There's no lingering beef between Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen and Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton. In fact, there might not have been any actual beef in the first place.
Last season, before the Broncos hosted the Jaguars
, Payton said Jacksonville was "a smaller market," but "a real good team." Payton meant it as a compliment, but Coen shrewdly presented it to his team as a slight, using the innocent remark as motivation.After the Jaguars defeated the Broncos in a 34-20 upset last December, Coen said in his post-game press conference, "[I’m] just thankful that a small market team like us can come into a place like Mile High and get it done.” Before that presser, Jags players celebrated with belts, smacking the floor of Denver's visiting
locker room.
Clearly, Coen was able to use Payton's remark to fire up his squad. After the dust of that matchup settled, though, there is no lingering animosity between the two coaches.
"I talked to Sean at the owners' meetings and he gave me a little love for it," Coen said Wednesday when asked about last season's war of words.
Ahead of their 2026 matchup, Payton told Coen, "We're coming for ya."
"It's great, it's all in competition," Coen said. He went on to gush with praise for Payton:
Sean Payton joked to Liam Coen "I'm coming for you this year" at the NFL's owner's meeting, Coen said.
— Sam Jane (@sam_jane230) September 16, 2026
Coen said he's modeled some of his play-calling after Payton. Said he's learned a ton from #Broncos coach. Last year obviously had the "small-market" drama lol. pic.twitter.com/rsduG635Sa
Payton will undoubtedly answer those kind words with praise for Coen when he speaks after Thursday's practice. They're clearly on good terms, but that won't stop either coach from using any possible motivation to fire up their squad ahead of Sunday's rematch.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Liam Coen has no lingering beef with Sean Payton before Broncos-Jaguars rematch
