Time must heal everything, as former Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator and current Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach Liam Coen continued his media tour discussing several topics with much of that surrounding the situation that occurred resulting in him making his way to Duval county to become the next head coach of the Jags.
Bygones are now bygones as both sides have set aside their differences from that fateful day. Coen now has the opportunity to etch his name as a legitimate head coach, but before he gets into the thick of things in Jacksonville, he sat down with Pardon My Take of Barstool Sports and discussed Mike Evans’ record-tying catch against the New Orleans Saints that put him in the same company as Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans warms up before a NFC wild card playoff against the Washington Commanders, / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
“That was one of the coolest moments I have ever been a part of.”
Before Coen could dive any deeper, the guys at PMT then hammered him with the controversy over whether or not the Saints allowed for Evans to reach the record with just a few seconds left on the game clock to tie Rice’s record of consecutive 1,000 receiving yard seasons with 11.
“They didn’t let it happen, not at all. We got him open, and he made a play,” Coen said. “We ran the same exact play in the red zone the prior play, when Baker flips it to Bucky, we had had that play called — but Baker checked out of it cause he thought he was getting zero blitz.
“And so when we got the ball back, we went back to that same play that we wanted to call down there and obviously didn’t check out of it. They weren’t letting that happen, not at all. Ask their coaches, I’ve talked to their coaches, there was no shot they were letting that happen.”
Knowing the history between the Saints and the Bucs, there was absolutely no way they would have let that happen, especially considering Evans’ history against them. The catch against the Saints marked 1,004 receiving yards for Evans, who walked off the field with his head held high with jubilation from his teammates and coaches. It is great to hear Coen still talk so highly about the team that helped him reach the head coaching realm, but if the two ever match up, you best believe that no love will be lost.
