JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — New Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen wants players who play “through the echo of the whistle” and “on the edge.”
It would be the kind of identity and mentality the woeful franchise has lacked for most of the past two decades.
“It’s a violent game,” Coen said. “They have to be that way. I want them to play that way. So that’s where it starts. If we can get that out of these guys, I think we’ll be moving in the right direction.”
The Jaguars introduced Coen on Monday, three days after agreeing to terms on a five-year contract. Owner Shad Khan parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke to clear a path to land Coen, who reversed course after telling Tampa Bay he planned to remain the team’s offensive coordinator.
Khan called Coen late Wednesday, persuading him to change his mind about interviewing and consider becoming the eighth head coach in franchise history and fourth in the past six years. Coen will now have significant input on hiring a general manager.
“He was extremely convincing,” Coen said. “I’m not saying it’s a blank canvas by any means, but it’s a canvas and it’s a canvas that you can go work with and put time and investment in, and it’s not so far away.”
Khan was looking for an offensive-minded coach who would modernize the Jaguars and get the most out of Trevor Lawrence, who signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension in June.
“The fundamental thing that we need to address and the No. 1 thing, obviously, is the quarterback position and our commitment to Trevor,” Khan said. “I think it’s well known, and we believe in him.
“That was the fundamental question really to all the candidates: How would they do it? After we got done with that, it was very evident to me that Liam was the guy.”
The 39-year-old Coen was the architect of one of Tampa Bay’s most productive offenses in its history in 2024. The Buccaneers ranked third in the NFL in yards (399.6 per game) and fourth in points (29.5).
Coen became the first NFL coordinator in at least the past 25 years to average more than 28 points a game, average more than 6 yards a play, convert more than 50% of the time on third down and score touchdowns 65% of the time in the red zone.
And Coen envisions having similar success in Jacksonville with Lawrence, who has missed eight games the past two seasons because of various injuries.
“When I went and watched his response to negative plays, whether it was a pick, an incompletion, a critical third down miss or a punt or whatever it was, I felt like he always responded," Coen said. “And that was something that I was like, ’Man, OK, he’s got that. That takes (heart). That’s all that matters. That’s not all that matters, but in that moment, that’s what matters. And so I saw that and I’m like, ‘OK, he’s got that.’ That’s huge to start off with.”
The Jaguars lost 18 of their final 23 games under former coach Doug Pederson, who was fired with a 23-30 record after three seasons. One of the main complaints about Pederson’s team was it lacked an identity — on either side of the ball.
“How do we want to play the game? Fast, fundamentally sound, attacking, situational masters and tough both mentally and physically,” Coen said. “It is players over plays. How do we make this as much about the players and making this about bringing out the best in you.”
Getting there, Coen said, starts with creating culture. It’s a topic he’s already broached with Lawrence and fellow captain and defensive end Josh Hines-Allen.
“I heard guys that are yearning for more, just more culture, more unity, more communication, just everybody being on the same page, a true aligned vision and for everybody to be able to tell each other some hard truths in ways and see each other’s blind spots and communicate those because that’s where the growth occurs,” he said.
Coen interviewed Minnesota defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Daronte Jones on Monday for Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator position. He also already decided to retain special teams coach Heath Farwell, who signed a three-year contract Monday.
Two of Farwell's specialists, punter Logan Cooke and long snapper Ross Matiscik, made the Pro Bowl.
“That was a no-brainer,” Coen said.
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Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan introduces new head coach Liam Coen to the media during an NFL football news conference in Jacksonville, Fla., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, left, and new head coach Liam Coen, right, speak with the media during an NFL football news conference in Jacksonville, Fla., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
Jacksonville Jaguars new head coach Liam Coen speaks with the media during an NFL football news conference in Jacksonville, Fla., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
Mixed reviews didn’t dissuade mass audiences from buying tickets to the “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which scored the biggest opening of the year for a Hollywood movie. The Illumination and Nintendo co-production earned $130.9 million over the weekend and a massive $190.1 million in its first five days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Universal Pictures released the sequel globally on Wednesday, capitalizing on kids’ spring break vacations in the week leading up to the Easter holiday. With an estimated $182.4 million from 80 overseas markets, the film is looking at an astronomical $372.5 million debut — the latest hit for the PG rating. Mexico is leading the international bunch with $29.1 million from 5,136 screens, followed by the U.K. and Ireland with $19.7 million.
The animated sequel, Illumination CEO Christopher Meledandri's 16th movie in 16 years, is the industry’s biggest debut since “Avatar: Fire and Ash” launched over Christmas. The Chinese movie “Pegasus 3,” which was not a Motion Picture Association release, has the slight edge for the 2026 global record, however.
It’s also a dip from the first film, which opened to $204 million domestically during the same five-day time frame in 2023 ($147 of that was from Friday, Saturday and Sunday). “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” went on to be the second biggest movie of 2023, with over $1.3 billion in box office receipts.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which features returning voice actors Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlie Day, had a massive footprint in the U.S. and Canada, where it played in 4,252 theaters, including 421 IMAX and 1,345 premium large format screens. It made $15 million from the IMAX screens alone.
“It’s exactly the kind of broad, crowd-pleasing release that brings people into theatres,” AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron said in a statement.
It also cost around $110 million to make, not including marketing and promotion expenses. But it arrived on a wave of less-than-stellar reviews. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is currently sitting at a lousy 40%. Ticket buyers were more enthusiastic, however.
The family audience gave the movie five out of five stars according to PostTrak exit polls, while general audiences gave it four stars and an A- on CinemsScore. Audiences skewed male (61%) overall, although when it came to families attending there were slightly more moms (52%) than dads.
“These kind of audience reaction scores just point to a ridiculously strong run, not only throughout the spring, but likely into the summer as well,” said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” will open in Japan later this month.
Last year, the first weekend in April hosted the launch of another video game blockbuster, “A Minecraft Movie,” which had a bigger three-day debut ($162.8 million) but didn’t have a “Project Hail Mary” in a strong second place, meaning the weekend overall is still up around 5%.
As expected, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ended the two-week reign of the Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi hit “Project Hail Mary,” which landed in second its third weekend in theaters where it added $30.7 million, bringing its running domestic total to $217.2 million. Worldwide, it's made $420.7 million to date.
Third place went to A24’s provocative new movie “The Drama,” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, which made an estimated $14.4 million from 3,087 theaters. The film’s stars have been on a massive and charming press blitz to promote their R-rated movie about a engaged couple grappling with an unnerving revelation, which cost a reported $28 million to produce. The reveal has drummed up a fair amount of cultural discourse. While reviews have been more positive than not (82% on Rotten Tomatoes), it got a less promising B CinemaScore.
“Hoppers” and “Reminders of Him” rounded out the top five. And the box office outlook looks bright overall, up around 30% from last year.
“There’s no better opening act for a great summer than a huge month of April powered by a mega blockbuster like the 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, comscore's head of marketplace trends.
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1.“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” $130.9 million.
2.“Project Hail Mary,” $30.7 million.
3.“The Drama,” $14.4 million.
4.“Hoppers,” $5.8 million.
5.“Reminders of Him,” $2.2 million.
6.“A Great Awakening,” $2.1 million.
7.“They Will Kill You,” $1.9 million.
8.“Dhurandhar The Revenge,” $1.9 million.
9.“Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” $1.8 million.
10.“Scream 7,” 915,000.
Actress Zendaya, left, and actor Robert Pattinson pose for photographers as they arrive for the Italian premiere of the movie "The Drama," in Rome, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
