JAGUARS HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2026
Q. If he was more attentive to Wednesday’s Joint Practice as opposed to tonight’s
result?
LIAM COEN: I definitely liked what I saw from the joint practice. For sure. I was pleased with
the physicality, the effort, the energy and a lot of the execution. There is a ton to continue to
clean up her obviously. (The Joint Practive) was a step in the right direction as you look at –
not necessarily milestones in Training Camp, but good moments (we) can draw on and say,
‘hey, that’s our brand of football’ on display against another quality opponent.
See where it’s at when we get to Tuesday and just kind of see. Don’t want to push it too
much.
Q. Josh Cameron and CJ Williams just continue to produce. What did you see out of
them tonight? And are they getting to a point where they are earning your trust?
LIAM COEN: I definitely can see that for sure. The guys (Josh and CJ) are such pros. They
have a lot to learn, no question. But in terms of showing up early, leaving late, doing extra,
being locked into the details, and understanding how to walk thru in some of the walk thru
settings. And then they come out into the lights, and they make plays. It’s good to see Josh
make a one-on-one op that we’ve seen in practice a number of times. Nick gave him a good
opportunity. CJ continuing to be steady. Those guys are earning trust for sure and they’re
going to continue to earn more.
Q. Comfort in having a guy like Ameer (Abdullah) when you have LeQuint Allen out and
you don’t know when he’ll be back?
LIAM COEN: I thought he showed up tonight and it’s what we’ve seen in practice. You talk
about a pro’s pro, a guy who does everything right. He’s one of the first guys in the building,
along with Parker (Washington). He takes care of himself, treats himself right in terms of his
body and getting his mind right for practice every day. And he was able to show up tonight
and look a little better than everyone else.
Q. Jakobi had something on is wrist (thumb?). Will he be able to go this week, in the
Joint Practices (against Tampa Bay)?
LIAM COEN: We will have to see. He kind of jammed it. We will have to see where it is at
when we get to Tuesday and just kinda see. I don’t want to push it too much.
Q. Coach, on the opposite end of the experience, spectrum from Ameer to second
straight game that Trebor Pena’s led your receiving core in terms of you guys in
receptions. Another guy who is making it difficult for you in what seems to be crowded
rooms as far as decisions goes it looks like.
LIAM COEN: Yeah, proud of Pena, again, just continues to make plays being in the right
spot at the right time. I think him and Joey have a natural little connection from working
together, obviously, in a lot of these settings and practice. I thought Michael Wortham did
some nice things as well tonight. He’s kind of been flashing a little bit. Got a lot of reps in
the joint the other day as well and didn’t flinch, didn’t blink and so those guys are going to
continue to make it hard and whether it’s for the Jacksonville Jaguars or for some other
team, they’re putting it on tape. They’re doing their part. They’re doing what we’re asking
them to do and giving themselves opportunities to play in the NFL.
Q. You talked this week about trust in Nick. How did you think he did early?
LIAM COEN: Nick, yeah, I thought he did some good things. They had not all their starters in
but they did have some and I thought he was on time, in rhythm, getting the ball out. We
catch the ‘choice’ (route) down at the goal line. We were going to be 7-7 at that point, right?
And, you know, I thought Nick did a nice job. I thought they protected well when Nick was in
as well early on and kind of got a little tired later on but for the most part I thought we
protected fairly well as well.
Q. Liam, two parts on Cole Van Lanen. When he does get back in the teamwork, will it
be at right tackle?
LIAM COEN: Yeah.
Q. And then what’s the ramp up for him over the next four or five days so he continues?
LIAM COEN: Yeah, a lot of indy work. He’ll get a ton of indy. A lot of that and not necessarily
11 on 11 yet in those settings, get him some extra work on the side. He’ll do a lot with the
offensive line and individual and some of that will be able to do some of walk thru settings
to get more the mental reps, and then when he can’t go in some of the team periods, go
with the strength and conditioning staff still and continue to work on that conditioning.
Obviously, I look forward to getting him in some of these team drills here soon.
Q. Thoughts on the running back situation. I know last week Taylor got a lot of carries
against New Orleans. Abdullah tonight. How close are you to making a decision on
where they are in pecking order?
LIAM COEN: Yeah, they’re definitely making it challenges, right? We’re going to be out with
LeQuint (Allen) as D-Rec mentioned earlier, going to be out for a little bit, so we’ve got to
just — you know, we need to see those guys both a little bit more with, maybe, the first
group this week in practice to be able to get a little bit more evaluation, too, to see who
continues to give us the best chance to both run it. But also the big thing is protection right
now and who can continue to ascend in the protection pecking order because that’s what
we are missing right now with LeQuint being out and the current state that we’re at. So,
need somebody to rise in that group, and as great as the running is and all that, we’re really
evaluating who can pass protect at a high level for us and be able to give us some
meaningful reps.
Q. Liam, how is that Miller and Combs battle going? It seemed like Ventrell tonight
showed his physicality and Combs did some pretty good things in coverage.
LIAM COEN: Yeah, I think at some point here, we’re all going to understand they’re both
going to play. Like, they’re both very different players. They both have different skill sets.
You know, I think you guys know what those skill sets are and what they’re both good at.
Whoever ends up being number one on the depth chart is obviously semantics in a lot of
ways. I was pleased with Ventrell. I’ve been pleased with him for over the last few days. I
thought he had a good Joint as well, but we’re going to need both of them. We’re going to
need both of those guys to play significant snaps for us within their roles and within how
the game on defense needs to be called and the offenses we’re seeing, the situations that
we’re in. We’re going to need them both. So, whoever ends up as number one, it’s going to
end up being a lot of reps for them both.
