GENERAL MANAGER JAMES GLADSTONE AND HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2025
(On who they want to draft at pick five)
JAMES GLADSTONE: “Well, it is the entertainment business… I don’t know if we were to
announce that right now that many people would feel the need to watch on night one. But
there’s still a lot of fun dialogue to be had amongst our crew. It’s great. We have the
scouting staff on-site and in the building for the first time this week, so kind of rounding out
a lot of the conversations we’ve had with the coaching staff over the last month, and really
allowing the cement to settle and start to harden here as we creep towards the night one of
the Draft, that fifth overall selection.”
(On what it’s been like to go through the Draft process)
GLADSTONE: “I’ll start and kick it over to Liam. At the end of the day it’s still familiar
territory. You’re talking football. My mind remains rooted in a lot of the same things that it
always has been. I think you all will remember this phrase, but focusing our intention on
‘intangibly rich’ human beings and allow that to remain our North Star, and making it so that
it’s very clear amongst our group that’s what we’re really leaning into, and having everybody
embrace and that feel that. It’s been a joy, it’s been fulfilling and looking forward to allowing
those discussions to become reality. We’re not far off from that. Just like the players that
are included in this Draft class, right, their dream is to get drafted. For those guys, that’s
about to be reality. It’s been fun to have that be the case for us personally, to see our
dreams become reality. Working in tandem, it’s been fulfilling. It’s been a joy.”
(On adding to the offensive and defensive lines through the Draft)
GLADSTONE: “I’m glad you asked that because something that’s been very clear to both
Liam and I, and it’s something we both value innately, is physical and mental toughness. I
know that probably was apparent in that just by default the offensive line and defensive
line, that breeds that sort of mentality and that type of play. We prioritized addressing
offensive line through pro-free agency. I think we’ll continue to do that throughout the draft.
I don’t think we’re limited at the fronts, right? That stuff should show up at all levels of our
offensive and defensive operation, and clearly on special teams. That’s always going to
remain at the forefront. Those two elements in tandem is really a real combination that we
covet. I think you’ll hear just about every time that Liam steps to a podium, he’s going to
mention some version of physical and mental toughness as really what he’s hunting up.”
(On if it was bothersome to them that the Jaguars were only converting third-and-one
around 50 percent last year)
LIAM COEN: “I think that’s something that ultimately you look at last year in the NFL, we
were first in Tampa in short yardage. Although I’d love to say that we just ran duo down
everybody’s throat, I can’t say that. There was some misdirection, jet sweeps, whatever it
was, different ways of getting that yard. Ultimately, yes, you’d love to say, ‘Man, we just have
to gain to yard, we should be able to do this,’ with the most simple plays in football. But it
just depends on how you’re built and what those matchups look like, obviously. It is on us
as coaches to hopefully put those guys in better positions to be successful that way.”
(On why Gladstone will not conduct in-person visits with prospects)
GLADSTONE: “I think there’s a lot of layers to not doing those facility visits that you all are
accustomed to, top 30 visits as they’re phrased. It goes back a while in my experience. Let’s
take it this direction: the implicit bias that can come to life this late in the process, the last
player you might sit down with, and how that might differ from the first player you sit down
with knowing it’s closer to the decision that’s upcoming. In addition to that, so much of the
work that’s done in preparation for these decisions starts years in advance. The sourced
intel from those who have lived with these individuals is likely to be more accurate than me
sitting down with a prospect for a short period of time and attempting to dissect who that
human being is. So, I don’t view myself as having this extreme super power of deciphering
the complexity of a person in an hour, right? I would probably say I can work that in tandem,
but there are other mechanisms that we tend to lean into to help us determine whether or
not a player is, in fact, a fit for us, more than just a singular touch point that would be a top
30 visit. We have a lot of additional mechanisms that we deploy that don’t necessarily put
us at risk for the rest of the world to know what direction we’re heading. So often those
become public-facing touch points at which point you’re sacrificing some version of
strategy come Draft day as well.”
(On how much of his overall Draft strategy has he been able to implement in the last
two months)
GLADSTONE: “There are some specific efficiencies that we’ve been able to sort of fold into
the process. In large part there’s a good bit of information already at our disposal and a lot
of internal knowledge that already exists that’s really helpful. Having our scouting staff on-
site for the first time this week, all being under the same roof, it was really cool. We got a
chance to sit down yesterday and chop through a large chunk of the prospects, and got a
chance to share with them my impressions of Day 1 with them. Let’s just set the stage: you
get into a draft meeting, and each person has a piece of paper or a notebook in front of
them or their laptop. They’re referencing their reports that they’ve done on each of the
prospects, looking down, reading those reports out loud. Something I appreciate more than
anything is when an evaluator or scout treats those moments like you’re at the watercooler,
like you’re just having a normal conversation, as opposed to this boardroom meeting. Our
group inherently did that. They made it just a natural conversation. They didn’t just revert to
their notes, but rather what they already knew in their minds because they were so
prepared for that moment on their own. That was a really cool moment for me to see our
scouting staff walk in the door as prepared as I could have ever hoped for those initial
conversations. I use the phrase ‘being a fighter, not a fencer,’right? Instead of having to put
on armor, pick up a sword to fight, they simply just had to close their fist. They were ready
for that moment. I look forward to the rest of the conversations we’re going to have here
over the next nine days, see what else settles as the cement begins to harden.”
(On the comparisons between working with the scouting staff at the Los Angeles Rams
as opposed to the Jaguars, and if there were any surprises)
GLADSTONE: “I don’t know that there were any surprises or anything catching me off guard
as much as it was, it’s been very impressive, the adaptability of that group. To say, hey, here
are the items we’re emphasizing and we’ll be prioritizing, may look a little different than
what you’re used to. To be able to see them pivot away from maybe things they held at a
premium in the past, that flexibility has really stood out to me amongst the group.”
(On when he may have discussions about trades, we well as his comfort level with
making those negotiations)
GLADSTONE: “I think adaptability is going to be key through that. It’s never going to be
done until it gets sent into the league. We’ll have as many conversations as people are
willing to engage on. I don’t think that now versus on the clock is going to be anything that I
would say isn’t of interest.”
(On when he finalizes his Draft board)
GLADSTONE: “Right before we pick. It’s interesting. It’s not so black and white, right? You
can probably think about the decisions you make in a day, especially when you have the
chance to sleep on it, whether or not it’s the right one or the wrong one. We’ve gone through
a ton of exercises over the last five weeks to where we sleep with decisions, right? We say,
this is exactly what we’re doing over the course of the Draft. How do we feel about this
outcome? We wrestle with that, we sit with it, we reflect, then we try a new one. That’s been
fun because I know it’s not something that the larger group has been used to doing, at least
in that long of a runway. But for me, it’s the way in which my mind works. I’ve in the past
experienced the moments when you send in a pick, you know when you press ‘enter’
whether or not it was the right one for you. That’s what I’ve enjoyed doing over the last
handful of weeks with our group, sort of treating it like we just pressed ‘enter,’ and trying to
wrestle with whether or not that felt the best or if it’s exactly what we would have wanted to
be the case. Just like any player going out onto the grass in preparation for a Sunday, we
actually want to treat these reps like real life. So, trying to create that as often as possible
has been certainly enjoyable. But look forward to it actually bringing with it some positive
results here soon.”
(On if Gladstone can speak to what the next week and a half will look like as he
implements his Draft process)
GLADSTONE: “Yeah, I can. Right now, we’re using the mornings with our scouting staff,
afternoons with our coaching staff. We’ll do that throughout the remainder of this week.
Into next week, we’ve got mock drafts that we’ll dissimulate before getting to Draft day.”
(On how Gladstone pulls his information)
GLADSTONE: “I’d say that it’s more that, operationally, to make sure that all of our tech is
functioning as much as it is, like actually having a Draft come off, so to speak.”
(On researching the definition of ‘intangibly rich’)
GLADSTONE: “Good, I’m glad. (Laughter). Not only are our fans intangibly curious, so is our
media.”
(On if the intangible aspects of a player are more obvious at pick five than later in the
Draft)
GLADSTONE: “Is it obvious? I would like to think it’s obvious. A lot of this, it just requires
discipline. For the most part, you become so intimate in understanding who these people
are and the buildup to those Draft day decisions, by the end of it you know what you’re
taking on and you have to make the decision as to whether or not you can accept that
person for who they are. The people that we will accept for who they are and invite and
select will be those that are intangibly rich. I’ve been asked quite often, like, what does that
actually mean? I promise that whatever just came to your mind is what I’m thinking. It
exists (smiling). It’s in my mind as well as yours. I was asked right off the jump, physical and
mental toughness. That’s a part of intangibly rich. It’s a big part of it. Those two elements
will be top of mind. When you look at our Draft day call sheet, the items that we’re
bucketing in that intangibly rich category are the largest, brightest number and color on our
call sheet. It’s because that’s where we start. At every point of player acquisition, that’s
where we start. Doesn’t mean it will be exactly the order that we select in or pick or choose
from, but it will be where we begin every decision.”
(On what Gladstone views as the deeper position groups of this year’s Draft class)
GLADSTONE: “Yeah, quite frankly, I think that every Draft, there ends up being players that
are very good at all positions from start to finish. I think that that probably doesn’t come as
a surprise when you look at the most recent drafts that I’ve been a part of, especially with
those day-three selections, even those undrafted college free agents, who in Los Angeles
had played a high volume of snaps and contributed in a significant way early in their rookie
contract. Yeah, I think there are some public-facing positions that everybody has a pretty
good understanding that are deep in that year’s Draft. I don’t think there’s a single position
that we would label as being without talent. All of them can produce somebody for us that
would contribute in a notable way fairly early in their rookie contract along the entirety of
the Draft.”
(On assessments of the receiving corps in this year’s Draft)
COEN: “I think there’s some good, sound, solid players at a few different spots, where
there’s always some ball-in-hand athletes. Also, a couple of guys that can win 50/50 balls.
There are some really good football players all throughout this Draft at the position. I
wouldn’t say it’s maybe as sparkling as some other Drafts, right, where you do see there’s a
couple of good ones up there. We feel good about some of the guys a little bit later on that
can contribute for us, definitely a position we’d be looking for.”
(On traits they look for in an edge rusher)
COEN: “First of all, physically and mentally tough comes to mind. Guys that can set an
edge in the run game. Play long. Doesn’t mean they have to be 6’4″ and 260. Can they set
an edge and play long and stout in the run game, while also maybe giving you a different
version of a rush plan, right? A little bit different wave of rusher that can maybe come in
and do some different things in some third downs, get-back-on-track situations, that can
potentially burn an edge and be able to get off the edge and go a little bit for us. Definitely
something we’re looking for.”
(On the excitement of adding a high number of young players to the roster)
COEN: “It is exciting. Like I mentioned last time, a conversation we had with the staff and
something that we don’t want to fear whatsoever. I think naturally as a coach, you just go to
a safe place of a veteran, which I completely respect and appreciate, but it’s definitely
something we’re going to lean into. The guys should be excited about it. You can continue to
coach hard and get the best out of these guys when they’re freshly in the league and really
want to do their best. We’re excited about that factor.”
(On things Coen has enjoyed the most or the biggest adjustments he’s had to make as
a head coach)
COEN: “Just having a larger appreciation for every position on the grass, including special
teams. Special teams, when we’re evaluating a wideout or a DB, a safety, a corner, a
backer, a tight end, what can his special teams contribution be, as well? That’s not
something I ever really had to go to that place. That’s been exciting to learn more about
from James, from the other coaches, seeing their vision for these players. That’s been a
huge learning curve for me and experience, where you’re normally, ‘Hey, offense…’ Every
time you watch an offensive player, defensive players pop. Your eyes start to go to those
players that pop. Now it’s truly evaluating how does this player fit into our roster right now,
where can we see them playing on each down and distance, packages, things like that
where you start to try to tweak your thinking a little bit.”
(On if Gladstone thinks about his first Draft pick setting the tone for his tenure)
GLADSTONE: “I think naturally that’s absolutely where your mind goes. We’ve had
discussions on that subject a number of times. Certainly feel really good about the pot of
players right now that we’re discussing, and that that would align with all the messages that
we would like to send to the locker room, to our fan base, to the greater football landscape
about who the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to be moving forward.”
(On if the organization attended local pro days)
GLADSTONE: “No, we did not.”
(On if not attending local pro days was due to philosophy)
GLADSTONE: “I think in a similar breath as the top-30 visits, it’s familiar territory for me not
to participate in that. I think it was certainly based off where we were at, this being the first
cycle we’re working together, spending that energy in a different way made sense.”
(On getting a full picture of a player when they don’t participate in pre-Draft testing)
GLADSTONE: “That’s a great question, by the way. I think many people are leaning in a
different direction than just strictly those testing and measurement marks. Certainly, it’s
helpful when you can compare apples to apples from one player to the next. Data tracking
for us and on-field speeds is going to weigh much differently than a 40-yard dash.”
(On receivers on the roster currently that can take pressure off of WR Brian Thomas Jr.)
COEN: “We’re going to spread the ball out hopefully equally. That was the nice thing about
being last year with Tampa, we had to play a lot of different players in different personnel
groupings. I think you look naturally right now at [WR] Parker Washington and [WR] Dyami
Brown at the receiver positions. Then saying [TE] Brenton Strange hopefully continues to
ascend. How do we use our two running backs to be able to supplement some of that
usage, get more people involved in the game especially early on, so defenses can’t just
cloud BT [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] and be all over him, that we have other guys that can go win
and be explosive with the ball in their hands, ultimately share that wealth, share that play-
making ability. Once the ball is snapped for the beginning of the game, within the first
quarter, if you haven’t touched the ball, it’s a hard one to continue to get through. How do
we get all of our playmakers a touch early on to get them going and involved in the game?
Those guys that I just mentioned right now are guys that we’re going to spotlight.”
(On how they evaluate character concerns when drafting players)
GLADSTONE: “There are quite a few things. At the end of the day, we focus the majority of
our intentions on who we are really interested in, who fits the profile for really what we want
to invite into this environment. If you’re not intangibly rich, it’s going to be a hard time for
that person to really mesh here. I think those that will thrive in the environment that we
create and cultivate are going to be people that fit the mold for what we’ve talked about to
date. That is all the physical and mental toughness attributes. If you don’t meet those
thresholds that we’ve set, it’s going to be something we sort of go in a different direction
from.”
(On how Gladstone finds intangibly rich players without going to pro days or
participating in top 30 visits)
GLADSTONE: “Yeah, some of those we like to keep in-house and private because we feel
it’s a version of a competitive advantage, while at the same time you can look towards the
traditional metrics, ways of going about understanding who a person is from an intangible
standpoint. That is rooted in the film evaluation, some things that aren’t necessarily related
to a physical quality. Then you get into the sourced information from a player’s past,
whether it’s college campus, hometown, et cetera. All those things begin to get weighted
and serve as sort of our thresholds for whether or not they’re somebody we feel like fits our
mold.”
(On teaching that strategy to the rest of his staff)
GLADSTONE: “Yeah, in terms of our current staff, they’re already going down the traditional
methods of bringing that stuff to life. Then in terms of decision-making, leveraging that in a
way that may not be sort of the traditional model for what the Jaguars have seen in the past.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t necessarily require any additional education, but will into
the future as we have full cycles to work with as a full scouting staff.”
(On if the term ‘intangibly rich’ came from the Rams)
GLADSTONE: “It’s not. It’s not.”
(On how Gladstone came up with the phrase)
GLADSTONE: “I don’t know. When did I say it for the first time? I think it just came—look, so
much of that stuff, it resonates for both Liam and I. We’ve got a lot of spinoffs (laughs).”
COEN: “Yeah. Intangibly curious. That was Ashley, my wife.”
GLADSTONE: “We have a lot of spinoffs. Yeah, ‘You’ve got to drop that one in there.’ No, I
think, naturally, that is what both Liam and I are built on. So, we gravitate towards those
types of people. I don’t know that it was anything other than just what surfaced at the
moment. I guess at my first press conference. But it definitely is something I want to hang
on to. I’m not ready to release that yet because I just keep saying it at every chance I get,
right? I think in some way, shape or form, it paints a picture for what it is that we’re hunting
up.”
(On how many times he had to explain the phrase to his team)
GLADSTONE: “That doesn’t take much because most evaluations generally include some
version of physical qualities and intangible qualities already rooted in what you’re
measuring. So, it didn’t take much time for them to understand that this is the bucket that
we’re leaning into as a driver for our decisions, yeah.”
