Liam Coen can laugh about it now. When the Jaguars coach heard Sean Payton call his team a “smaller market” last offseason, Coen used it to motivate his team in the lead-up to the Broncos-Jaguars matchup in Week 16. Jacksonville won that game decisively, and Coen jabbed at Payton’s comments in the aftermath.
Months later, the two joked about it at the NFL owners’ meetings, Coen said. Perhaps seeing some of himself in Coen, Payton gave the Jaguars coach “some love” for how he handled the small-market comments. Itap not just the two head coaches who share similar traits as the two franchises prepare to meet again in Denver on Sunday.
The Broncos and Jaguars have shared an interest in several players across the draft, free agency and trades in recent years. Pat Bryant, R.J. Harvey, Que Robinson, Travis Etienne Jr., J.K. Dobbins, Tim Patrick, Devaughn Vele and Chris Rodriguez Jr. are all players that were tied to both front offices.
Both teams have a calculation in the draft of how they approach players. Jacksonville’s front office calls it “Jaguars DNA,” a grading system on how each prospect would fit into the team’s dynamic.
Similar to the Broncos, Jacksonville particularly values collegiate playing experience. In 2026, the Jaguars selected only one player (seventh-round defensive end Zach Durfee of Washington) who appeared in fewer than 40 games in his college career. Denver picked just one player with fewer than 40 games in its 2025 class.
Those similarities often lead the two franchises to target the same players.
In the 2025 draft, Coen and general manager James Gladstone’s first draft, the Jaguars were interested in three eventual Broncos selections: Harvey, Bryant and Robinson. Jacksonville officials told Bryant at the NFL Combine that they were planning to select him early in the fourth round if he was on the board, Bryant told The Denver Post. The Broncos beat them to it, picking Bryant in the third round, much higher than his fifth- or sixth-round projection.
Bryant, a Jacksonville native, said the Jaguars met with him for at least an hour at the combine. He said they liked his toughness, his blocking ability and his length as a perimeter wideout.
“My meetings with the Jaguars were a lot longer, more detailed and scaled out. The Broncos were more learning me as a player, who I am. From what Sean told me, (Denver) already knew,” Bryant told The Post.
Earlier in the draft, the Jaguars and Coen were high on another Florida native. Coen was reportedly “smitten” with Harvey’s talents, according to The Athletic. A picture of a shirtless Harvey from the combine was projected onto the Jaguars’ big board screen during the draft as Coen urged Gladstone to trade up for the University of Central Florida running back.
Instead, the Broncos took Harvey with the 60th overall pick. Deshon Lawrence, a former director of player development and pro liaison for UCF, told The Post that Harvey “aced” the pre-draft process. Lawrence said Harvey’s combine showing and interviews took him from a third-round pick into the second round.
“Everyone loved RJ around the building. Always had a smile. He passed that part of it, that got him over the top,” Lawrence said.
Later that summer, the Jaguars tried to trade for Broncos receiver Devaughn Vele. After the Saints eventually landed him, Jacksonville traded a sixth-round pick for another former Denver wideout — Tim Patrick.
Then last offseason, the two organizations nearly swapped running backs. The Jaguars came extremely close to signing J.K. Dobbins, according to The Denver Postap reporting, while the Broncos were interested in adding Etienne Jr. and Rodriguez before they brought back Dobbins on a two-year deal with $8 million fully guaranteed.
Mutual respect
ESPN National NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler told The Post both teams lean towards tough, physical and stout running backs. Pass protection and catching the ball out of the backfield are also priorities for both Coen and Payton, Fowler said.
Payton said the team’s interest in similar players reveals how each franchise, in this case, Jacksonville, evaluates the makeup of a prospect or player.
“It tells you a little bit about how they’re valuing the totality of the read (on a player) and how they’re putting it all together,” Payton said. “It tells you that more than it tells you (similar) system.”
Then there’s the similarities between the two men at the top of each franchise. Itap not difficult to see the shared tendencies between Payton and Coen.
Both are offensive-minded coaches who worked under an iconic coach — Payton under Bill Parcells and Coen under Sean McVay. Coen said he’s “learned so much football” from Payton and that he’s modeled some of his play-calling from the Broncos coach.
Then take last year’s drama between the two coaches. Coen used Payton’s comments that Jacksonville was a “smaller market” to motivate his team throughout the week. After the Jaguars’ 34-20 win at Empower Field, Coen threw a jab at Payton in his postgame press conference.
“Great team effort. Just thankful that a small market team like us can come into a place like Mile High and get it done,” Coen said.
Fowler said he suspects Payton was impressed by Coen’s antics.
“Sean probably would have done the same thing if he was Liam Coen … The great coaches use everything as motivation, because you gotta find it somewhere,” Fowler said. “Maybe Sean was trying to test him in some way, or have fun with another coach. I don’t know, but those mind games are a part of it.”
Payton said he has a good relationship with Coen. In January 2023, he encountered Coen as he was walking out of the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, Calif. Coen had just left the Los Angeles Rams for a job as the offensive coordinator at Kentucky, while Payton was set to interview for the Broncos job. The two ran into each other in the lobby, Coen checking out, Payton checking, and had a brief conversation.
Three years later, both are leading AFC contenders. They’ll play on Sunday in an environment that quarterback Bo Nix deemed like a “playoff game.”
It’ll feature several familiar faces on both sidelines.
