SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Robert Hainsey saw it happen in 2024 in Tampa Bay -- and he's seeing it again in Jacksonville now.
In his lone season as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, Liam Coen took Tampa Bay's run game from last in the league to fourth -- which is the same spot at which the Jaguars' run game sits four games into Coen's tenure.
It's not a coincidence, Hainsey said.
"I watched it in Tampa make a huge difference," said Hainsey, a backup center with the Bucs who signed a free agent contract to be the starter in Jacksonville in part to play in Coen's offense again. "When we're playing well with our technique and fundamentals, and Liam's calling it well, [the run game] is really hard to stop, and we haven't reached the level that we're capable of yet, which is exciting."
The step up from 2024 is significant.
The Jaguars are averaging 144 yards per game rushing -- 42 more per game than last year -- and have gained at least 139 or more yards in three of their four games, including 200 in the season opener against Carolina. It's early, but they're on pace for 2,448 yards, which would be the most in franchise history in a 17-game season and the second for them all time.
Travis Etienne Jr.'s 394 yards are third in the NFL, and he leads the league with 6.1 yards per carry. He has had runs of 71 and 48 yards, which equals the number of 20-plus yard runs he had in 2024. The Jaguars had just one 20-plus yard run in the final 12 games this past season.
There isn't much difference in personnel, either. Hainsey and right guard Patrick Mekari, who signed in March after six seasons in Baltimore, are the only new starters on the offensive line. Running back Tank Bigsby, last season's leading rusher, was traded to Philadelphia the day after the season opener, which left Etienne and rookies Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr. as the top three backs.
Everyone else is back from the past several seasons.
The biggest difference is Coen's run scheme, which mixes zone and gap blocking plays, features different runs out of similar formations and uses motion and shifts to create confusion. More importantly, though, is that Coen tailors it around what the players do well.
"It's more just within the scheme having plays off of plays and so that maybe it's less thinking for those guys up front and it's more of the same, but maybe different presentations while also saying, OK, we want to be able to run inside or midzone with a little bit more," Coen said. "So, it's just different ways of keeping your run game diverse so that [defenses] don't get a beat on just you're trying to run it inside every time or outside every time. A mix of zone and gap helps those guys so that when they're hitting blocks, the defense isn't sure if it's going to be zone or gap, to them, or away from them."
That the Jaguars were able to churn out 151 yards on the ground against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, despite right tackle Anton Harrison and Mekari going out with injuries, speaks to the effectiveness of Coen's scheme. There was no drop-off in production with backups Chuma Edoga and Cole Van Lanen on the field.
"I was in that role [as a backup in Tampa] last year, and you know, you're kind of watching the whole game, and every play you're just kind of checking to see if everyone gets up or not," Hainsey said. "When someone doesn't, you've just got to be ready to rock and trust your preparation, trust your technique and fundamentals, and those guys came in and did a great job."
So did Etienne, who ran for 124 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came on a 48-yard run in which he got out on the left sideline, put a move on safety Jason Pinnock and outraced cornerback Deommodore Lenoir to the end zone.
"The offensive line did a great job of setting it up and I just followed my blockers, and they got me to the promised land," Etienne said. "I feel like if they keep blocking like that, I'm going to keep doing what I do."
Etienne is on pace for his third 1,000-yard season in the past four years and has been rejuvenated in Coen's offense after struggling in 2024 when he set career lows in rushing (558 yards) and yards per carry (3.8).
"Right now, he's got a really good feel for what we're trying to do in the run game," Coen said. "Whether it's in the zone or in the gap stuff, I just think Travis has a really good feel for what we're trying to do. He's pressing the line of scrimmage really well and able to go find creases.
"Very pleased with Travis right now and the way that those guys are running."
Coen also praised assistant coach Chad Morton, who has coached running backs in the NFL for 11 seasons, for his part in rejuvenating the Jaguars' ground game. He called Morton the best running backs coach he has ever been around for his work with Etienne as well as having two rookies ready to be contributors.
"I think our backs have done an amazing job of growing in this system and getting a feel for the way we're hitting our blocks and how they're going to hit these runs based on that," Coen said. "I think they're even seeing the [defensive] fronts to where they have an expectation of when the ball is snapped, they understand where we're trying to get to and where they're going to probably end up and then if that's not there, taking their reads, trusting their progression and getting north and south as soon as they can."