JACKSONVILLE – What's done was great. What's next is what matters.

Head Coach Liam Coen and General Manager James Gladstone spoke to the media Wednesday, three days after a remarkable debut season ended with a first-round postseason loss. The duo discussed multiple issues while making one thing clear:

While the season was memorable, it wasn't the ultimate.

"Now the real work is here to where we have to go and reload it," Coen said.

The Jaguars in Coen and Gladstone's first season working with first-year Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli finished 13-4 – the second-most victories in franchise history – and won the AFC South title. Coen and Gladstone on Wednesday both spoke with pride of 2025 with emphasis on improving in 2026.

"We certainly look forward to pressing that restart button because you've got to recreate," Gladstone said. "You've got to iterate. It's never going to be the exact same that it was and we look forward to that challenge."

The Jaguars before a 27-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills in an AFC Wild Card Playoff game at EverBank Stadium this past Sunday won their final eight regular-season games. They took sole possession of first place in the South with a 36-19 Week 14 home victory over the Indianapolis Colts, then held off the second-place Houston Texans (12-5) with four more consecutive victories to win the division.

Coen and Gladstone on Wednesday both emphasized not being satisfied with the Year 1 success as they begin preparing for the 2026 offseason and season.

"That was the message to the team on Monday," Coen said. "I was extremely proud of a lot of things that we were able to accomplish, very proud of their response to adversity and to that 1-0 message and that next-play mentality.

"We're not going to just stand here and say, man, 'We're just going to re-do it all with all the same, same, same, same' because that got us 13 wins and knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. Clearly it was not good enough for the full end-of-the-season standard, but 31 other teams are having a similar conversation and they will have the similar conversation.

"That's the beautiful part about this profession and the challenge that it brings. Every year is a new year. Every team is a new team. That's what this offseason will be able to provide. That's what the offseason will be for, getting to know this new team, what it looks like with the message being, 'Hey, we got to continue to go 1-0 each week and play the next play.' "

The Jaguars' voluntary offseason program officially will begin in April with Coen saying Jaguars coaches will be off until mid-February and Gladstone – like Coen – speaking of the need to start again and not be satisfied with what by any measure was a successful beginning.

"The desired result obviously wasn't there but there's a lot of pride in the process," Gladstone said. "You talk about reflection and that's an ongoing piece to the puzzle. It's never-ending and obviously we were doing that along the way. We're doing it moving forward.

"I think back to where we were this time last year. Liam was probably just embarking on the interview process. I wasn't even considering it as an option. I think about what myself, Liam, Tony were able to do with a vision, being able to execute that, raising the floor of the football team, knowing that when you think back to 2024 there was plenty of talent to keep games close, but we needed to raise the floor and inject intangibles into the football team so that we could close games …

"To see that come to fruition is something that we can certainly take some pride in."

NOTABLE

• Gladstone on Monday addressed players projected to become unrestricted free agents this offseason, specifically starting linebacker Devin Lloyd and starting cornerback Montaric Brown. Starting running back Travis Etienne Jr., starting safety Andrew Wingard and starting cornerback Greg Newsome II are also scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on the March 11 start of the 2026 NFL League Year. Gladstone on Lloyd, a second-team All-Pro selection who had five interceptions and two fumble recoveries in 2025: "Extremely happy for Devin and his production this season and finding real footing in a way that aligned with what he knew he could be. Look forward to working through the offseason process with our coaching staff and everyone else to determine what's best for everybody and seeing if there's something to be done."