Banged Up Seahawks Defense Facing Yet Another Liam Coen Star Pupil
Last Sunday against the Buccaneers was a straight-up disaster on defense for the Seattle Seahawks. Sure, they were about as injured as the Avengers after fighting Thanos several times. A few Seahawks defenders might have even began to crumble away after The Snap.
Baker Mayfield, against a beaten-down Seahawks defense, had the football equivalent of a joyous visit to the local pumpkin patch, with hayrides, delicious pumpkin spiced lattes, apple cider, and apple fritters. He threw only four incompletions and totaled 379 yards and two scores. It was like he was running a seven-on-seven camp.
Famously, Mayfield became a bit of a journeyman after falling out of favor in Cleveland. In 2023, he arrived in Tampa and first worked with current Panthers head coach Dave Canales. It looked like he had brought his career from the brink of extinction to at least being a serviceable signal caller.
Then Liam Coen came to town in 2024. Things took off immediately. Mayfield set new career highs in completion rate, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and passer rating, garnering back-ballot votes for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. It was a match made in heaven. Mayfield looks like he is still applying what he learned from Coen into 2025 and is off to another electric start.
Where is Coen now? Oh, just coaching up Seattle’s next opposing quarterback looking for a similar renaissance. The Jaguars made Trevor Lawrence the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Since that time, he has gone through three head coaches and three offensive coordinators in just five NFL seasons.
Liam Coen seems like a great fit in Duval County. He has the Jaguars looking like a competent team, especially on offense. This was put on full display under the bright lights on Monday Night Football earlier this week against the mighty Kansas City Chiefs. Lawrence outdueled Patrick Mahomes. He had more passing yards and a better passer rating than the two-time MVP. He also sealed the win with a rushing touchdown that you don’t see very often, beginning with him being tripped at the line.
It appears Coen has his next star pupil. Lawrence is immensely talented. He has just lacked the stable structure around him in Jacksonville. Now, it appears he has that.
“He's making fast decisions,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Lawrence’s progression on Wednesday. “You've got to give him a lot of credit for that. The receivers are getting open and he’s throwing the ball on time. He's throwing it accurately and they're protecting him.”
With Lawrence’s emergence, it’s safe to say Seattle’s secondary has their work cut out for them. Julian Love, Devon Witherspoon, and Riq Woolen will likely miss the game after being listed as doubtful on Friday’s final injury report. That leaves the likes of Ty Okada, Shaquill Griffin, and Derion Kendrick to step up and fill those voids again, like they attempted to do against the Bucs. While the Jags don’t have the same firepower that Tampa does to this point, they are definitely a similar threat to this banged up defense. The Jaguars are 4-1, with their only loss being a four-point defeat on the road to the Bengals.
Brian Thomas Jr. and do-it-all rookie Travis Hunter form one of the best young duos of wide receivers you will find in the NFL. Josh Jobe and Coby Bryant are now the steady veterans in charge of containing them, working alongside the backups.
If Seattle wants to avoid a similar fate facing another Coen pupil for a second straight week, they need to do some serious construction on the damage inflicted upon them by Mayfield and the Bucs last week.
