Jaguars schedule 2nd interviews with 3 head coaching candidates

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars are seemingly narrowing their coaching search.

The Jaguars announced Monday they have scheduled in-person interviews with three of their 10 initial candidates: Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Las Vegas defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh. All three are slated to be in Jacksonville this week to meet face-to-face with owner Shad Khan, general manager Trent Baalke and others.

Coen was scheduled to interview Wednesday, with Graham going the following day and Saleh on Friday.

The Jags lost out on Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who agreed to become Chicago’s head coach Monday, and appear to be out on Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Glenn reportedly has in-person interviews scheduled with New Orleans and the New York Jets.

Jacksonville still could double back on Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore or Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Under NFL rules, the earliest they can interview again is next week because their teams are in conference title games.

The only head coaching interviews Coen and Graham have completed during this cycle came with Jacksonville. Saleh's first interview with the Jags was the only one done in person.

The 39-year-old Coen just finished his first season as Tampa Bay’s play-caller. The Buccaneers ranked third in the NFL in yards (399.6 per game) and fourth in points (29.5). He had much less success during his one season with the Los Angeles Rams, who ranked last in the league in yards in 2022.

The 45-year-old Graham began his NFL coaching career with New England (2009-15). He was the New York Giants’ defensive line coach (2016-17), Green Bay’s linebackers coach and run-game coordinator in 2018 and Miami’s defensive coordinator a year later. He spent the last three seasons with the Raiders, who ranked 25th in points and 15th in yards in 2024.

The 45-year-old Saleh worked as Jacksonville’s linebackers coach (2014-16) under former coach Gus Bradley and in the same role with San Francisco (2017-20) before landing the Jets gig. He went 20-36 with New York.

Khan fired coach Doug Pederson a day after the team's regular-season finale and following his 18th loss in 23 games, a stunning stretch of futility that had a lot to do with injuries to quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a defense that regressed under first-year coordinator Ryan Nielsen.

Khan insisted that keeping Baalke in place would not hinder the coaching search. Three of the five coaches Baalke has worked alongside have had one-and-done tenures.

The Jaguars (4-13) have a young quarterback (Lawrence) with upside, a budding star at receiver (Brian Thomas Jr.), a few defensive building blocks (cornerback Tyson Campbell and pass rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker), a relatively new practice facility, a $1.4 billion stadium renovation upcoming and a hands-off owner with deep pockets.

They have the fifth overall draft pick in April and roughly $50 million in salary cap space for 2025, play in arguably the NFL’s weakest division (AFC South) and work in a state with plenty of sunshine and no income tax. They also went 3-10 in one-score games — an indication they could be a quick fix.

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