diff --git a/src/components/insights/coach-panel/__tests__/coach-input.test.tsx b/src/components/insights/coach-panel/__tests__/coach-input.test.tsx
index 891d6264c..1ee7ef2c9 100644
--- a/src/components/insights/coach-panel/__tests__/coach-input.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/insights/coach-panel/__tests__/coach-input.test.tsx
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ describe("<CoachInput>", () => {
     expect(html).toContain('data-slot="coach-input-send"');
   });
 
-  it("puts the textarea above a split control row on phones", () => {
+  it("keeps the textarea and its controls on one row at every width", () => {
     const html = render(
       <CoachInput
         value=""
@@ -258,10 +258,20 @@ describe("<CoachInput>", () => {
     const controls = html.match(
       /<div[^>]*data-slot="coach-input-controls"[^>]*>/,
     );
-    expect(controls?.[0]).toMatch(/\bw-full\b/);
-    expect(controls?.[0]).toMatch(/\bjustify-between\b/);
-    expect(controls?.[0]).toMatch(/\bsm:w-auto\b/);
-    expect(controls?.[0]).not.toMatch(/\bsm:contents\b/);
+    // The controls sit BESIDE the textarea, not under it. Stacking them made an
+    // empty composer two rows tall — a text line plus a 44 px tap-target row —
+    // which is roughly a tenth of a phone screen before anyone has typed. The
+    // controls must therefore never claim the full width or push themselves
+    // onto their own line.
+    expect(controls?.[0]).not.toMatch(/\bw-full\b/);
+    expect(controls?.[0]).not.toMatch(/\bjustify-between\b/);
+    expect(controls?.[0]).toMatch(/\bshrink-0\b/);
+
+    // And the row itself is a row at every width, bottom-aligned so the send
+    // button stays beside the last line as the textarea grows.
+    const shell = html.match(/<div[^>]*class="[^"]*\bflex-row\b[^"]*"[^>]*>/);
+    expect(shell?.[0]).toMatch(/\bitems-end\b/);
+    expect(shell?.[0]).not.toMatch(/\bflex-col\b/);
   });
 
   it("sizes the hub actions trigger to the 44px tap-target floor on phones", () => {
diff --git a/src/components/insights/coach-panel/coach-input.tsx b/src/components/insights/coach-panel/coach-input.tsx
index 123e4f97c..a17d49b7e 100644
--- a/src/components/insights/coach-panel/coach-input.tsx
+++ b/src/components/insights/coach-panel/coach-input.tsx
@@ -419,9 +419,17 @@ export function CoachInput({
           "border-border/60 bg-muted/40 group rounded-2xl border",
           "shadow-sm transition-colors",
           "focus-within:border-primary/50 focus-within:ring-primary/50 focus-within:bg-background focus-within:ring-2",
-          // Mobile uses two rows. Desktop keeps the same DOM and visual order
-          // (textarea, actions, Send) so keyboard focus never jumps backwards.
-          "flex flex-col gap-1.5 p-1.5 sm:flex-row sm:items-end",
+          // One row at every width. Mobile used to stack the controls under the
+          // textarea, which made an EMPTY composer two rows tall: a 44 px line
+          // plus a 44 px touch-target row plus padding, around a tenth of a
+          // phone screen before anyone had typed anything. The stacking was
+          // there to protect keyboard focus order, but that argument does not
+          // hold: focus follows DOM order, and the DOM order (textarea,
+          // actions, Send) is identical in both layouts. Nothing jumps.
+          //
+          // `items-end` keeps the controls beside the LAST line as the textarea
+          // grows, so the send button stays where the thumb left it.
+          "flex flex-row items-end gap-1.5 p-1.5",
         )}
       >
         <textarea
@@ -447,7 +455,7 @@ export function CoachInput({
         />
         <div
           data-slot="coach-input-controls"
-          className="order-2 flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-1.5 sm:w-auto sm:shrink-0 sm:justify-start"
+          className="order-2 flex shrink-0 items-center gap-1.5"
         >
           <div
             data-slot="coach-input-leading"