JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen is no longer a candidate to be Jacksonville’s next head coach.
Coen, who was scheduled for an in-person interview on Wednesday with Jaguars owner Shad Khan, general manager Trent Baalke and others, pulled his name out of consideration and will sign a new contract with the Buccaneers, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither side has disclosed the decision publicly.
The move upends Jacksonville’s search, which had been narrowed to Coen, Las Vegas defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh. Graham and Saleh are scheduled for in-person interviews on Thursday and Friday.
Khan insisted after firing Doug Pederson earlier this month that he didn’t believe Baalke’s retention as GM would affect the coaching search.
The 60-year-old Baalke has a less than spotless reputation around the league, and three of the five coaches he’s hired in San Francisco and Jacksonville have had one-and-done tenures. His draft picks have been spotty, at best, and last year’s free-agent class turned out to be one of the worst in franchise history.
Keeping Baalke in place clearly has provided pause, at the very least, for candidates. Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Detroit defense coordinator Aaron Glenn were among the 10 who interviewed with Jacksonville initially, only to see Johnson sign with Chicago and Glenn scheduling second interviews with New Orleans and the New York Jets.
Jacksonville still could double back on Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Under NFL rules, the earliest they can interview again is next week because their teams are in conference title games.
