Jaguars' Liam Coen faces play-stealing Sean McVay in Week 7 confrontation

The Los Angeles Rams have been one of the more respected offenses in the NFL since hiring head coach Sean McVay in 2017. McVay's subtle but dramatic departures from the standard offensive play-calling evolved offenses into a more complex and effective aerial attack. His offenses led the NFL in 2017 and 2018 before competitors depleted his coaching staff and players sought bigger paydays elsewhere.

Even now, as his offense is less of a scoring threat, McVay captivates the NFL with his strategy that seems to be an endless fountain of innovation and creative strategies.

But he does so with the help of his own scouting.

After his offense struggled in the latter half of 2024, he sat down and shared that he intended to incorporate some of the offensive strategies used in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense that year, an offense designed by his former offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, whom McVay and the Rams will face in Week 7 when they square up against the surging Jacksonville Jaguars.

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then McVay has vast amounts of respect for his understudy. Where the wunderkind head coach demonstrated the versatility of the wide receiver position, Coen restored the luster of tight ends and running backs to that base model.

He did it so well, in fact, that LA's head coach made it a point to steal some of those same concepts this season.

Has Liam Coen outgrown Sean McVay in offensive strategy?

Coen is a protégé of Coach McVay. He cut his coaching teeth while the Blue and Yellow, serving as the guy who drew up pass plays for meetings and presentations.

How did that prepare him to become a future NFL head coach? ESPN's NFL analyst Sarah Barshop shared the trek in a 2022 article that is still worth reading.

It was Coen's effectiveness with the Bucs offense in 2024 that led to his hiring as the new Jags head coach last offseason. And the results speak for themselves, as the Jaguars have instantly emerged as a contender in the AFC after only six games.

Now the question becomes, has the pupil outgrown his former teacher?

Statistically speaking, it's Los Angeles that holds the offensive upper hand. The two teams' statistics so far after six games are:

• Yards per game | LA - 375.0 YPG | JAX - 331.0 YPG
• Points per game | LA - 23.3 PPG | JAX - 23.2 PPG
• Passing yards per game | LA - 269.2 YPG | JAX - 207.0 YPG
• Rushing yards per game | LA - 105.8 YPG | JAX - 124.0 YPG

If they appear similar, that's no mere coincidence. Coaching circles are small communities, and when a coach is promoted into a new role with more responsibility, he often turns to his former friends and co-workers to accompany him to the new coaching staff. Jacksonville's hiring of Coen created opportunities for Rams coaches with both the Jaguars and Buccaneers.

Similar strategies and similar coaches naturally lead to similar offenses.

Both teams arrive at Wembley Stadium in Week 7 intending to outperform the other. That could prove difficult because the Jags are essentially the next generation of McVay's tree.

Has Coen outgrown McVay?

That's what the NFL will find out after Week 7's outcome.

As always, thanks for reading.

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