Jaguars game week is here. What was on coach Liam Coen's mind?

Training camp is over and the Jacksonville Jaguars have begun their first regular-season game week.

The Jags will host the Cleveland Browns

on Sept. 13 at EverBank Stadium (1 p.m., CBS) to open the 2026 season. Coach Liam Coen conducted a virtual news conference on Sept. 7 to address issues such as the beginning of the team's preparation for the Browns, the challenges of meeting expectations after a 13-4 season and the AFC South title and the team's leadership.

Liam Coen on the Jaguars captains

(Note: The Jaguars announced before Coen's news conference that QB Trevor Lawrence, WR Jakobi Meyers, C Robert Hainsey, DE Josh Hines-Allen, LB Foye Oluokun, CB Jourdan Lewis, P Logan Cooke and LS Ross Matiscik had been elected captains in a vote of their teammates).

"We had a ton of guys

on this team get votes and get a decent amount of votes. It wasn't just like the one or two that you get because you're friends with somebody. There was a lot of quality human beings and people that were in the mix to become captains. Felt like the additions of Jakobi Myers and Ross really gave us two new guys that weren't on the crew last year.

"They're pretty obvious as to what their impact and influence has been on this team, especially Ross. I think he is really ascending as a leader on this team. He's a three-time Pro Bowler. That speaks for itself. But I think his maturity, presence and accountability in there as well. I think will really help Logan and [kicker] Cam [Little] and those guys as they lead that special teams unit.

"I think Jakobi, we all saw what he did. It wasn't like he was a captain last year, but he might as well have been one in terms of his impact and influence on our team. And I think Trevor, Hainsy, Josh, Foye and J-Lou … those guys have continued to ascend in the leadership category. We had a lot of guys that we could have named captains, so it's a good group."

Liam Coen on Lawrence being a unanimous choice

"I think if you're a teammate of Trevor and you see what he's gone through to get to where he's at, it hasn't just been a smooth straight line. The guy has dealt with some stuff … some highs, some lows, some adversity in his career, injuries, whatever it is, and come out on the other side of things. And you know, needs to go and prove it again. Continue to prove what he wants to be in this league in terms of a consistent competitor. The entire offense sees that. He got every single vote on the offensive side of the ball, so that's something that I think sometimes organically occurs from the quarterback position. But when you get every single vote on the offense, it's kind of telling that the guys look to him, and he has a way of doing it."

Liam Coen on other players getting captain votes

"On the D-Line, Arik Armstead got a ton of votes to be a captain. Travon Walker did as well. And then if you look at linebacker, Dennis Gardeck got a ton of votes as well as a team, whether it was on special teams or defense. In the secondary, Eric Murray got a ton of votes as well. Antonio Johnson got votes to be captain. Buster Brown got votes to be captain. So it's like, I think we can look to a lot of those guys I just mentioned, not just the eight captains that we named that are going to walk out there and be representing our team. I've been very pleased with the leadership on our team over the last year."

Liam Coen on a regular-season game week

"We had a team meeting this morning, and it seemed like everybody was kind of chomping at the bit, ready to go. So much of training camp is going against yourselves. You mix it in with the joints [practices vs. other teams], which is great, and that simulated work that we got at the joints gives you some glimpse and obviously competing against other teams and quality opponents, and so it just becomes more real. Absolutely, the message this morning was using all of this week, using this bonus week to our advantage … I thought the mood in the room was good, and they seem pretty excited to get going."

Liam Coen on meeting expectations

"It raises the standard, and the way that the guys operate on a day-to-day basis becomes that standard. Every day when you wake up and come in the building, those standards and the way we operate, the way we meet, walk through practice, and then obviously go out and compete on Sundays … there just becomes a standard of the way that we do things, and then when we don't meet the standard, whether it's in a meeting or a walkthrough or a practice, well, it gets addressed.

"We can't just let it go and say, 'Well, we won thirteen games last year. We can have a bad practice or a bad meeting.' So, I think the standard of performance in the locker room has elevated to where maybe I don't always have to say, 'Hey guys, that's not the standard. This isn't how we operate. This isn't what we want it to look like.'"

Liam Coen on Lawrence cutting down on turnovers

"That's an area in which you see so much growth [from Lawrence]: pocket movements, pocket timing, two hands on the ball. I think that comes with a ton of reps. There's nothing like an NFL pocket. It's just there's nothing you can simulate in college or in practice that is true of a Sunday game, a pocket. It's third down and six-man coverage. They're bringing five. You got man in the back end. Guys have to win. The ball has to come out on one hitch or two at the most. And you've got guys trying to kill you. There's nothing you can truly do to simulate that."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars game week is here. What was on coach Liam Coen's mind?