HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2025
(On how he keeps himself grounded with a lot of public attention) “That’s a good question.
Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] and I have had these conversations a few times actually, and
with a number of different players that man, it comes with the responsibility of being in
these positions. You sign up for it. You actually put your name on a contract for it and it’s
with great responsibility. With where we’re at, it’s just the name of the game. And I do
believe that—I don’t have any social media first and foremost, I don’t. I got kind of deep
with it a few years ago where I remember sitting on the couch after we just had our second
son, and it was in the summertime, so I’m off. And I had both my sons sitting next to me
watching them and hanging out with them. And I remembered, I was scrolling through
Twitter and I was like, ‘what am I doing? What am I doing?’ I’m not being present with my
kids. And I was like, alright, how much time am I wasting seconds, minutes, hours, days,
weeks, months, years at the end of my life? What is that going to add up to looking at news
or other people’s lives? Like what am I doing? So that was a kind of turning point for me in
terms of just, alright man, let me just try to be more in the moment with the people that I’m
with, whether it’s here, home with family and friends, whatever that is. And know that it
comes with it, man. It just comes with the job. And sometimes the outside, perception can
sometimes become reality for good or for bad. And it’s just maintaining that, having real
conversations with the people that help you through tough times. And that was the
message to Trevor, to our players, to all these guys that man, it’s our responsibility. It comes
with the territory for good or for bad.”
(On the focus level from the team this week) “Yeah, a little quieter first few days, I think just
not as rah-rah during the week and then Wednesday was more jog, walks, so we weren’t
able to do a ton full speed on Wednesday. But then when we got out there yesterday, had
the pads on man, they practiced hard, you felt a little bit of a buzz, you felt intentionality at
practice. You’re still coaching, there’s still stuff to correct and fix, but I thought that the guys
came out yesterday. Quiet sometimes is okay. I’m sure there’s still some ticked off, it’s okay
to be ticked off. But as long as the way that we approach practice and the way that we
approach this game is rooted in man, we can’t let that —never again. And if we can use it as
motivation, a learning moment, and that’s how practice maybe was yesterday in some
ways, I thought. I thought it was good.”
(On players stepping up) “Huge. You look at—I know [WR] Tim Patrick did not show up in a
stat column this past Sunday. Tim Patrick played his tail off and blocked his tail off, ran
routes full speed, was open, a few times that either we couldn’t get it to him or whatever it
was, maybe the ball wasn’t going his way. But guys like that, that have continued to do right
longer. And that’s ultimately what it comes down to when you do have injuries, and you do
have a talented roster or guys that have worked their tails off to stay the course that maybe
haven’t made a million plays for us thus far this season but are going to be ready and
prepared when their number is called. I do think we have a group of guys that that’s
important to, that are that next man up mentality. And yeah, that list is long.”
(On if practice is challenging with so many players injured) “A little bit, yeah. We had a few
show-team DBs playing wide out and guys bouncing around from a few different positions
to do that. And look, it’s a challenge. It’s all part of adversity. It is. It’s just all part of an NFL
season and that a lot of teams have gone through, not just us or the Bucs last season or the
[2022] Rams that year, it’s part of it and it is a balance though of I know Wednesday
specifically this week, like I think a lot of the guys were itching. They wanted to go full
speed, they wanted to. More so to help get some of that taste out a little bit and to just go
cut it loose a little bit in a moment at practice. But I’m glad we were able to do that
yesterday more and you could feel that from the guys. So yeah, it’s a balancing act when it
comes to the way that you’re trying to schedule the day for these guys. And also, your reps.
Like the reps have to be very intentional, who’s getting what rep, what throw does Trevor—
these are the throws he needs to get, these are the routes that these guys need to get. They
don’t need to probably get that one. They’ve run that a million times or they’re not the
primary. Let’s move on. Have had some experience with the balancing act and ultimately,
Sunday’s coming.”
(On the release of DT Khalen Saunders Sr. and the run defense going forward) “Yeah, I have
a lot of respect for Bink. Came here, it was unfortunate just with the way things were from a
depth standpoint. And we had an opportunity to get Branson [LB Branson Combs] up to the
active roster who’s done a phenomenal job on teams all year and when his number’s been
called. Tthat’s just some of those decisions go into like, alright, ‘Hey, how do we—’ helmets
are hard, getting guys a hat on game day, it’s a challenge. So, we just felt like for us moving
forward, that was just kind of the benefit and the best thing for us moving forward. And
defensively in the run game, you look at we try to say, alright, we want to make people one
dimensional or get our opportunities to rush the passer. Well, we’re getting a lot of drop
back, first and foremost. Houston was able to maintain balance at the end of that previous
game, whereas maybe in weeks prior we knocked out that run game a little bit better in the
second half. That’s kind of what I’ve seen. We need to look at when you’re playing a four-
eye, when you’re playing a three, when you’re playing a five, you’re playing that, just the
techniques up front. At the second level, how are we fitting these runs? Are we staying
square? Are we just plugging or aimlessly running through? And our safety fits? We looked
at a little bit, okay, our depth at our safety position to start and then man, when we see run,
alright, we got to go. And so, a lot of that goes into stopping the run. I think for the most
part, all year, I think we’ve done a solid job at that. It is so critical this week for us to be able
to stop the run against these guys that we know they want to run the ball so that we can get
our ops on second [down], we got to make third down a lot harder than it’s been over the
last few weeks. Third down has been way too three to five than seven to nine. And that
makes it a lot harder to convert when those third downs are better. And it starts on first
down.”
(On LB Dennis Gardeck) “Love Dennis. He needs to continue to get more when he’s on the
grass and he’s going that way. Man, good things have happened for us and he’s such a pro.
All he cares about is the team and working his tail off every day when he’s out there and
he’s up against a tight end or an OL, whatever it is, he’s going to do everything he can to
shed and to strike and to make a play, but not because he is trying to do anything outside of
the scheme, just because of his mentality and the way that he approaches it. So, Dennis
and I had actually had a really good talk yesterday just out on the grass about staying the
course, continuing to push forward and that he’s just feeling better and better as he gets
going. So, we got to get him more.”
(On if the Chargers receivers are the most complete group the team has faced this season)
“It’s up there for sure. They’re very detailed route runners, I think. They all compliment each
other really well, and especially with Gadsden [Chargers TE Oronde Gadsden II] being that
big, skill tight end. They compliment each other well, their route detail I think is very good.
Their spacing in the pass game, you could tell it’s understood. I think that was something
maybe over the last year if you were looking at them, playing them last year was something
that they just needed to continue to get better at. Maybe add in a piece too, and you can
see what that’s done for that group and for that offense. And Justin’s [Chargers QB Justin
Herbert] playing with confidence, letting it rip to those guys, understanding where they’re
going to be, the timing, and their run after catch. They’ve all had run after catch. So, it’s
definitely a talented unit that is going to challenge us for sure.”
(On CB Jarrian Jones’ growth) “Yeah, we’ve had a lot of conversations. We’ve had a lot of
talks. We’ve had a lot of moments, and he was definitely challenged a few weeks ago to
continue to do right and continue to go out there and he was frustrated too at times
wanting to get out on the grass to help and go play, which I’m proud the way that he’s
responded and stayed the course. Made some great plays for us on Sunday. He always
plays and brings energy, which I do appreciate. I thought he triggered really well on the
bubbles and some of the quicks outside, obviously the big interception to start the game,
the fourth down stop where he made the great play on the mesh. I’m excited for Jarrian. I
hope that we can continue to build off of this positive momentum because he is a guy that
when he’s up and he’s bouncing around and he’s doing right and everybody’s
communicating at a high level, he’s somebody that can be infectious that way.”
(On his conversations with DEs Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker on rushing four) “Yeah,
and look, when I say that it’s got to be with the coverage though too now, it has to match.
You look at all the best, look at the Eagles last year. If we’re just talking about, I read one of
the Chargers, D-Lineman’s comments about if you could rush four and play coverage with
seven, that is typically a good thing. I’m releasing four. If you can rush with four and my
halfback is kind of helping to maybe chip somebody, well now you truly have four against
seven. I think those odds are usually going to be in the defense’s favor if you’re pattern
matching the right way. And the coverage is really getting a little bit less aired out and
having a little bit less air to the coverage. Understanding third-and-three, third-and-five,
second-and-eighth, second-and-12, where’s the sticks, it all kind of goes together. So, the
conversations with those two have been very positive this week, very positive. And there’s
an accountability factor for all of us involved, those guys and us as coaches to alright, are
we coaching it the right way every single day to have the details show up on passing downs
to where the coverage and the rush are matching each other? And at the end of the day
man, just go, guys, don’t think about it. Just cut it loose, run it, go and get off the rock. Just
get off the rock and go man. And not saying we’re going to stop the run on our way to the
passer, but a little bit of that mentality, especially in some of those second downs. Just let’s
hunt a little bit here, man, and they had great convos this week”
(On OL Cole Van Lanen) “Yeah, very pleased with Cole as the whole season. He came in
obviously, multiple instances having helped us either get through games, starting games.
Cole, he does the preparation, the trust that he has in that room with those guys. It’s a good
group that trust each other. So, I have a ton of faith in Cole this week stepping in if he has to
and continue to keep playing at a high level for us. So, his pad level, we talked about
wanting to continue to improve and staying lower and when he’s lower, he’s able to be a
little bit more explosive. So, I’ve been very pleased with Cole.”
(On having TE Brenton Strange back on the practice field) “Yeah, it’s great to have him back
out there. You want him out there as much as you can. Obviously, we’re continuing to take it
day-by-day, but I just know that we’re a better offense right when he’s on the grass and I
know how much he wants it. I know how much he’s put into his rehab and the time off. So,
hopefully we can continue to get more.”
