Liam Coen tells Jaguars to use the lack of hype as fuel, citing “40 pictures” of Caleb Williams

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said his team is motivated by how little attention they have received so far this offseason, framing it as a competitive advantage rather than a slight. In a July 31 media moment, Coen contrasted his club’s lack of spotlight with the publicity surrounding Chicago’s quarterback, Caleb Williams, and made a point of referencing what he called a volume of attention, telling reporters there are “40 pictures” of Williams around the league’s conversations.

Coen’s core message was not about X’s and O’s, but about mindset. By arguing that Jacksonville will not be carried on name recognition, he implied the Jaguars can control their own narrative. He also acknowledged that the trash talk that usually comes later in a season is starting earlier than expected, even though the league remains more than a month from Week 1.

For a Jaguars team trying to define its identity after each offseason storyline fades, the coach’s remarks land in the middle of a familiar NFL rhythm. Early summer talk often turns into a test of who embraces scrutiny, who shrugs it off, and who uses it as motivation. Coen’s comments were cast as a choice, not a grievance, and they set a tone for how Jacksonville intends to handle expectations this fall.

The specific comparison to Williams is telling because it underscores the difference in attention between franchise-level quarterback buzz and teams that may not yet be seen as central to the league’s weekly headlines. Williams is one of the NFL’s most closely discussed passers in recent seasons, and Coen’s “pictures” line was an attempt to make that gap feel concrete. Rather than arguing that talent or production is comparable, Coen leaned on the idea that public focus can shape how teams respond.

Still, the motivational posture does not automatically translate into football outcomes. The Jaguars have their own questions to answer on the field, including how their offense and defense will operate together once preseason work turns into regular-season preparation. Coach quotes like Coen’s are best read as a culture message for the building phase, not a forecast of where Jacksonville will finish in the standings.

What to watch next is whether Jacksonville’s internal emphasis shows up in how the team performs when the calendar tightens. As training camp progresses and the preseason window opens, the relevant test will be execution under pressure, not rhetoric. If the Jaguars are truly aiming to make their own narrative, the strongest evidence will come from consistency across practices and preseason reps, especially in situations that require calm, clarity, and discipline.

Coen’s remarks also offer a reminder that quarterback attention can distort expectations around the rest of the league. When one player becomes the center of the conversation, other teams can feel overlooked, and coaches often try to convert that into focus. For Jacksonville, the immediate challenge is turning offseason motivation into preseason and, eventually, early regular-season results that withstand the league’s shifting spotlight.