A Look At Potential OC Candidates

[Random UK Fan]

If, well, . . . you know.

Candidates to replace Liam Coen if he leaves Kentucky

A look at who could potentially replace Liam Coen if he leaves Lexington.

www.aseaofblue.com

 

[entropy13]

The first 3 names in that article are either terrible suggestions, unlikely, or both. Coley is an intriguing name, and he's a good recruiter too. I know he used to refer to his system as the "Tempro."

Rees would be another potentially interesting name. I don't see Holgorsen as an option because he runs a different system.

All said, I hope Coen stays. If not, my first call might be to Coley.

 

[Deeeefense]

First it appears for the moment the Coen isn't leaving.
If he does from this list I would see Cooley and Rees being the only viable options except maybe Morehead.
Mullen is certainly not going to give up that cushy TV gig to get back into coaching. These other former head coaches will likely land at another school as a head coach at some point even if it's down a level.

I remember when Stoops was hired a lot of fans were hoping to get Cooley then.

 

[UKfan215]

Joe Moorhead. He's the guy I wanted when Stoops hired Coen. If Coen ever leaves again and Moorhead is available, then he is the guy I hope we go after with a vengeance.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Coley was the OC at UGA one year, he was Kirby's worst hire and it want close. But as someone mentioned he is a top flight recruiter with lots of connections around Miami.

 

[WildcatofNati2]

The first 3 names in that article are either terrible suggestions, unlikely, or both. Coley is an intriguing name, and he's a good recruiter too. I know he used to refer to his system as the "Tempro."

Rees would be another potentially interesting name. I don't see Holgorsen as an option because he runs a different system.

All said, I hope Coen stays. If not, my first call might be to Coley.

Moorhead is neither terrible (if anything, the opposite) nor unrealistic. He could probably double his salary here and he's on the hot seat at Akron, which is a no-win deal for any coach anyway. The next two are indeed unlikely. Agree on everything else you posted and also, Holgerson wouldn't waste time here if he has a buyout.

 

[Kybluedude]

Better make the first call to Oregon and their OC Will Stein.
Will’s dad played at UK. Sure should check and see if he’s interested. Little buzz Arizona might look at him as their HC.

Finalist for the Frank Broyles top assistant award. Offense averaged over 45 points per game.

Under Stein, Oregon's offense leads college football in passing yards (351.4 YPG), completion percentage (78.3%), sacks allowed (5), first downs per game (27.3) and scrimmage plays of 10-plus yards (229).

Oregon also ranks No. 2 nationally in a variety of other categories including scoring offense (45.3 PPG), total offense (540.3 YPG), total yards per play (7.85), and fewest turnovers (6).

 

[bigbluedon]

Watched him play years ago at Trinity. He is doing well. Stoops would never hire him. Numbers are too good.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Joker Phillips.

 

[doc4UK]

Tim Couch if he is interested?

 

[BBBLazing]

Watched him play years ago at Trinity. He is doing well. Stoops would never hire him. Numbers are too good.

You are right, Stoops has no desire to win.

 

[azubuikefan]

Tim Couch if he is interested?

Has he ever coached?

 

[The-Hack]

Will’s dad played at UK.

And, “Sunny” Will Stein played at U of L!

 

[Crankdatmustard]

LOL this is the worse piece of writing I have ever seen. Dan Mullen? Jimbo Fisher? The ONLY way either of those guys coach again is at Head coach.....NOT OC at KENTUCKY.

Where do they find these writers at?

 

[bigblueinsanity]

As many across the board mentioned, joe Moorhead should be by far the top candidate. An absolute top tier college OC who should by now have hc dreams out of his system (iirc that's what cost us his hire when we got coen the first time).

It isn't like we would keep him forever but he would bring more stability than coen (which isn't hard). Pay him coen money and he probably gives us 3-5 years and probably only leaves for a title contender.

 

[bigbluedon]

Tim Couch if he is interested?

No. He has never coached a game. We need a proven OC

 

[bigbluedon]

You are right, Stoops has no desire to win.

He has the desire but not the will to implement a system that will allow him to win bigger.

 

[Kybluedude]

And, “Sunny” Will Stein played at U of L!

So what.. he went where he got his college paid for. He would have gone to UK if a scholarship was offered. Just a bit small for the SEC. 3 time state champ in HS.

Obviously one of the top 5 OCs in college football. Successful at every stop. If you watched Oregon you saw a terrific offense.

A step up if UK could get him if needed. Might want to head home but he’s working for a top 5 HC and his next step may be as a HC.

 

[Dddjdd]

Would be surprised if Stein’s next job is not a head coaching job. He’s already a P2 coordinator, I don’t think he’s leaving to coordinate somewhere else.

 

[gamecockcat]

Yeah, Stein is probably already past the point he'd take the UK OC job. Jimbo, Mullen - really? SMH. Moorehead seems like a good choice although I don't really know his 'scheme' that well - translates to the NFL (recruiting tool), good system for college only, inside/outside zone, run-heavy/pass-heavy, play action/RPO, etc.? Can he recruit and develop players and can he adjust his system for the skill set of the players we have each year? Several of those questions would apply to all of the potential OC candidates, of course.

 

[truebluewildcat]

Although Jimbo and Mullen can recruit with the best of them and have succeeded at a high level, I just don't see them meshing with CMS and his ways. Not to mention the egos.

Those guys have won at a higher level than CMS, and they're not going to listen to his shit about anything Xs and Os wise. Then recruiting, they're not following the Big Fella around Ohio. They're going to head south where the talent is.

Reese and Stein are past UK. They're going to get major offers for OC at the very least, and probably HC real soon. I'd say they're both on the radar in the league as well.

CMS will have to either go older guy who isn't looking to rise up the ranks and job hop, or younger guys who aren't really known commodities yet. Assistants/position coaches.

Either way, I think looking to the lower ranks whether it be G5 or lower divisions and find a guy who's proven 2 things. One, he's been loyal and hasn't hopped around all over the place. Two, his offensive stats have a steady trend of being productive, efficient, etc...

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Although Jimbo and Mullen can recruit with the best of them and have succeeded at a high level, I just don't see them meshing with CMS and his ways. Not to mention the egos.

Those guys have won at a higher level than CMS, and they're not going to listen to his shit about anything Xs and Os wise. Then recruiting, they're not following the Big Fella around Ohio. They're going to head south where the talent is.

Reese and Stein are past UK. They're going to get major offers for OC at the very least, and probably HC real soon. I'd say they're both on the radar in the league as well.

CMS will have to either go older guy who isn't looking to rise up the ranks and job hop, or younger guys who aren't really known commodities yet. Assistants/position coaches.

Either way, I think looking to the lower ranks of whether it be G5 or lower divisions and find a guy who's proven 2 things. One, he's been loyal and hasn't hopped around all over the place. Two, his offensive stats have a steady trend of being productive, efficient, etc...

Mullen was fired at UF because of his attitude towards recruiting. Now he is a play caller with few peers, but is not a good recruiter.

 

[cat888]

What abot Eddie Gran already being paid to Coach seemed to do better without as much depth or as good QB's as the last two Coaches would seemed to deserve some Credit for Coaching the players especially the O Line players Coen had in his first year

 

[gamecockcat]

I think Gran is a non-starter. The only possible way it may be plausible is if he runs the Eagles RPO system that incorporates plenty of passing and not just the running game. Otherwise, you can kiss any QB with NFL aspirations goodbye and the WRs that go along with that.

 

[Coach Marrow]

I can’t tell if the Tim Couch people are serious or not

 

[bthaunert]

Better make the first call to Oregon and their OC Will Stein.
Will’s dad played at UK. Sure should check and see if he’s interested. Little buzz Arizona might look at him as their HC.

Finalist for the Frank Broyles top assistant award. Offense averaged over 45 points per game.

Under Stein, Oregon's offense leads college football in passing yards (351.4 YPG), completion percentage (78.3%), sacks allowed (5), first downs per game (27.3) and scrimmage plays of 10-plus yards (229).

Oregon also ranks No. 2 nationally in a variety of other categories including scoring offense (45.3 PPG), total offense (540.3 YPG), total yards per play (7.85), and fewest turnovers (6).

While I agree 100% that he would be a great hire, I wonder if Stoops will steer clear of a hot up and comer like Stein, to bring in a guy like Moorhead who would potentially bring a little more stability to the position. An Eddie Gran (in terms of where they are in their career) type hire.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

What abot Eddie Gran already being paid to Coach seemed to do better without as much depth or as good QB's as the last two Coaches would seemed to deserve some Credit for Coaching the players especially the O Line players Coen had in his first year

Gran is an outstanding coach and oc. Unfortunately the very vocal portion of the fanbase would stupidly revolt if he was rehired and make it miserable on a great man and coach.

There is also the very real issue of perception that built in that hurt recruiting QB/wr. It was unfair but perception is a powerful thing.

 

[The-Hack]

Gran is an outstanding coach and oc.

Gran, on the fly, developed that freak offense in 2019, and had we gone to it two weeks earlier, Lynn Bowden would have ducked and dodged us to a 10 win season.

But you are right: perception then required a change.

Many question if Coen has really proved much. Cutter Boley, Brock Vandergriff and Stone Saunders think he has proven enough, and their opinions outweigh most on the issue.

 

[CapitolHillCat]

That’s the biggest issue I see with Coen leaving. He’s been outstanding recruiting QBs

Apparently he is now also a candidate in Browns search? If he wants to go back to pros, he can probably find a spot this year or next. Stoops is going to need a replacement lined up

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Many question if Coen has really proved much. Cutter Boley, Brock Vandergriff and Stone Saunders think he has proven enough, and their opinions outweigh most on the issue.

Gran is hands the better college OC. If you want to win games at the college level, he's just better. I actually think Gran is the perfect OC for UK in the portal era. He'd let us take the best talent we could get and form an offense around them. He's boring and our fans love to be sold. Plus his guys just don't translate well to the current NFL.

Coen is a great OC too, but his extra value is the NFL/McVey pedigree. That plus is charisma make him a fan mega favorite and recruiting juggernaut especially for QBs and wrs. He isn't great at molding his system to talent but the guys he coaches are much better prepared for the NFL.

 

[BluegrassSportsNet]

Gran is hands the better college OC. If you want to win games at the college level, he's just better. I actually think Gran is the perfect OC for UK in the portal era. He'd let us take the best talent we could get and form an offense around them. He's boring and our fans love to be sold. Plus his guys just don't translate well to the current NFL.

Coen is a great OC too, but his extra value is the NFL/McVey pedigree. That plus is charisma make him a fan mega favorite and recruiting juggernaut especially for QBs and wrs. He isn't great at molding his system to talent but the guys he coaches are much better prepared for the NFL.

Zero passing game. Horrible recruiter. Just a bad take.

 

[RDF922]

It really doesn’t matter who the OC is if the HBC will not let him open things up.

Gran came from Cincinnati where they had a highly effective AND entertaining offense. He got here and was told to slow it down.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Zero passing game. Horrible recruiter. Just a bad take.

Like I said, UK fans love getting sold by a charismatic charmer. Add in that coen calls several deep shots and that section of the fanbase all stare googly eyed at their Liam coen poster on their bedroom wall.

Fact is Gran was hired to open up the offense. He brought an air raid style passing attack that, in the one half before barker broke his back, put up eye popping numbers.

Then after needing to completely change the offense on the fly, we still had a very effective deep pass play action game combined with respectable rpo. The ground game, that was an afterthought, became elite. All that during the season with a matchstick thin nobody transfer QB.

As I often post on here, it's really interesting to see the way a section of our fanbase perceives coen vs other coaches. It's all because UK fans love getting sold and coen loves to do the selling. Since I don't follow other schools, I don't know if that's a unique thing to this base or not

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Coen hasn't left yet so all this speculation is jist that. If not for UK coaching drama this place wouldn't have much to talk about.

I have the confidence that whoever is OC can do enough to win 6 or 7 games next year.

I also know the offense will never be that good with Stoops here.

 

[RDF922]

Coen hasn't left yet so all this speculation is jist that. If not for UK coaching drama this place wouldn't have much to talk about.

I have the confidence that whoever is OC can do enough to win 6 or 7 games next year.

I also know the offense will never be that good with Stoops here.

Your last sentence is KEY.

When the HC doesn’t evolve, it makes it impossible for the OC to “show” what he can really do.

 

[truebluewildcat]

Mullen was fired at UF because of his attitude towards recruiting. Now he is a play caller with few peers, but is not a good recruiter.

Coaches have attitudes towards things in general…ours doesn’t like offense.

Mullen can find QBs, develop, and coach them. That’s all we need. If he doesn’t want to go recruit any other position great, that’s what assistants and a healthy NIL are for.

 

[mrschwump]

Cover story on this site says "college coaches are on the road." Is Coen recruiting currently? Saunders is said to be visiting UK this weekend...is Coen to be here? Seems like easy questions for KY's whiz-bang sports media to find answers to.

 

[JC CATS]

Watched him play years ago at Trinity. He is doing well. Stoops would never hire him. Numbers are too good.

??? Stoops isn't interested in keeping his 9 million dollar job?

 

[BluegrassSportsNet]

Like I said, UK fans love getting sold by a charismatic charmer. Add in that coen calls several deep shots and that section of the fanbase all stare googly eyed at their Liam coen poster on their bedroom wall.

Fact is Gran was hired to open up the offense. He brought an air raid style passing attack that, in the one half before barker broke his back, put up eye popping numbers.

Then after needing to completely change the offense on the fly, we still had a very effective deep pass play action game combined with respectable rpo. The ground game, that was an afterthought, became elite. All that during the season with a matchstick thin nobody transfer QB.

As I often post on here, it's really interesting to see the way a section of our fanbase perceives coen vs other coaches. It's all because UK fans love getting sold and coen loves to do the selling. Since I don't follow other schools, I don't know if that's a unique thing to this base or not

You can’t gloss over the way the passing game constantly regressed every year under Gran until by 2020 there was no passing game. He was as bad as it gets in developing that. He also took a bunch of guys in recruiting out of the state of Florida that would’ve otherwise winded up at FAU/FIU. It really damaged the program. You simply are not telling the full story.

 

[bigbluedon]

??? Stoops isn't interested in keeping his 9 million dollar job?

Apparently he keeps it no matter what as he has made some shitty hires and still has shitty thought processes about how to coach a team. Mitch doesn’t seem to care so it appears Stoops is safe.