Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans had some choice words for fans worrying about offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who is reportedly set to take the Jacksonville Jaguars’ vacant head coaching position. Coen backed away from signing a contract extension with Tampa Bay after the Jaguars owner parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke.
Evans cited a bible verse that reads, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
Mike Evans Shares Meaningful Quote About Liam Coen’s Reported Exit
Essentially, Evans is saying, “Don’t worry.” You cannot control what Coen does, so why lose sleep over it?
Fans are not listening to Evans. They have reacted definitively to the idea of Coen leaving for a new gig.
This could be a broader post, but Mike Evans doesn’t seem worried about today’s unraveling news. pic.twitter.com/VkTLTjuw53
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 24, 2025
According to NFL Network, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, Coen informed the Jags he was taking himself out of the running for their head coaching vacancy. However, after Jacksonville parted ways with Baalke later in the day, the team reached back out to Coen, per Tom Pelissero; now the two sides are potentially headed toward a deal, with the details waiting to be ironed out and the ink waiting to be put to paper.
Coen initially withdrew his name from the Jaguars’ head-coaching search and reportedly reached an agreement with the Buccaneers to become one of the highest-paid offensive coordinators in the NFL.
However, Coen reportedly never showed up to sign his deal, and the Bucs couldn’t reach him. Now, he’s meeting in person with the Jaguars about their head coaching vacancy and is reportedly set to take on the job. It turns out Coen reopened talks with the Jaguars after ownership fired Baalke.
The #Jaguars and Liam Coen continue to work towards a deal to make him their head coach, sources tell The Insiders.
Nothing will be finalized before Friday. But Coen has told assistants he is planning to leave for Jacksonville and all indications are it’ll get done. https://t.co/LOKFvrFSLW
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 24, 2025
When Bucs fans heard the news earlier in the day, to say they were upset would be an understatement.
“I just lost a lot of respect for Coen. To not even have the decency to take their phone call to tell them what he is doing is completely unprofessional. Shows a complete lack of respect,” said one fan.
At least he showed us what he was before he became a potential HC. Not ideal though at least you are avoiding more backstabbing going forward.
— Kyle Lease (@MrEngel333) January 23, 2025
“This action is quite disappointing and reflects a lack of loyalty to Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay team. It’s unprofessional and troubling. I hope the Jaguars do hire him, and I hope it ends up being a failure. It’s hard to believe Liam would treat Tampa Bay fans this way, especially after he publicly stated his intention to remain with Tampa as one of the highest-paid offensive coordinators in the NFL,” said another social media user.
Some fans, however, blamed the organization for why Coen decided to talk to the Jaguars.
“I’ll tell you why he’s doing this because they won’t give him the head coaching job that’s what he really wants and that’s what he really deserves. I can’t believe they’re loyalty to the current head coach,” said a fan.
He’s dead to me — we should fire him before anything is announced in Jacksonville
— Justin (@BunkBilfington) January 23, 2025
This week alone, the Buccaneers are expecting to lose their assistant general manager (John Spytek, who is set to take the general manager job with the Las Vegas Raiders) while two of their top defensive coaches are interviewing for openings with the Detroit Lions, with Kacy Rodgers expected to head north. This just adds more salt to an open wound.