HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
AUGUST 13, 2026
(On how he evaluated joint practice) “Overall, thought we started slow offensively.
Obviously, I wasn’t on the defensive side, but thought we started slow offensively. Once we
got down in that red area, I thought things kind of started to pick up for us. Had a couple
guys in and out [because of] of injury in and out, and so we had to deal with a little bit of
that from a depth standpoint up front. Thought we got running it better as the day went;
they got a good front. I mean, those guys are massive. They’ve been that way ever since I
can remember in terms of their front and how they’re built and how they want them. I think
that it was nice to see the skill players keep making some plays out there. I thought Trevor
[QB Trevor Lawrence] settled in. Defensively, I think from what I understand, we stopped
the run well. There were a couple explosive passes that we got to clean up and look at, but
overall great work. Had a couple of little things, but no big fights or anything. It was good
quality work that you can’t simulate at home.”
(On rotating the offensive line) “I couldn’t even tell you who was in at the end, honestly. It
was just a lot of rotating in there, whether it’s because of trying to get guys work at different
spots in these settings or because we had some guys cramping and had to mix it up. But
we’ll have to go look at it to see how they truly played. But proud of the guys for fighting
through.
(On the difference from the Saints defense from last year to this year) “Yeah, you can tell
the communication pre-snap. You hear a lot of good talk going on. You can hear them
anticipating probably a little bit more than just reacting. They set an edge in the run game. I
mean, they can set an edge. I think their pass rush has improved from even a year ago,
maybe. I just think that on the back end, Brandon [ Saints Defensive Coordinator Brandon
Staley] does such a nice job of mixing single-high, shell, man, making it all look the same.
And you can just tell that they’re playing with some confidence right now.”
(On Saints CB Kool-Aid McKinstry) “He’s longer than I, remember. He’s got some length that
can challenge you at the line of scrimmage, plays with some good anticipation when he is
playing off. Brandon asked those guys to match and play man and play match coverage.
And I think when you have the confidence in a corner to go out and say, ‘Man, hey, you got
him? Let’s go play one-on-one and play some ball,’ I think that ultimately helps your
defense because now you can roll and dictate coverage the other way if a guy like Kool-Aid
can be that guy for them.”
(On if there was sense of urgency in the red zone) “It got better down there. I think the guys,
look, you fly in, we’re delayed coming in. Long night, you get in, you get up and go. It’s not an
excuse; it’s the reality. And it was a little slower to go. But hey, that’s a game too, right? It’s
truly the ebbs and flows. That’s why this is a great thing for us, because you get exposure to
game-like scenarios, and that’s momentum. And that’s playing the next play. And that was
the biggest thing that I, applauded them for after the practice was, guys, we could’ve gone
in the tank, we came out and stunk early on, but man, we just continued to play, keep our
heads fricking right where we are, be where are feet are, and go play the next play. So I was
pleased with that.”
(On if he is pleased with what he has seen in the red zone throughout the entirety of camp)
“I am, yeah. I think our defense does a nice job of mixing up coverage. They’re trying a few
things. We’re trying some things down there. It’s nice to see some different structures
though as well, to be able to try some things. So, I think that was an area in which we took a
big jump in the second half of the season last year. Especially when Trevor started running,
you see some of the quarterback design draws and things like that. That he was able to take
advantage of. And I think we’ve done a nice job being pretty deliberate about our concepts
in the red zone, like not having a million of them, right? It’s just, hey, let’s get good at these
red zone concepts and then carry them over, dress them up differently, and try to execute
at the best.”
(On if he was okay with the scuffle with RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.) “Absolutely. It wasn’t
malicious. It wasn’t anything crazy; Chris was trying to truck the corner, corner tackled him
a little bit. We haven’t had one in camp. So, it was done professionally. I’ll say that.”
(On OL Chuma Edoga joining the scuffle ) “Yeah, I mean, he can go off into a different
universe at times, but he protects his teammates, which we got two rules: protect the team
and be on time. And he definitely usually takes care of that for us.”
(On what he is looking for from the players that will play on Saturday) “Yeah, with limited
overall reps throughout, even throughout a training camp, is, look, we’re going to keep it
fairly simple in terms of the formations, the motions, the coverages, the calls. I just want to
see a clean operation. I mean, that, and then just go play. Like, let’s see who is going to be
the guy that’s going to go make plays when it’s not perfect, right? We’re not getting a ton of
reps that maybe this play and, well, can you, can they fix it? Can they fix any problems on
Saturday that maybe we haven’t shown them? Who can do that operation? And then who’s
going to win some one-on-one matchups? Whether it’s one-on-one pass pro, whether it’s
I’m covering the guy one-on-one, or whether I got to defeat a one-on-one matchup at
receiver. Like, who’s going to go do that?”
(On his plan for Saturday when Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski is calling plays) “I think
it’ll be a really good time for me to be on the defensive headset a little bit. We got
[Defensive Pass Game Coordinator] Mathieu Araujo being a new pass game coordinator on
defense. I’d like to be able to hear some more of the communication, between Campy
[Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile] and him and the defensive coaching staff and
just be able to hear that and get that, more than I normally am able to do within a game,
because typically when the defense is on, I’m doing adjustments with the offensive staff,
and then I’ll click over and be able to get a little bit here and there. So, being able to hear
the full process and be able to hear a little bit more of the new communication that will
have to exist.”
(On WR Brian Thomas Jr. heading into the 2026 season) “Yeah, I think he’s attacked the
offseason the right way, that’s for sure. He’s come in with a mindset and mentality that
everything’s forward. Everything’s ahead of him right now. We’re staying in the moment in
terms of each day, trying to get the best out of him, and he’s attacking it the right way. The
connection and chemistry with Trev has gotten better and improved. They’re being
deliberate about that. I would’ve liked to have been able to hit a little, couple deep ones
today, but the way Brandon plays, that defense, I mean, it kind of makes you really be
patient as a, as an offensive play caller and as a quarterback, and receivers can get a little
bit frustrated. They didn’t. Today I didn’t feel that, but it’s hard to get the ball over the top of
them. But I was pleased to see, those guys make some plays.”
(On what little things he thinks Thomas Jr. worked on this offseason) “He’s a very smart
player, man. You don’t have to tell BT something more than once usually to understand
what he’s going to go do. It’s about us knowing him a little bit better now. And him knowing
the system and you look at his rookie year, I mean, he didn’t play a ton with Trevor. And so
that connection and chemistry is so important. I think he’s done a great job of just, man,
your speed is the number one thing that people are going to be threatened by. And so, every
route that you run, making it feel like you could run by them at every moment and make
them feel you. And so, I think that’s something he’s been working on.
(On what Saints RB Travis Etienne Jr. meant to the Jaguars organization) “It was great to see
him after practice. Like I told him, I mean, we’ll never be able to replace what he was able
to do for us, whether it was last year or what he’s done in Jacksonville throughout the
course of his career. He is always welcome back in Jacksonville. The community, the fans,
the kids, they’ll always bring it up to me. I mean, they do. And it’s great. And you want to see
players succeed. And what does that look like? Well, it’s winning. But it’s also taking care of
your family and, what he was able to do, come back home and to play for an organization in
which he followed as a kid. And to be able to provide and get a contract like that. I mean, he
should be extremely proud of himself. I am of him and the relationship that he had with a
lot of our guys on the team, obviously. But I think that the guys that are going to come in to
replace him, ultimately, it’s their jobs to take, right? We’re going to have to be a little bit
more by committee, and those guys are going to have to play their part, but not come in to
try to be anybody else but themselves, right? I mean, Tuten [RB Bhayshul Tuten], Chris,
LeQuint [RB LeQuint Allen Jr.], Ameer [RB Ameer Abdullah], DeeJay [RB DeeJay Dallas] , all
those guys, I mean, they got to go out and be them. And, and not try to go be somebody
else.”
(On if the RB room learned from Etienne Jr.) “Absolutely. Especially this past year, I think he
was extremely focused on, the task at hand. He was extremely bought in to what we were
trying to get accomplished as a team. I mean, he’s a quieter by nature dude, and I think that
the way that he kind of just approached the day-to-day, the way that he took the coaching
points, he can take hard coaching. I think that that’s something that any young player can
look at and see as a guy that has been consistent as he’s been.”
(On if he thinks Rodriguez Jr. is starting to find his rhythm) “Yeah. I think he had a couple
nice downhill runs today that you like to see. I thought he had a nice pickup and blitz
protection as well today. It’s day by day. He’s getting better and better. I’ve been pleased
with his progress.”
(On Tuten) “Yeah, I mean, the 4.28 jumps out at you, right? From the combine he can run,
he’s strong; he can run through contact. Right now, we just got to continue to work on his
tracks, reading his keys, and just go play. Like, not overthinking where the ball maybe
should go or could go, and just stick your foot in the ground and get north because when he
does that, and he gets his shoulders square and downhill, it can be impressive. He can
really run through arm tackles. I mean, arguably maybe a touchdown today on the screen,
which was great to see, an area which we need to continue to improve on. So, I’ve been
pleased with him, but we’ve got to take another step.”
(On how the heat compares to Jacksonville) “I feel like it’s a little bit more humid today, but
it felt very similar. I don’t know how you guys felt. It’s fairly similar when you walk outside.
As soon as you got sunglasses on, they’re fogging up on you. Obviously we play outside.
And so, us practicing outside is an edge, right? It has to be an edge. And it’s similar here,
even though they play in the dome. They should be and will be probably a well-conditioned
team. I know Ted Rath [Saints Director of Sports Performance] from LA, and Kellen [Saints
Head Coach Kellen Moore] have a great rapport. They know what they’re looking to do from
a conditioning standpoint, and they seemed like they’ve been practicing physically as well.”
(On if he wants to change anything in joint practices) “Not yet. They’re all pretty similar,
actually. Like from the structure standpoint of it. The reps is where we may tweak. I’ll have
to look at the final count today, but we were shooting for roughly 50 plays, with those
groups to be able to get. Last week at the mock was right around 40, so we’re kind of on
that incremental build right now. And we’ll look at the next one and see what that looks like.
And then when we go to Tampa and have those two, it may be a little bit less, just
depending on where we’re at.”
(On if he has to change the run game for Tuten) “I don’t think so. I think that’s an area that
we got to continue to evolve with him and keep building him on that path. I mean, that’s
some really, really big explosive kickoff returns for us last year. I think actually KOR helps
him as well in the run game, continuing to get reps at setting up blocks and understanding
maybe the scheme of where things could go, but also just going and hitting it and go. I think
that actually helps backs. When they’re on KOR, it’s like, there’s no dancing. You’ve got to
go. And that’s something that I think we can continue to work with on Tut; he’ll keep getting
those, though.”
