It was awkward, unexpected and highly unique.
In retrospect, Liam Coen butchering his opening ‘Duval’ announcement was the perfect way to proclaim he was the ideal new head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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There’s only one way to say Duval right
“Duuuuval,” said a smiling Coen, in a clip that instantly went viral and turned the Jacksonville rookie HC into an easy target on social media.
The internet reaction was sudden, sharp and unrelenting.
“I love Liam Coen but this is whiter than an Iowa DB room,” Mike Golic Jr tweeted.
“Liam Coen with the worst sounding #DUUUVAL I have ever heard uh oh,” a fan posted.
“0-17,” another fan wrote.
“That made me so uncomfortable ,” a fourth fan said. “But the dude’s an offensive genius so f*** it.”
ESPN’s Pat McAfee also publicly doubted whether Coen — who spurned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before signing a five-year contract with the Jaguars — could handle his new job.
“Whenever you see this, it’s tough,” McAfee said. “It’s hard not to say, ‘This guy’s got no chance to win.’ There’s no way anybody is going to take him seriously.”
Jaguars haven’t lost since November
Almost a year later, Jacksonville is 13-4, winners of eight straight and AFC South champions.
The Jaguars have also revived Trevor Lawrence as their $275 million franchise quarterback and can reach the AFC Divisional Round with a home victory over Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
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“You bums acting like we haven’t been massive supporters of Liam and your Jags is wild,” tweeted McAfee in December, while Jacksonville was convincing the NFL that it was a real threat during the 2025 season.
The New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel will likely win NFL Coach of the Year.
Coen deserves it more, having flipped 4-13 upside down and brought new life to a franchise that has been a running joke for two decades.
Mike Mularkey, Gus Bradley and Doug Pederson were painful coaching reminders that the Jaguars were often their own worst enemy, burning through money and talent but rarely delivering on their promise.
Urban Meyer, who lasted just 13 games and only won two, was one of the worst head coach hires in modern NFL history and set Jacksonville back years.
Enter Coen, who helped rebuild Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, then suddenly found himself in the middle of a messy battle between the Bucs and Jags for his professional services.
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Coen removed his name from Jacksonville’s coaching search, agreed to a contract extension with Tampa Bay to become the NFL’s highest-paid offensive coordinator, then swapped the Bucs for the Jags at the last minute after Jacksonville owner Shad Khan finally moved on from Trent Baalke as general manager.
Jags got the coach they wanted
“To repeat my message earlier this week, I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville,” Khan said.
“I also believe in being judged by actions, not words. That’s why I took swift and decisive action this week to hire Liam Coen as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I am pumped that Liam is accepting the challenge and opportunity to build the winner that Jaguars fans and partners fully deserve. I know our players feel the same.”
Coen’s follow-up statement was a hint of what was to come.
“Becoming the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is an opportunity of a lifetime, and one that I am going to run with to instill a championship culture and winning tradition here in Duval,” Coen said.
Then he said ‘Duuuuval’ out loud and felt the fiery wrath of social media.
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4. Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4)
Coen rivaled Mike Vrabel as Coach of the Year, while Trevor Lawrence reminded NFL fans why he once was viewed as a generational QB talent at Clemson.
The Jags face a tough test vs the Bills.
But Jacksonville closed the year with eight consecutive victories and this feels like a real breakthrough moment for a franchise that normally disappoints.
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“Liam Coen looks like that teacher that tries too hard to relate to their teenage students by shouting one of their slang sayings and it’s just maximum cringe,” a critic tweeted.
Coen was judged by one word during a press conference — and NFL Twitter was 100 percent wrong.
The rookie head coach worked on the fundamentals of Lawrence’s passing game, built an offense that ranked sixth in average scoring (27.9 points), and was strong enough on the sideline to coach Jacksonville past two humbling defeats (Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans).
Coen also flexed on the 49ers’ Robert Saleh and the Broncos’ Sean Payton without flinching.
Duval — the county where Jacksonville is located — will have Coen’s back on Sunday vs the Bills.
If he reaches the Super Bowl in his first year, the Jaguars’ head coach can say a five-letter word however he wants.
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