After Johnson took the Bears job, Coen was the potential front-runner and was scheduled to have a second, in-person interview with the Jaguars on Wednesday, but he opted to remain with the Bucs as offensive coordinator along with a significant raise, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Baalke joined the Jaguars in 2020 as director of player personnel and was promoted to general manager after Khan fired GM Dave Caldwell that November.

Baalke’s tenure started with the selection of quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 pick in 2021 and included Urban Meyer’s calamitous 13-game span as head coach that season. It also included the hiring of head coach Doug Pederson, an AFC South title and a rally from a 27-0 deficit to win a wild-card playoff game in 2022. But it also included the biggest collapse in franchise history in 2023 when the Jaguars started the season 8-3 but missed the playoffs.

Baalke made a questionable decision by choosing defensive end Travon Walker over defensive end Aidan Hutchinson with the No. 1 draft pick in 2022. He also was critical of Pederson, saying the team lacked an identity and the coaching staff did not do a good job of getting the team’s draft picks ready to play in 2023. Baalke signed one of the most disappointing free agent classes in franchise history in 2024.

Last offseason Baalke signed defensive end Josh Hines-Allen, Lawrence and cornerback Tyson Campbell to new contracts worth $492.1 million ($249.9 million fully guaranteed). Hines-Allen has consistently been the team’s best pass rusher, but Lawrence (60.7% completions, 8 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) and Campbell (missed Weeks 2-6 while on IR with a hamstring injury) underperformed.

Nine of Baalke’s 38 draft picks from 2021 to 2024 have become full-time starters, including Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne Jr. (25th overall in 2021), Campbell (33rd overall in 2021), Walker, linebacker Devin Lloyd (27th overall in 2022), right tackle Anton Harrison (27th overall in 2023) and receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (23rd overall in 2024).

However, Baalke’s most controversial move was taking Walker with the No. 1 pick instead of Hutchinson because he believed Hutchinson had reached his ceiling in terms of development while Walker — because of his athleticism (he ran a 4.51 40-yard dash at 272 pounds at the combine) and length (6-feet-5, 35.5-inch arms) — had a much higher upside.

But Hutchinson, who was leading the NFL in sacks this season until he suffered a broken leg on Oct. 13, has outperformed Walker in two-plus seasons: Hutchinson has 28.5 sacks, 65 quarterback hits, 4 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 4 interceptions in 39 games. Walker is far from a bust, but he hasn’t matched that production: 24 sacks, 44 quarterback hits, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception in 40 games.

Baalke did sign one of the league’s better free agent classes in 2022, highlighted by receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, cornerback Darious Williams, tight end Evan Engram and right guard Brandon Scherff. All played a significant role in the team’s AFC South title that season, as did free agent signees from a 2021 class that included cornerback Shaquill Griffin, receiver Marvin Jones Jr. and safety Rayshawn Jenkins in 2021.

But Baalke’s most recent free agent class has been a major disappointment. The Jaguars gave a combined $75.5 million in fully guaranteed money to receiver Gabe Davis, safety/nickelback Darnell Savage, cornerback Ronald Darby, returner Devin Duvernay and defensive lineman Arik Armstead. None made a major impact on a 4-13 team.

When: Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS/Paramount)
FPI projection: BUF, 54.6% (by an average of 1.6 points)
Opening line: KC -1.5 (48.5)

Matchup background: This will be the ninth meeting between quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. They are 4-4 in head-to-head meetings, but Mahomes holds a 3-0 lead over Allen in the postseason. The Bills and Chiefs met in Week 11 this season; Buffalo earned the victory 30-21 in Kansas City’s only loss this season when the Chiefs played their starters. These two teams faced off in last season’s divisional round, and the Chiefs won 27-24. — ESPN

Stat to know: The Bills are seeking to be the third team since 2018 to beat the Chiefs twice in a season (2018 Patriots and 2021 Bengals). — ESPN Research

What we learned about the Chiefs in the divisional round: Kansas City will be difficult to beat as long as tight end Travis Kelce is rolling. Against the Texans, Hollywood Brown, DeAndre Hopkins and JuJu Smith-Schuster all failed to catch a pass, and Xavier Worthy had a pedestrian game. But the Chiefs still found enough offense to score 23 points and advance to the AFC Championship Game because of Kelce.

Kelce had 117 receiving yards, more than half of the Chiefs’ total and more than double his season average of 56. He seemed refreshed coming off a three-week break after the Chiefs secured the top seed with one week left in the regular season. — Adam Teicher

What we learned about the Bills in the divisional round: Buffalo can finish close games in the postseason. In the past, the Bills have struggled in the playoffs to finish tight games and lost in the divisional round in three straight years. The performance against the Ravens showed that this Bills team can succeed even when it’s not pretty and can do so in all three phases. A big test awaits in Kansas City after losing to the Chiefs in all three of the teams’ playoff meetings since 2020. — Alaina Getzenberg

What to know for the NFL playoffs

Early X factor: Worthy. In coach Andy Reid’s system, Worthy can stretch the defense at the third level, which gives Mahomes an explosive target versus Buffalo’s secondary. Reid can also scheme Worthy on manufactured touches when the Chiefs have the ball inside the red zone. He brings a playmaking element to the offense. — Bowen

Why the Chiefs will win: They have individual players who can take over a game. Kelce, after a quiet regular season, showed he still has energy when he racked up seven receptions for 117 yards against the Texans. Chris Jones had just 5.0 sacks in the regular season but delivered far more pass rush wins (62) and pressures (50) than any other defensive tackle. Trent McDuffie was one of the best corners in the league. And we can’t deny that Mahomes can bring postseason magic at any moment this time of year. Even in a down year for the Chiefs quarterback, Kansas City has (rightfully) relied on him, with the second-highest pass rate over expectation in the league (plus-5%), per NFL Next Gen Stats.

On paper, the Chiefs should be underdogs. But the world has seen Mahomes come up big too many times to assume he won’t again. Add home-field advantage, and the Chiefs are almost as scary as ever. Almost. — Walder

Why the Bills will win: They’re the better team. Even entering Sunday, before beating the Ravens, FPI had the Bills 2.9 points better than the Chiefs on a neutral field. Why? Because they played better all season.

The Bills’ 0.25 EPA per dropback entering Sunday is almost double what the Chiefs (0.13) have put together this year. And they’ve been much better on the ground, too — with an 0.07 EPA per play compared with the Chiefs’ minus-0.03 (some of that is buoyed by Allen’s designed runs — but hey, that will help in the AFC Championship Game, too). The Bills have the quarterback who has played much better this year. Allen ranked first in QBR (77.3) this season (entering the game Sunday) while Mahomes ranked eighth (67.7), and Allen gets the benefit of playing behind the superior pass-protecting offensive line.

Buffalo has some pass defense questions. But offense is what drives wins in the NFL and on that side of the ball, the Bills have a clear edge. — Walder

The Bills’ defense found success blitzing Jackson on 13 of 31 dropbacks (42%) and pressuring him on eight of those dropbacks (pressure percentage of 62% when the Bills sent the blitz).

“We have a lot of pride in ourselves, what we do here as a defense,” defensive end AJ Epenesa said. “Just speaking as a defense, we were told all week how they were going to do this, how they going to do that, and that just, I’d like to say, fueled us a little bit. We started this game a little hotter than we have in the past, and that’s something we’ve been emphasizing, and now we need to do that in the second half, start the second half hot and do those kind of things. But to come in with that fire and to kind of start the way we did, I think is good.”

The Ravens were able to score on three of four possessions in the second half — with Bernard, who said the team was motivated all week, forcing a key fumble on the other drive by punching the ball out — and come back within two from an 11-point halftime deficit. But the Bills’ defense, which had the third-most takeaways in the regular season (32), ended up having just enough.

Some of that motivation came from a video shown during the week of what was being said in the media, as defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said, although some players didn’t quite acknowledge it.

“No, y’all don’t know that. That’s confident,” defensive tackle Ed Oliver said. “So, they said we weren’t big enough, we weren’t physical enough, we couldn’t stop the run, da, da, da, da, da. But we won. So, what we talking about?”

Next up for the Bills: getting past the most familiar of foes. They will have a chance to revenge past losses yet again, this time at Arrowhead Stadium against the No. 1 seed Chiefs, a team that has beaten Buffalo in the postseason in all three meetings with Allen and Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, including the 2020 AFC Championship Game. Allen and Mahomes are now tied for the second-most meetings between any two starting quarterbacks in NFL postseason history (Tom Brady and Peyton Manning lead the list at five meetings).

The Bills defeated the Chiefs 30-21 earlier this season in Orchard Park.

“Yeah, man, it’s super exciting,” Hamlin said. “To be playing for an AFC championship is like, crazy to think about, and I feel like it’s only right going up there and playing them. They’ve been what, two-time reigning Super Bowl champions. Back-to-back. No. 1 seed this year. Best record in the NFL. So, it’s only right that you got to go through Arrowhead. One of my favorite places to play.”