JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Mike from Eagan, MN
While I do hope the best for Coach Coen and the Jags, let's pump the brakes a little bit on Tom Coughlin comparisons and how Coen could "be here a long time." It wasn't that long ago that we brought on a Super Bowl-winning head coach who beat the GOAT with a backup quarterback and some revolutionary, risky play calls. It has been one season for Coach Coen and the Jags. Is the potential there? Sure. Should we get a larger sample size than one season (especially based on past Jags seasons)? From this view, absolutely. Go Jags.
Obviously more time is needed before current Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen compares to former Jaguars Head Coach Tom Coughlin in terms of success. And we indeed are just a few years removed from the heady first season and a half of Head Coach Doug Pederson. Remember, though: No Jaguars team in the last two decades won more than 10 regular-season games – and no Jaguars team since 1999 managed to win eight consecutive regular-season games – until they did it in Coen's first season last season. There also never has been a Jaguars team with a quarterback at the level we saw from Trevor Lawrence last season. That doesn't guarantee a run of four consecutive playoff appearances as the Jaguars produced under Coughlin from 1996-1999, but it does merit more optimism for this franchise than has been the case since that era. This regime is doing things right. The foundation is being laid. Absolutely.
Woody from Dunlap
KOAF: How many more days before the pads go on and the hitting begins so you and the rest of the Jags' reporting squad can begin to fill us fans in one how the "big guys" on the offensive and defensive lines are shaking out? Is Emmanuel Pregnon as powerful as he looks in shorts? Is Albert Regis' first step as quick as advertised? Is Jalen Hunt the exceptional athlete the draft scores indicate he is? Is T.J. Bollers a combo of "smarts" and "toughness"? These and many more such crucial questions await. When do the "POW"! "WHAMO"! moments finally arrive?
Jaguars 2026 Training Camp is scheduled to begin in late July, with pads going on and hitting happening five days into the start of camp. I expect rookie guard Emmanuel Pregnon to be powerful at that time because he always has been powerful. I also expect rookie defensive tackle Albert Regis at that time to be quick. Hunt and Bollers were undrafted collegiate free agents, so we'll see how that looks when the pads go on.
Nick from Virginia Beach, VA
We aren't getting prowlers? Why not? We have the worst current uniform in the league and it is not close.
Breathe, Nick. Breathe.
Scott from Jacksonville
"Mamba" periods? I don't believe I have seen an explanation of what exactly that means. Could you please?
A mamba period in a Jaguars practice under Coen is a competitive period in which the offense or defense can be declared a winner. It often features pass rush and one-on-one coverage, with the major emphasis being on heightening intensity and competition.
Chris from Mandarin
You have mentioned before that you don't really read much fiction, but your inspiration had to come from somewhere. When did you decide in life that you wanted to be not only a journalist, but a writer? I am curious to know what Young O was reading when trying to avoid being stuffed into lockers at Episcopal High School?
I believe what I mentioned is I don't read as much fiction as I once did or as I would like to – and that certainly, regrettably remains the case. But I have in my days read at least a bit of fiction, with favorites including Somerset Maugham, Richard Ford, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Graham Greene, Philip Roth, Nick Hornby and John Steinbeck – with Steinbeck pretty much the gold standard. I read some of these authors while (sometimes unsuccessfully) avoiding being stuffed in lockers on the banks of the St. Johns River back "in the day," and I came to appreciate – and enjoy – the classics much more in my 20s and 30s. I decided I wanted to be writer/journalist shortly after graduating the University of Florida, where I was a business management major. My first job out of college was a two-week stint with Ferguson Enterprises in Jacksonville followed by seven months with Suddath Van Lines in Orlando. I was miserable at each stop for various reasons, with none of those reasons being the fault of my employer. My girlfriend at the time worked at the Florida Alligator at UF. She encouraged me to try sportswriting since I was pretty much miserable and floundering with comparatively little to lose. I was fortunate enough to get a part-time job at the Florida Times-Union, where I began what I would loosely call my "sportswriting career." Four decades on, here I am. Yay, me.
Bradley from Death Valley, CA
Borderline pro-type college football and basketball stars can now have fairly lucrative six-year careers and play for a variety of schools. I miss the old days when boosters would just give them Trans Ams and Mustangs to go with their no-show jobs and school officials would make sure they graduated with 3.5 grade point averages. This was all done under the table, the way God intended.
Fair.
Tim from Ortega, FL
Three questions. Are we now in the dead zone? When does training camp start? And when is the first preseason game?
Three answers. The dead zone begins sometime after the end of the offseason program, which ends next week. It runs through the beginning of training camp, which begins in late July. The Jaguars will open the preseason at the New Orleans Saints on August 15.
Spazman from Jacksonville
John - In the last name starting with a "D" conversation, what about Donovan Darius?
We're circling back a bit in our discussion about best Jaguars players with a certain last initial or something like that. I went with defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (2017-2019) in this one, and not unexpectedly got some pushback from those who believed the selection should have been safety Donovin Darius (1998-2006). I absolutely could listen to discussions about Darius as the selection here, though I would listen more closely to people who spelled his first name with an "I" rather than an "A."
Daniel from St. J
I thought Donavan Darius was a gimme. Maybe the game after he retired where he jumped off the field onto the railing and posed for photos with my friends and I makes me biased, but I doubt it. It has to be Double D! Oh and E is Etienne in case you're not sure…
Good 'ol Donavan.
Jordan from Lincoln, NE
Gerald Sensabaugh is the best player to wear the No. 43 in Jaguars history.
Possibilities in the discussion include defensive back Gerald Sensabaugh (2005-2008), long snapper Matt Overton (2017) and cornerback Quentin Meeks (2018) … yeah, Sensabaugh.
Joe from Jacksonville
Zone: Player with last name "D" double D all day long! Donivan was a hitter!
The closer we get, the further away we get.
Dave the Wave from Jacksonville
Oh, John. You missed one. When asked who was the best player with the last name "D" you missed Double D, Donovin Darius No. 20. He was by far the best Jaguar "D".
OK.
Jason from Port Orange
You and Michael from Orange Park surely remember Donovin Darius…
I can't speak for Michael. I certainly do.
Ed from Danvers MA
Uh oh, I think you missed someone.
I got Sensabaugh.
Matthew from Charlotte, NC
One of the biggest changes I have felt with this new regime is the impact rookies, drafted and undrafted, have had on the active roster. Previous regimes seemed to have a hard time finding talent that could contribute early at the back end of the draft. Names like Myles Cole, Raymond Vohosek, Derek Parrish stand out. I remember the feeling of watching good players get traded for a sixth-round pick that probably wouldn't contribute at all. Just stockpiling a ton of picks for what seemed like projects that never came to fruition. That old feeling is gone, and it feels like we're finally in good hands with this new regime. Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli, Coen and General Manager James Gladstone are a great unit. Have you noticed an improvement in the way this team drafts now?
Among the notable attributes of this regime absolutely is a commitment to playing the best players regardless of draft status. Anyone paying close attention to this team knows this. How well is this team drafting now? We will start getting an idea about that this season, when its first draft class – 2025 – is in its second season.
Scott from Jacksonville
Works fine on my android so far.
Scott 1, Tech 0.
