The Jacksonville Jaguars experienced a massive culture shift under head coach Liam Coen’s leadership, and has largely been praised by current and former players alike. While some of the coaching staff was retained, there were numerous new hires to help usher in the change last offseason.
This includes Edgar Bennett, hired as the Jaguars’ wide receivers coach after coaching the same position for the Las Vegas Raiders since 2018. He had previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. Bennett’s path to becoming a wide receivers coach may seem unusual, given that he was a running back in college and in the NFL, where he most notably won a Super Bowl playing with the Packers in 1996.
After his playing career ended, he began coaching, and in 2005, switched from a running backs coach to a wide receivers coach under Mike McCarthy, and never looked back. With his experience as both an NFL player and coach, Bennett has spent decades around winning organizations, and recognizes many of the same team-first principles in the culture Coen is building.
“I think in my journey, I think it all kind of helps me become the person that I want to continue to grow to be,” Bennett said. “And I think I did play an important role because I know the mindset going back there is no different than the mindset here with Coach Coen. I mean, it’s all about being a good teammate and putting your team first.
Bennett continued, “And our receivers here, they have that mindset where we got to block. If you want the rock, as they say, you got to block, you got to do your part, being a good teammate. And it dates back to, like I said, maybe during the days of Coach Bowden until the current right now, here and now with the Jags. And so I’m excited that Coach gave me this opportunity to be a part of something special. And his philosophy, his ability to set the culture here and make it about guys understanding why Jags help Jags and the culture here is just phenomenal.”
The comments made by Bennett are reminiscent of numerous others from Jaguars coaches and players alike. And they echo a theme that’s been repeated throughout the offseason: under Coen, individual success comes second to team success.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: WR coach Edgar Bennett details team-first mentality in Jaguars offense
Reporting by Casandra Chesser, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
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By Casandra Chesser, Jaguars Wire | USA TODAY Network
