John Oehser
JACKSONVILLEThe dates are locked, and the stages are set.
The Jaguars as of last Thursday's schedule release now know their 2026 path. Knowing the first step of that path adds whatHead Coach Liam Coenrecently called "a little bit of excitement" to the offseason.
The Jaguars will play the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 at EverBank Stadium, the second consecutive regular season they have opened at home. They beat the Carolina Panthers in the 2025 regular-season opener Coen's first game as head coach at the 'Bank.
The victory over the Panthers gave the Jaguars positive momentum in a time of new direction, and the Browns' game will give the Jaguars the same opportunity in Year 2 under Coen.
Coen during the team's recent rookie minicamp at theMiller Electric Centera few days before the NFL released the 2026 schedule discussed how knowing the Week 1 opponent affects offseason work.
For Coen, preparation begins now.
"Something to start diving into that we can start to almost incorporate in our offseason program is, 'Alright, let's throw some stuff that we know we're going to install and things that we know we're going to run that may be something that pops up on tape that we would envision knowing that we're going to run in Week 1,'" Coen said.
The Jaguars and Browns have played once previously in a regular-season opener, a 27-7 Jaguars victory in Cleveland in 2000. They last played in Week 2 2024, with the Browns winning 18-13 in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars are 12-8 all-time against the Browns with a plus-118 point margin, their highest against any single opponent. Jacksonville's .600 winning percentage versus Cleveland is also its highest against any team.
The Browns, who finished 5-12 in 2025, have a new coaching staff led by first-year Head Coach Todd Monken who coached the Jaguars' receivers from 2007-2010. Monken served the last three seasons as the Baltimore Ravens' offensive coordinator, with Trey Switzer an assistant under Monken the past three seasons now the Browns' offensive coordinator. Mike Rutenburg, a Jaguars defensive assistant from 2013-2019, is now the Browns' defensive coordinator.
Such newness means an element of projection in the preparation process, a process that will begin at least somewhat for the Jaguars during the upcoming on-field portion of the offseason program. Still, Coen said coaches might not make it particularly clear to players exactly when that preparation is happening.
