Why Liam Coen and Ben Johnson must avoid repeats of 2018 and 2019
By Andy Davies
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears were two feel-good stories in the 2025 NFL season.
Both teams met in London during the 2024 season but were each picking in the top 10 of the subsequent NFL Draft, after combining for a 9-25 record.
Fast forward to the end of the 2025 season and they both reached the playoffs as division winners with first time head coaches in the role.
Liam Coen and the Jaguars would see their season come to an end in the Wildcard Round, being edged out by the Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, Ben Johnson’s Chicago Bears earned their first playoff win in 15 years.
Down 21-3 at halftime, the Bears scored 25 fourth quarter points to beat their biggest rivals in the Green Bay Packers.
Their postseason run came to end in their next game, as they fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round, despite the heroics of Caleb Williams’ fourth down throw to Cole Kmet.
Despite this, both teams have been here before.
After impressive seasons for the Jaguars and Bears in 2017 and 2018 respectively, their fortunes soon turned sour.
Here is how Coen and Johnson must look to avoid repeats of 2017 and 2018 in the 2026 season.
Can the Jacksonville Jaguars avoid repeat of 'Sacksonville' demise?
The Jaguars had a season to remember in 2017.
In one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, Jacksonville went all the way to the AFC Championship, beating the Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers on the way.
This came after a 10-6 record and division title. Their defense became infamous, earning the nickname Sacksonville. This was a defensive unit that allowed the second least total yards per game, ranked first against the pass and second against the run.
Their fate was sealed in the AFC Championship game. After being 20-10 up with 09:00 remaining in the game clock, the Jaguars lost 24-20 to the New England Patriots.
The wheels soon fell off and the team have failed to reach the same heights again.
Quarterback Blake Bortles, who was already seen as a weak spot during that season, regressed immensely the following season as they won just five games all season.
He would be replaced by Nick Foles, a year removed from guiding the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl glory against the aforementioned Pats team.
His tenure was a disappointment, playing just four games despite signing a four-year $88 million contract with $50.1 million guaranteed. Head coach Doug Marrone was fired after the 2020 season and replaced by Urban Meyer.
Trevor Lawrence was drafted first overall but a beyond disastrous spell as Jaguars head coach saw Meyer fired after just 11 games and a 2-9 record.
Doug Pederson came in to replace Meyer and initially brought success, with a spectacular comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wildcard Round of the 2022 season. TH honeymoon period soon came to an end with Pederson fired following the 2024 season. Coen has come in and had a brilliant first season in charge, but so did Marrone and Pederson.
Neither managed to build on their early momentum and this will be the challenge for Coen in 2026.
Travis Etienne Jr’s departure could be a key moment for the Jaguars’ 2026 season and losing such a key weapon in the backfield could cause problems for the franchise. Once you start to lose games, dominoes start to fall and a Super Bowl window that was ever so slightly open, can be quickly closed.
Can the Chicago Bears continue their momentum?
The words Cody Parkey and double doink bring back bad memories for Bears fans.
After going 12-4 in the 2018 season under head coach Matt Nagy, they won the NFC North and secured the third seed. Up against the reigning champions in the Eagles, kicker Parkey had the chance to send the Bears into the Divisional Round.
However, Parkey missed the 43-yard field goal attempt, hitting both posts.
Until 2025, the Bears had yet to recover from this moment.
Whilst they may have reached the NFL Playoffs in the 2020 season, they did so with an 8-8 record and lost 21-9 to the New Orleans Saints and an ageing Drew Brees.
The Bears have not had a winning season since the 2018 campaign, going 37-63 since. Despite winning Coach of the Year in 2018, Nagy was fired following the 2021 season.
His replacement, Matt Eberflus lasted just two and a half seasons, losing his job after a time management disaster against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.
Johnson has continued his momentum from when he was Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and instilled hope into the fanbase once again.
Like Coen, Johnson has to go out and prove that 2025 was no fluke. Placed in a far tougher division than the Jags head coach, it will be difficult for the team to repeat their NFC North success. With the departures of wide receiver DJ Moore to the Bills and center Drew Dalman to retirement, the nature of Free Agency has seen some of their stars depart.
Whilst the team has kept a lot of their best players, you cannot help thinking that the loss of Moore could be detrimental in the short term for Chicago.
The same would have been said for the Seattle Seahawks when both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett left the team, but their departures allowed for Jaxon Smith-Njigba to thrive. This could also happen for Rome Odunze at the Bears.
Johnson has a big task on his hands. Trying to keep the team in the playoffs may be a harder task than it was to win their first playoff game in 15 years.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER SIX YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS SUCH AS SUPER BOWL LIX AND LX, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JUSTIN JEFFERSON, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, PATRICK MAHOMES, TRAVIS KELCE, DERRICK HENRY, SAQUON BARKLEY AND JALEN HURTS