I'm guessing he did. Probably a smart move since it seems his whole recruitment changed in our favor when Liam came back.
Do you think Coen promised Boley he would not leave here to get his commit ?
- Thread starter Uncle Adolph
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The way people lie today. Who would believe anything that is being said in recruiting?? You just gotta go with your gut because no one is going to say “yea man… if the Rams come calling I’m outa here. I’m sure Cohn told Levis he was gonna be here too.
Haha, no. Coaches promises ain't worth wooden nickels, any of em, up to including Saban.
But I'm sure Coen has said privately to recruits the same thing he has said to the media....it will be best for his coaching career if he stays more than a yr. That moving after a yr again will damage his resume.
Boley & his family are smart. This commitment is worth as much as Coen's intentions to stay 3 yrs. Coen could find a promotion after this season. Boley could decommit and sign elsewhere in Dec or Feb.
But I'm sure Coen has said privately to recruits the same thing he has said to the media....it will be best for his coaching career if he stays more than a yr. That moving after a yr again will damage his resume.
Boley & his family are smart. This commitment is worth as much as Coen's intentions to stay 3 yrs. Coen could find a promotion after this season. Boley could decommit and sign elsewhere in Dec or Feb.
I'm sure Boley and his Dad talked with Coen about it. Any intelligent family would. But any coach can leave at anytime. If Boley were to commit to AL, Saban would almost certainly retire while he would be there, and recent history suggests his OC would be different almost every year. If Boley were to commit to MI, Harbaugh could leave for the NFL. Life is about adapting.
If Coen were to get a nice P5 offer due to success here, would Boley (and others) follow would be the more appropriate question
JMI but I don't think Coen would be that hot of a commodity for a head coaching position at this stage in his career. His resume just doesn't support that kind of jump - 1 year as OC at the Rams which was a disaster (mostly due to injuries), and an above average year here, and this year TBD. However I could see a Bama or a Georgia trying to make a run at him for an OC position.
Yeah he needs 1 to 2 more years of success to be in that hot commodity headh coaching category, but that said I think that will happen for him
I doubt it but that stuff doesn't matter like it used to. Nowadays if coen leaves, boley could just follow if he wanted
Ya I’ve been confused by the Coen Boley connection. I love it and can’t wait to see what the ‘24 class ends up looking like. But if Coen stays two years, Boley probably never starts a game for him because that second year would be his true freshman year. So if Coen stays 3 there’s a good chance Boley starts one year under him. Would obviously get to learn from Coen his true freshman year too though.
I think kids are too smart to believe that from an assistant coach who very likely wants to be a head coach. But he is in year 1, granted his 2nd first year, but he is likely at UK for at least 2-3 years, probably longer.
Coen isn't bringing Boley in to set the bench and Boley isn't coming in to be a backup in 24.
The starting QB job for 24 is Boley's to lose. He is coming in January with the intention of winning that starting job and Coen will give him every opportunity to take it.
Boley is Coen’s pick and the anchor for the 24 class. That will carry a lot of weight in who wins QB1 for 24.
Respectfully, IDK how you are so certain of this. The jump from Lexington area hs football to SEC starter is huge. Dane Key did it, but Dane is not a QB. Boley has a great future, and just about the only way to screw up his career would be to rush him and get him hurt. Injuries can happen at anytime in a college football career. They happen to seniors. But the most vulnerable players are the least prepared physically, playing in the most physical conferences. I hate to bring this up, but we have seen it happen before here. At 6'5" 200#, Boley can use some strength work. I am not saying Boley won't start in 2024, and I am not saying he will. I don't doubt his intelligence. But you are exactly right that Coen elected to make Boley one of his top priorities in this class. I tend to doubt the commitment is "play me right away". More likely, it is "make the best QB out of me that I can become". Mark Stoops is in this for the long haul, and he understands how important it will be for Boley to succeed.
So if Boley is physically and mentally ready to play, then I'm sure Coach Coen will turn him loose. But not out of any sense of having to. Boley is a Wildcat now. There will be 84 others, and everyone gets treated the same on this team. Not saying I am not excited today though. I sure am!
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I can be so sure of this based on what Boley said about signing with UK today.
"I definitely plan on coming in my true freshman year and competing for that starting spot immediately,” Boley told KSR. “I’m coming to compete my freshman year, but after that, it’s on me. It’s on me to play. I have to go in there and just do my thing.”
So we know what Boley's intent for playing as a Freshman and I am sure Coen will work extra hard to make that happen.
I think what you wrote about concerns for younger players not being physically and mentally ready to compete in the SEC is an almost fatal flaw at times, especially for UK.
Bama doesn't hesitate to start true freshmen, even at QB. Neither does Clemson, or OK or Ohio State.
If Boley is as good as advertised put him out there and get an offensive line in place that can protect him..
Yes, he will make some mistakes. Might lose us some games we could have won with a 5th year transfer QB.
But, if he is truly a franchise QB with a future as a Pro, hand him the reigns next year and build the team around him.
Who knows, he might just be the next Trevor Lawrence or Tua. They did ok as freshmen.
I don't think he did. You would think Boley and his family would know Coen is here 3 to 4 yrs at the most
Eh if I got a scholarship to anywhere you dang right I’m coming in to try to win the spot. You don’t want the kids that aren’t trying to win the spot. I want everyone on the team to be trying to take their respective spot.
I’m on the coen four year and take over train if he is as good as we hope he will be(again)
Top what 12 make it his freshman year? No reason we shouldn’t have aspirations of making that during his career. Then stoops retires with streets named after him and coen takes over and we’re the hot name. One can dream. But at least it doesn’t feel …. Impossible now.
Top what 12 make it his freshman year? No reason we shouldn’t have aspirations of making that during his career. Then stoops retires with streets named after him and coen takes over and we’re the hot name. One can dream. But at least it doesn’t feel …. Impossible now.
If he has a good year this year with Leary and a successful couple of years developing Boley into an elite QB then I could easily see him getting a decent P5 offer and taking some players with him.
That would be a lateral move. Same position, different place. Succeeding at the top level here makes a better resume than the same stats at Alabama.
Just me but I think Coen seen he was happier at UK. (Fans loved him, administration and university full support and local community support).
I also think Stoops is going to give him full confidence and let him call the offense as he wants and not interfere. (I do think past years Stoops stepped in more often than not).
I think Coen will be here at min 4 years.
I also think Stoops is going to give him full confidence and let him call the offense as he wants and not interfere. (I do think past years Stoops stepped in more often than not).
I think Coen will be here at min 4 years.
Liam Coen in his one year fully earned the trust of the Big Blue Nation. If you seriously think about that, that is really something. Many of us have said future head coach and I agree. I have suggested he might even be on the Lincoln Riley plan with Mark. Coach Stoops has done a spectacular job at UK. I don't know anything and have never met Coach Stoops - but I believe he wants to win 100 games as a head coach - based on his last several years that will put him on 4 or 5 more years at UK. Also puts him at 60 years old or so. I wouldn't be surprised to see him do a Bob Stoops thing then, I also wouldn't be surprised to see him take a huge role in the UK athletic department as well. Coach Stoops has helped groom and create several future head coaches and his coaching tree is really expanding. I can think of at least 5 coaches that have are currently either head coaches or on the path to soon be head coaches if they want to be head coaches.
With the current pay for assistant coaches -some coaches like be co-ordinators and nothing wrong with that as well. Some co-ordinators are not cut out to be head coaches either. Joker Phillips is our own example. Joker was a great assistant and did many things for UK. It is unfortunate the way his head coaching career ended here - but it was also obvious to almost anyone that he wasn't head coaching material very, very early in his career at UK.
So, we will all watch and see what happens in the future with Matt House, Brad White and Scott Woodward as well as continuing to watch John Sumrall and Neal Brown. The current staff probably has a three or more future head coaches on it as well. This staff reminds of the staff Blanton Collier had when he was at Kentucky. For you younger guys who also are interested in football history - go back and look at some of those staffs and where and what those guys did.
Go Big Blue!
First, I read your comments and know you have a good comprehension of the college game.
But EVERY new player comes to compete. What is Boley supposed to say? Stoops and Coen bring every recruit here to compete. Boley will compete.
Trevor Lawrence actually didn't start at Clemson until Dabo benched Kelly Bryant for the fifth game. Lawrence, a consensus 5 star, was similar to Boley physically at the time. But Lawrence competed against a higher level of competition at Cartersville hs and didn't reclassify. He didn't start right away, even though the ACC isn't the SEC. Tua didn't start immediately either. Tua sat and waited all season for his opportunity.
I believe Coen will teach Boley to be the best player he can become. It is not Coen's job to build his depth chart based on star ratings, and it is not his job to rush Boley into starting. Coen's job is to develop Boley AND every other player on UK's offensive roster, so that UK's offense consistently scores points and minimizes mistakes. There is no doubt that Boley is a key component of UK's future offense. We all understand this. But I still think people (not necessarily you) place too much emphasis on player ratings. Boley is not the first highly rated player to commit to Stoops, and won't be the last. Boley is a 2025 player reclassifying to 2024 at the most difficult position on the field. Coen will start him once Coen knows Boley is ready, physically and mentally. Coen will know when it is the right time.
We can imagine a scenario where Coen decides the best path for Boley is to use the nonconference schedule to get Boley ready for the conference season, if Coen believes Boley is physically and mentally ready. That means knowing the playbook, winning confidence in UK's locker room, executing an SEC game plan, and having a working knowledge of Coen's presnap reads and audibles. Enrolling in January helps, but he will still be a true freshman. So I could also imagine a different scenario where Boley sits and waits while learning the playbook and presnap reads, like Lawrence and Tua did. We just don't know. This is more than a year away.
I am excited by Boley's commitment and look forward to his UK career. If not for Coach Coen, Boley would not be coming here. I have confidence in Coen, and am happy to let Coen do his job. JMO.
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I know a lot of people think that young hot coordinators makes good head coaches but I just fundamentally disagree with that.
If you look at the resumes of the best coaches in college football you will see that most all of them had very lengthy coaching careers as position coaches some in NFL as well as college and then most eventually elevated to coordinator prior to getting a top jog - here is some examples of years of coaching before getting a head job:
Lincoln Riley - 13 years
Nick Saban - 22 years
Ryan Day - 15 years
Dabo Swinney - 15 years
Kirby Smart - 17 years
Mark Stoops - 23 years
There's just way too much that goes into managing a team beyond Xs and Os. You have to be able to relate and interact with 120 unique personality, know how to recruit and manage a coaching staff, develop the kind of culture you need for winning, handle adversity. etc.
All that takes years of working in various situations to develop. I just can't think of any "hot young OCs or DC" that may the leap to P5 head coach after a few years and being able to achieve a lengthy record of success - not just one or two good years.
But Lincoln Riley, Mark Stoops, Kirby Smart, and Ryan Day were young "hot" coordinators. It is a well established truth that experience is almost always helpful, usually very helpful. But each individual is different, and each of us learns at his/her own pace. Each work environment is different, and degrees of difficulty vary.
But to address Coen specifically, he isn't ready yet to be an SEC hc. Who can say when he will be? That is an unknown.
Stoops will be at UK for many years. I am glad he will be.
But to address Coen specifically, he isn't ready yet to be an SEC hc. Who can say when he will be? That is an unknown.
Stoops will be at UK for many years. I am glad he will be.
Sure after they had double digit years as position coaches. It's not unusual to move from coordinator to head coach, my point is the most successful coaches almost always have a lengthy history of lower level coaching position prior to.
I think it's safe to say that every highly ranked kid who has been dominant for a good while in HS to think he will start as a true frosh. Coen has to have a competition for QB, and get t
This has alot to do with sone of those coaches being selective than not having an opportunity to be a head coach before they accepted their present job. And you are absolutely correct about hot young coordinators not always being successful head coaches. But that is not going to stop school X from hiring a hot young coordinator is the next great head coach. UK did that with the last 2 hires, UGA has done it for 60+ years. It's what ambitious coordinators do, move up the ladder.
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Oh I agree with that. Smart for instance, I'm betting he got multiple head job offers every year he was at Bama. So opportunity or being wise enough to know they weren't ready for a head job yet, whatever the reason the data speaks for itself.
You used the word "most" to qualify your comment, so that makes it a reasonable observation in general. Dabo was never a coordinator anywhere. Lane Kiffin was OC at USC for one season prior to getting a series of college and pro HC jobs. Brian Kelly was a coordinator at Grand Valley State for 2 seasons. Every individual and every professional environment are different. This kind of reminds me of the old argument about whether OCs or DCs make better HCs. The answer is that it depends on the individual and the school.
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If Kentucky wins a sec title on the back of coens offense that’s the only way I see Liam jumping in the ranks quickly to be considered a candidate for a legit P5 program. First thing is. What are the odds of that happening? The other thing is this. Most P5 programs want a HC that has been around college football enough to understand how to run a program. Outside of UK coen doesn’t have enough big college big program experience. Coen is a solid 4-5 years away from being P5 head coach material especially after coming, leaving (unsuccessful return to la) then returning.
Brian Kelly btw didn’t go from Grand Canyon to p5 school. He went a different route to p5 HC he went the mid major route. Lane kiffin? That’s Monte’s son which brings opportunity off the bat.
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