch. The 2018 team brought back the same core after that painful AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots and promptly stumbled to 5-11. In 2023, the Jaguars rode a hot stretch, added Calvin Ridley and got a breakout season from Trevor Lawrence - then still finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.
So why should anyone view the 2026 version differently? The answer starts with Liam Coen.
In just 17 regular-season games as head coach, Coen has won at a pace no other coach in franchise history can match. His 13 wins put him within reach of some notable company in Jacksonville lore: Gus Bradley had 14, Doug Pederson 22 and Doug Marrone 23. If the Jaguars go 11-6, Coen would become the third-most successful head coach the franchise has ever had, behind only Tom Coughlin and Jack Del Rio.
The bigger point is that Coen has already shown he can move an offense. Jacksonville scored a franchise-record 27.9 points per game last season, reached 5-plus points 13 times, and set team records for scoring and touchdowns.
He’s also got proof from another stop: when he wasn’t running the Buccaneers offense in 2025, Tampa Bay took a noticeable step back on the ground and through the air after a strong 2024. In Jacksonville, Coen has also emerged as a culture-setter, not just a play-caller.
The talent around him looks better than it has in years. Brian Thomas Jr. and Jakobi Meyers have both been 1,000-yard receivers.
Parker Washington broke out. Travis Hunter arrived as the No. 2 pick after being one of the nation’s best receiver talents just a year ago.
Brenton Strange is now a big-money tight end.
The backfield may not have a true workhorse, but Chris Rodriguez Jr and Bhayshul Tuten both fit Coen’s run game and have shown they can be efficient. LeQuint Allen Jr. adds another useful piece as one of the NFL’s best pass-blocking running backs. Put it all together, and Jacksonville has the best collection of weapons it has had in a long, long time.
That matters because Trevor Lawrence looks ready to keep rolling. He finished 2025 on a heater and carried that into the kind of first season under Coen that changes the conversation: a franchise-record 38 total touchdowns, more than 4,000 passing yards and a fifth-place finish in the NFL with 29 passing touchdowns. Lawrence has had MVP-caliber stretches before, but now the scheme and the supporting cast line up in a way they haven’t for much of his career.
There’s also the larger AFC picture, and it doesn’t look especially intimidating. The Broncos will be good, but beatable.
Josh Allen is incredible, but Joe Brady as head coach is still an unknown. The same goes for Lamar Jackson and Jesse Minter, with Coen having dominated in the past.
The Chiefs remain the Chiefs, though Patrick Mahomes is coming off a serious injury and Kansas City has shown it can be beaten. The Texans still have an elite defense, but C.J.
Stroud’s playoff performances remain part of the conversation.
That’s why the Jaguars can look at a first-place schedule and still see a path. If they handle those hurdles, they should be right in the middle of the race.
And the defense gives them another real case. Anthony Campanile was a major reason Jacksonville took a big step forward on that side of the ball last season, with the run defense finishing first in the league. His background around some of football’s best defensive minds showed up in the way he schemed.
The pieces are there, too: Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and Arik Armstead up front; a cornerback group that could be the most underrated in the NFL; Antonio Johnson as a possible X-factor at safety; DaVon Hamilton at nose tackle; and Foyesade Oluokun as one of the league’s most dependable middle linebackers. With Campanile and that personnel, the Jaguars have a real chance to be a top defense.
In Other News...
Jaguars Fans Are Stunned By The News Involving Calais Campbells Family
The Jaguars community is reacting to heartbreaking news involving one of the franchises most respected former players, as Calais Campbells family has been thrown into mourning. Nateal Campbell, his mother, was found dead in her Atlanta home, a development that has stunned fans who remember Calais not just for his play, but for the steady presence and leadership he brought to Jacksonville.
The Campbell family has since released a statement expressing grief and asking for privacy while the investigation continues. For Jaguars fans, the story lands far beyond football, a painful reminder that some news cuts deeper than anything that happens on a field, and that the focus now is on the familys loss and the uncertainty still surrounding it. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Hunters Comeback Just Put One Big Jaguars Question In Focus
Travis Hunters rookie year ended before it ever really got going, but the Jaguars are already looking ahead to what comes next. The first-round pick was lost after an Oct. 30 practice injury and has since gone through surgery, while Jacksonville has kept the focus on his long-term role rather than the setback itself.
Hunter is documenting the rehab process on YouTube, giving fans a clearer look at the work behind his comeback. The bigger question for the Jaguars is whether the plan that made him so unique in the first place still holds, because the team continues to view him as a two-way player and expects him back in time for training camp. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Face A Tough Parker Washington Decision They Can't Ignore
The Jaguars have made a habit of getting ahead of the market with young players, locking up key pieces early in their careers and trying to keep their roster costs manageable before they balloon. That approach has already shown up with names like Jakobi Meyers and Cole Van Lanen, and it is now putting Parker Washington in the spotlight after he emerged as a much more productive part of the offense once he was moved into a starting role last season.
Washington did not spend the first stretch of the year as a full-time player, but injuries changed his path and his role grew quickly from there. With the receiver market continuing to climb, the timing of any extension matters for Jacksonville, and the front office has a chance to decide whether Washington is the kind of player worth securing before the price tag gets any steeper. [Read more 🡒]