The week in Jacksonville turned into something more than just a pair of joint practices for the Buccaneers and Jaguars. It became a reunion tour.
At the center of it all was Liam Coen, back across from the team he helped guide to a wildly successful 2024 season before leaving to take over as Jaguars head coach. The way that split unfolded left Tampa Bay frustrated, and there was no pretending otherwise at the time.
Coen first reaffirmed his commitment to stay with the Bucs, then changed course after Jacksonville fired its general manager. He renewed contact with the Jaguars, went silent with Tampa Bay for a stretch, and eventually told Todd Bowles he had re-engaged on the head coaching job.
By then, the Bucs already knew he was in Jacksonville.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said then that he couldn’t remember the last time a team was so “irate” over a coaching decision.
That was January. This week looked very different.
Bowles said last week that nothing had really changed between him and Coen, and he made it clear he was glad to get work against the Jaguars in practice before Friday night’s preseason game at EverBank Stadium.
“Me and Liam have always been great,” Bowles said. “It’s been great the whole time.
Our relationship hasn’t changed a bit. We talk.
We text. We bounce things off each other.
It will be great to get practice reps against them because it will be the last one going into the season and you’ll see the full gambit. I think we got a small sample size last night but we need more practice in certain situations to clean things up so we’re hoping to get some good work in.”
Coen echoed that same tone after Tuesday’s practice, praising the Bucs’ defense and the speed it brought to the field.
“A lot of new faces, but I think they’re fast, especially in the box,” Coen said. “Like their front seven I feel [is] faster.
I’ve got to obviously watch it to see the true individual performances, but I feel like they have a fast defense. I think they’ve got multiple players at different levels that can make plays.
I thought Zyon kind of stood out a bit. Antoine again with the punch out early on right away.
It was great to compete against these guys.
“What I was so looking forward to was, we got a lot of static looks from New Orleans and Carolina - and very similar defensive structures. And so to see more chaos, to see more bullets flying all over the place is so good for us.
We get some of it against our own defense, but you can’t simulate this speed and the rush and the way that these guys play. I think they’re (the Bucs defense) going to be just fine.”
Bowles and Coen also had a few moments to talk before Wednesday’s practice, another sign that whatever tension once existed has long since softened.
And they weren’t the only familiar faces reconnecting.
Coen is also close with Buccaneers offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, dating back to their time together on Sean McVay’s Rams staff. The two still stay in touch constantly, and Coen had nothing but praise for the Bucs’ new play-caller after Tuesday’s work.
“Zac is diligent, detailed and works at it,” Coen said. “He knows the game from a quarterback’s lens.
Obviously has a strong rapport already with Baker [Mayfield]. I think what Zac does is he works extremely diligently hard at situational football, putting guys in positions to be successful, utilizing motion to an advantage.
“Went to Atlanta and got a little bit more of the wide zone stuff and was able to get people running and get Bijan [Robinson] in position to be an MVP candidate. I know when he has skill players he’ll put them in position to succeed.”
Coen also caught up with some of his former players, including reserve offensive tackle Justin Skule.
Then there was Robert Hainsey, another former Buc now in Jacksonville. Hainsey played for Tampa Bay from 2021-2024, and his move lined up with Coen’s arrival in Jacksonville. The former third-round pick started 15 games in 2025, was named a team captain for the first time in his career and anchored an offensive line that helped push the Jaguars to a 13-4 record and 27.9 points per game, sixth-best in the NFL.
For Tampa Bay, this was the first chance in a while to see Hainsey face-to-face on the field. He was a well-liked presence in the offensive line room, especially with Tristan Wirfs, and he helped Graham Barton through his rookie season in 2024. Barton and Hainsey were seen talking Wednesday, another little reminder that this week in Jacksonville was about a lot more than just reps and installs.
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The buzz picked up even more after he intercepted a Trevor Lawrence pass during work against the Jaguars, the kind of play that tends to stick with a coaching staff. Todd Bowles has already praised Trotters instincts and football intelligence, and with injuries thinning the linebacker room, the path is opening for him to line up next to Alex Anzalone and handle an every-down workload sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]