Why the Jaguars Are Built to Avoid a 2026 Regression

In NFL circles, the phrase “sophomore slump” has a way of sending chills down the spines of fans and coaches alike. Duplicating play calling year one success is difficult enough, improving upon it is rarer still. For many coordinators, the offseason following a breakthrough season can often become a restless search for the next evolution of a system that already worked.

Following the explosive success of Liam Coen’s Jacksonville Jaguars offense, featuring a year one playoff appearance, this question has finally arrived in Duval. Can the team’s leadership find success in staying ahead of the curve? A Simplified Year One Year one offensive success can often be attributed to the element of surprise, a new scheme installed with the singular focus of winning games before opposing defenses have had time to study and adjust.

But in the case of the 2025 Jaguars, there is genuine reason for optimism heading into year two. One aspect that makes Jacksonville’s situation particularly encouraging is that their 2025 offensive success appeared to come while running a simplified version of the playbook. Following a stretch near the top of the league in pre-snap and alignment penalties through the preseason and first seven weeks of the season, the staff made a deliberate decision to strip out much of the receiver motion and shift packages that were attributing to false starts along the offensive line and confusion among the receivers.

From a play calling and packaging standpoint, that means that a significant portion of the playbook currently remains untapped in 2026. "I think he's the best play caller that I've seen over the last two years… They were a nightmare [to play against]" Kyle Van Noy has HIGH praise for Jaguars HC Liam Coen @KVN_03 | @Jaguars | @heykayadams pic. twitter.