JACKSONVILLE — The Jaguars are closing their 2026 offseason program with a roster of franchise legends and Pro Football Hall of Famers on the practice field, a move Head Coach Liam Coen said is designed to sustain the culture that produced a 13-4 record and an AFC South title last season.
“This team understands there was meat left on the bone,” Coen said Monday following the first practice of the final week of organized team activities at the Miller Electric Center.
Former Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, former NFL wide receiver A.J. Green and former NFL defensive backs Devin and Jason McCourty were present Monday to work with current players. Former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor, former Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis and Pro Football Hall of Fame pass rusher DeMarcus Ware are expected to attend later in the three-day stretch.
“It’s really to get our guys around players that did it at a high level, whether it was here or elsewhere,” Coen said. “If they can take any nugget from them over the next three days, we got better. That’s something that’s really important to me.”
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence said the team has made tangible progress in its second offseason under Coen. “We’ve really attacked the offseason,” Lawrence said. Coen echoed that assessment, saying the way “they’ve attacked this offseason is representative of that hunger and wanting to try to put ourselves in the best position to go earn those ops next year.”
Unlike last week’s mandatory minicamp, this week’s sessions are voluntary and unpadded, though they can feature competitive 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 work. Multiple players stayed on the field after Monday’s practice for extra reps with coaches — a habit Coen said has become self-sustaining. “It has become a standard,” Coen said. “It has become something that we don’t have to ask them to do anymore.”
Coen acknowledged that maintaining the team’s trajectory after a breakthrough season presents a different challenge than building it. “Establishing is definitely a little easier [in Year 1] because they (players) are very ready to hear something different,” Coen said. He cited long snapper Ross Matiscik, who told Coen over the weekend that “this is the closest team I’ve been around in my life.” Coen added: “Sustaining it is the challenge because now what happens if we lose some games and now you start looking at, ‘Well man, maybe that wasn’t right, maybe we aren’t doing the right things,’ but no, we are. You just stay the course, process drives the results.”
The Jaguars will wrap up their offseason program later this week before players break for the summer ahead of training camp.
