JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Steve from St. Johns, FL
John. Teams can buy into a coach's system and not have success. They can also have a special bond amongst the players that does not translate to wins. However, I am hard-pressed to remember a team that has achieved greatness without having both. Are the 2025-27 Jags trending towards committing to Head Coach Liam Coen's system and each other?
I haven't been close enough to all NFL teams in the last few decades to know all absolutes and absolutely nots associated with elite-level success. I do know most good teams I have been around have had big-time buy in with the head coach, as well as a special bond among players. An argument can be made that some of the buy in and the bonding can be self-fulfilling – i.e., it's easier to buy in to a coach and profess love for your teammates if you are winning than if you are losing. Though that is perhaps a bit cynical, it is also perhaps a bit true. Either way, the Jaguars absolutely have bought into Coen as a leader and play-caller. As they should. And there also absolutely is a special feeling around this team and locker room. All that buy in and good feeling adds up to chemistry. That's a magical thing, and that magic can be fragile. That is why Coen has emphasized throughout the offseason and early in 2026 Training Camp the need to maintain an edge, take nothing for granted and not rest on laurels. You must work for buy in and team bonding. Coen and the Jaguars know this and are working as hard on these areas as they did last season. That bodes well for the short- and long-term future.
John from Jax
Hi, KOAGF. I hear a lot of talk about the Jags and Houston Texans likely competing for the AFC South title this coming season. It seems most have forgotten how well the Indianapolis Colts were doing before quarterback Daniel Jones went down last season. Now, he is back. Has something changed to think the Colts won't be competing side by side, as well, with 10-plus wins?
It does seem many observers fail to mention the Colts when discussing 2026 AFC South favorites. I expect this is because we live in a world in which we remember the most recent thing and dismiss much of what happened before the most recent thing. I also expect the Colts are fine with being overlooked and will use this as motivation. There is every chance they will be competing for the AFC South title in 2026.
Bradley from Death Valley, CA
The group text chat, which is often called the "comments" section, hopefully will not come back as it was. The few dedicated fans that post should just exchange phone numbers and start a nice group text chat and leave the general public out of the equation.
What's a "comment section?"
Jim from INDY
Roger Craig in before Fred Taylor, can you help me understand this development?
Former running back Roger Craig was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past weekend while former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor is not yet enshrined because the Hall voting process is imperfect. Many players are worthy, Taylor absolutely included. Not every worthy player gets enshrined. Craig was a great player on a lot of good teams and was voted in via the Seniors Committee, which meant having to wait at least 25 years after their career end for enshrinement. Here is hoping Taylor's wait isn't as long and here's hoping his wait isn't forever.
JK from Ocala, FL
Oh great and wonderful Dr. O, I am worried. Early in the year we had a chance to get rid of wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. cheap. Many wise sportswriters suggested and some demanded trades. You, of course, were not in that camp. Now BJT is playing lights out and we are stuck with another great receiver. How will we ever return to our old ways making these kinds of decisions?
What's a "wise sportswriter?"
Colin from Fruit Cove
Hey, John. Money aside, in your opinion do NFL players enjoy their job more than the average person?
Some do, some don't. While NFL players are often rich human beings, they are also human beings. That means they have bad days and good. I expect they enjoy game days. I expect they enjoy training camp and organized team activities days a bit less. But maybe I am projecting here.
They call me Dave from Jax
What's a Shadrick?
What's a "what?"
JAY from THE BURG, FL
Coach Coen says if we win people should respect us. No, not really, they won't. Unfortunately, a team must do more than win. They must win championships. A team can make the playoffs 10 years in a row and – though that may feel good – you are remembered as just participating. When you raise a division, conference or Super Bowl banner, it never comes down and people (whomever they may be) can't create excuses to deny you anymore. It is a league of attrition and it is hard to win any championship. That is why it is so important to seize the moment to be urgent and determined. In the five-year Trevor Lawrence era, the team has had the opportunity to win three championships and won two. I can remember when the New Orleans Saints were the 'Aints and the Cincinnati Bengals were the Bungles and the only reason they aren't considered that today isn't because they won games. It's because the powers that be can't deny those banners.
I confess I never have grasped the obsession sports fans have with "respect." Perhaps I never saw it that way, or perhaps I just can't relate to now at times seems like a constant back-and-forth Twitter argument and "trash talk" between fan bases. I was once a huge fan of the Washington Football Team. When I think of those times, I don't think of whether fans of other teams respected my team. I think of watching Super Bowl XVII with my father and mother and cheering when John Riggins scored on a 43-yard run to clinch the victory. I think of watching the NFC Championship game that year at my friend Tommy Donahoo's lake house with my friends on a struggling Jacksonville Episcopal High School basketball team and I remember Walker Allen – then still a sophomore – looking at me like I was weird when I fell back over a couch when Darryl Grant scored to clinch that victory. I didn't much care what Walker thought because my team was going to the Super Bowl. I remember watching Super Bowls XXII and XXVI with my father and I remember those memories are some of my best with him. I remember watching a slew of games with him and a slew of games alone, and I remember the thrill of caring about it being far more than was reasonable. When my team won, it was awesome. When it lost, that day and the next were awful. I don't remember what friends or other said – or if they respected my team. It's the memories and how you feel about your team that matter. That's the part no one can take away. Not even on the interweb or whatever they're calling Twitter these days.
Kenneth from Jacksonville
Who's the best player in Jaguars history to do No. 98?
Possibilities here include defensive tackle John Henderson (2002-2009), defensive tackle end Chris Smith (2014-2016) and … and well, that's about it. One fer Henderson. Without question. One more to go.
James from Jacksonville via Salt Lake City, via Jagsonville
Mr. O, I made it back home. To Jax. But for No. 99 and I know I am one ahead, it must be. Joel Smmmmmmeeeeennnngggggeeee.
Maybe.
Richard from Jacksonville
In your experience are motion penalties emphasized in preseason training/coaching sessions? I am referring to the 27 penalties last year ... some at crucial times in games. Are most of these penalties the result of quarterback Trevor Lawrence changing a play at the line of scrimmage prior to the snap?
Most NFL coaches I've been around emphasize penalties in preseason, offseason and regular season. The Jaguars committed a lot of pre-snap offensive penalties last season. It was a costly issue at times early in the season. It was less costly as the season continued. Much of the issue early was because Head Coach Liam Coen's offense depends heavily on pre-snap motion in and out of multiple sets, with Lawrence then changing plays based on how the defense responds to that motion. Because players were learning this system, penalties early last season were expected. I expect the Jaguars will continue to improve in this area.
Jordan from Lincoln, NE
Hey, O. Do you think the Jags will qualify for some compensatory picks in next year's draft with the loss of J.P.?
What's a "J.P.?"
