Liam Coen: Now that the dust has settled and the emotions have died down, why do you think he wanted out so badly ?

[Uncle Adolph]

The man was willing to interview for dog catcher of Fayette County if the job had come open. He said he wanted to put down roots. What changed ?
He told players and recruits he was going to be here. What changed ?
It makes you wonder what happened behind the scenes that we will never know about.
I do like what I have seen and know about our new OC and have no reason to think he won't do a good job.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

NFL culture too enticing?

 

[Deeeefense]

He took two interviews, one was with the Chicago Bears one with Tampa Bay Bucks both were opportunities to be NFL OCs with play calling responsibilities which IMO were unexpected opportunities that he felt he could not pass up.

IMO that's the end of the story. Nothing to do with Stoops wanting to control the offense or other conspiracies. We have a really good OC that has a lot of strengths including a lot more experience in coaching the college game and I'm 100% satisfied with that choice. Time to move on.

 

[truebluewildcat]

Real simple, said it in other posts when things were more emotional.

Dude is 38 and climbing the coaching ladder with the ultimate goal of being HC, most likely in the league.

Specifically, guys with his coaching pedigree are getting gigs left and right because his system/lineage is hot right now. May not be the case 5-6 years from now when a new coaching tree takes off.

Also, all the CFB fuss and changes right now. Most likely he started to lose interest in dealing with portal/NIL, no offseason.

NFL is a great gig. Coaches coach, front office/gm and finance people deal with who gets paid what, and scouts do all the traveling around the country to find talent.

Let's not forget Tampa is a ready-made playoff team. Solid QB, all-time great WR, and solid HC in a division that isn't really tough.

Literally just sent a first year OC to be a HC. All LC has to do is win a playoff game and he'll most likely be a HC within a year or two.

 

[Girthang]

The man was willing to interview for dog catcher of Fayette County if the job had come open. He said he wanted to put down roots. What changed ?
He told players and recruits he was going to be here. What changed ?
It makes you wonder what happened behind the scenes that we will never know about.
I do like what I have seen and know about our new OC and have no reason to think he won't do a good job.

Because people just can't stop bringing up negative sht constantly and consistently, even when we seem to have upgraded the position? Why beat another dead horse?

 

[mrschwump]

Basically I think he preferred the NFL game but don't overlook not having to recruit as a big reason. Recruiting is tough, long hours plus time spent away from young families. Also one doesn't have to kiss the ass of a bunch of 18 y/o prima donnas. I don't hold it against him at all, career decision. Had he left for another college job I'd feel differently.

Have a lifelong friend who was a college asst and he told stories of his wife meeting him at an airport to exchange suitcases of clothes, being away from her and 2 young boys for days/weeks at a time. Took a toll, he eventually left the college ranks and had a very successful coaching career at the HS level.

 

[FilsonCat]

Coen is an ambitious guy. It may not be more complicated than wanting another shot OC in the NFL. His last go round for LA didn't work out, and these openings landed in his lap.

 

[Jondale72]

Liam is UK's version of Kiffin. He sees everything beyond where is currently at as a better opp

 

[Coach Marrow]

I think his goal was always the NFL. The first time Stoops gave him a chance to leave McVay and call his own plays. The second time we were big money and a comfy landing spot just in case McVay retired or if Liam got demoted.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

I don't know how demanding CMS on his coaches for their recruiting part of the job. I imagine he is pretty demanding. I know Kirby is demanding and we have lost coaches because of it. Here is a real kicker, Carolina is all over Beamer and his recruiting, Kirby told him to find his lazy arse another job because he wouldn't be in Athens the next season. We lost Rocker and Luke because they didn't like the schedule Kirby demanded.

Not accusing CMS of anything, but it could have been an issue for a coach with a couple of young kids.

 

[Supafuzz75]

Fk him.. I hope he fails miserably..

 

[Cat06]

I don't think it helped matters when Stoops showed how much loyalty he had, as he accepted the TA&M job.

 

[Ky grandpa]

There may have been several factor's in why Coen left UK for an NFL job... I would think an opportunity there was the most factor.... This was a for real OC job...

GBB

 

[The-Hack]

Frankly, I don’t much care.

Looks like Stone Saunders is still on board, and his loss was all I really feared.

 

[robo222]

There had to be an ill wind blowing my opinion. Yenser got another year and then he didn’t and was let go. Wolford brought in. Yenser was Coens guy best I remember. Coen was looking around and perhaps that didn’t sit well? It was a bad set of circumstances but alls well that ends well… I like who we have on paper. And FWIW I think Coen is a bust with the Titans…

 

[247CATS]

Not sure what happened but willing to bet Stoops had something to do with it.

 

[mrschwump]

There had to be an ill wind blowing my opinion. Yenser got another year and then he didn’t and was let go. Wolford brought in. Yenser was Coens guy best I remember. Coen was looking around and perhaps that didn’t sit well? It was a bad set of circumstances but alls well that ends well… I like who we have on paper. And FWIW I think Coen is a bust with the Titans…

Coen isn't with the Titans.

 

[robo222]

Coen isn't with the Titans.

Yeah/thanks/he’s down with Mayfield … And he’s erratic/👍

 

[CRZ4UK]

So many things to guess
He had some kind of health scare. Maybe his wife says… This college shit requires to many hours and is to stressful.
Stoops asked him for a 3 year commitment when he came. 1st year He tries to leave for A&M. I could see him saying MF you demanded commitment from ME!!! Now you’re leaving. That would not sit well with me.
Coen brought in his best buddy Woodward. He was the ONLY ASSISTANT COACH FIRED. Others performed as badly. Why you fire my Guy MF???
Just too many possible to count.

 

[UKfirst]

Frankly, I don’t much care.

Looks like Stone Saunders is still on board, and his loss was all I really feared.

^This

 

[bigblueinsanity]

He's ambitious, wanted his shot at the NFL, and felt like his brand was slipping at UK. I actually think he tried to back out of coming here after signing the contract. If we recall, there was a scary period there when it kinda seemed like things weren't as certain as they were and I think that's because he developed a good bond with Baker.

Jmo but middle of last season he decided he wanted to go back. I think he was talking with Baker all that time and I think that, combined with offensive struggle, was what brought on the panic attack. I'd go as far as bet he and Baker were looking at the bears together but the bears decided to go the draft route.

I didn't even care about any of that. In fact I understood it. The part I hated was the constant lying about wanting to build something there, liking the area, etc etc when any objective person knew that was all lies.

All told he was excellent here but not a loss that can't be filled. I'm excited to see a return to inside zone power game coupled with a competent mobile pass game. I'm excited to hopefully see an OC who isn't afraid to stick with the run when it's working and not afraid to refuse multiple deep shots a game to a wr who lacks the skillset to haul them in.

 

[The-Hack]

I'm excited to hopefully see an OC who isn't afraid to stick with the run when it's working and not afraid to refuse multiple deep shots a game to a wr who lacks the skillset to haul them in.

Yes, and one willing to ride a hot-handed receiver, aka, Barion and Dane, when they are having their best day.

(The Louisville game looked nothing like the South Carolina Game.)

 

[YaketySax]

Being a NFL coordinator is more prestigious, possibly better paying in some circumstances, and doesn't require any recruiting. I think that's why he left, and more college coordinators would do so if they had the NFL ties that he had.

 

[BlueRaider22]

He never changed.

• Brown (2010)
  Quarterbacks coach
• Rhode Island (2011)
  Pass game coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Brown (2012–2013)
  Quarterbacks coach
• UMass (2014–2015)
  Pass game coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Maine (2016–2017)
  Offensive coordinator
• Los Angeles Rams (2018–2019)
  Assistant wide receivers coach
• Los Angeles Rams (2020)
  Assistant quarterbacks coach
• Kentucky (2021)
  Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Los Angeles Rams (2022)
  Offensive coordinator
• Kentucky (2023)
  Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2024–present)
  Offensive coordinator

The guy has had 10-11 jobs in the last 14 yrs.

 

[mrschwump]

He never changed.

• Brown (2010)
  Quarterbacks coach
• Rhode Island (2011)
  Pass game coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Brown (2012–2013)
  Quarterbacks coach
• UMass (2014–2015)
  Pass game coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Maine (2016–2017)
  Offensive coordinator
• Los Angeles Rams (2018–2019)
  Assistant wide receivers coach
• Los Angeles Rams (2020)
  Assistant quarterbacks coach
• Kentucky (2021)
  Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Los Angeles Rams (2022)
  Offensive coordinator
• Kentucky (2023)
  Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2024–present)
  Offensive coordinator

The guy has had 10-11 jobs in the last 14 yrs.

Not unusual, life of an asst coach. Smart, for instance, had 9 jobs his first 9 years of college coaching.

 

[TM2013]

It's a promotion to a better job. Most ppl take promotions to better jobs. Mystery solved.

 

[thebigbluemachine]

His boss tried to quit and asked him to move to College Station. He started looking at a backup plan then.

 

[billoliver40]

For me, I think it was a shot to coach the biggest show on earth. Doesn't have to recruit.
He ran a pro multiple offense here and will get to use that with...well...pros. he doesn't have to translate his playback, he can get pretty much mad scientist if he wants, he doesn't have to think about players getting homesick.

I thought it was obvious no matter what he said that he was going back to the pros.

Be interesting to see what he can contribute....there.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

One of the things everyone is overlooking is he had no real connection to UK, that I am aware of, he had no feelings for UK. It was a job, where he could call plays. It's pretty clear from his actions he rather coach in the NFL. The opportunity came and he took it. Maybe CMS flirting with ATM played apart but I doubt it. He wanted to be an NFL OC calling plays. He took the first opportunity that came. Wasn't anything against UK, just an opportunity.

 

[Creed Bratton]

He never changed.

• Brown (2010)
  Quarterbacks coach
• Rhode Island (2011)
  Pass game coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Brown (2012–2013)
  Quarterbacks coach
• UMass (2014–2015)
  Pass game coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Maine (2016–2017)
  Offensive coordinator
• Los Angeles Rams (2018–2019)
  Assistant wide receivers coach
• Los Angeles Rams (2020)
  Assistant quarterbacks coach
• Kentucky (2021)
  Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Los Angeles Rams (2022)
  Offensive coordinator
• Kentucky (2023)
  Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2024–present)
  Offensive coordinator

The guy has had 10-11 jobs in the last 14 yrs.

I guess all of those head coaches ran him off by not letting him run his offense. 🤣

 

[Pelosigalore]

I don’t blame him for trying to better himself and his career. What I don’t understand is why he said that he wanted put down roots.

 

[mrschwump]

One of the things everyone is overlooking is he had no real connection to UK, that I am aware of, he had no feelings for UK. It was a job, where he could call plays. It's pretty clear from his actions he rather coach in the NFL. The opportunity came and he took it. Maybe CMS flirting with ATM played apart but I doubt it. He wanted to be an NFL OC calling plays. He took the first opportunity that came. Wasn't anything against UK, just an opportunity.

Agree. Don't see the TAM thing would matter, had Stoops taken that job there was the possibility Coen would've been offered the UK HC job. Could've worked out better for him.

 

[Soupbean]

So many things to guess
He had some kind of health scare. Maybe his wife says… This college shit requires to many hours and is to stressful.
Stoops asked him for a 3 year commitment when he came. 1st year He tries to leave for A&M. I could see him saying MF you demanded commitment from ME!!! Now you’re leaving. That would not sit well with me.
Coen brought in his best buddy Woodward. He was the ONLY ASSISTANT COACH FIRED. Others performed as badly. Why you fire my Guy MF???
Just too many possible to count.

All of these I think. The fact that Stoops clearly looked at leaving himself couldnt have helped. Then throw in that Liam had lost a lot of his honeymoon golden boy image with the fans over some of the offensive struggles and as you say its a bundle of things.

 

[kats23]

I think at the end of the day, he wasn't patient enough, or he didn't want to wait to build his offense the way it needed to be to work. Regardless of control, Stoops built an offense that was run dependent and Coen wants motion, vertical passing. I just don't think the line is built to run that. You could get there, but it would take time.

Plus, his offense isn't simple and I think most of the players struggled to grasp the concepts. In the NFL, nearly every defense is the same. There are weaknesses but for the most part, you have to fool NFL defenses but in college, that's not the case. The interesting part will be next year. Bucs were the bottom end of the barrel on offense, ranking 23 out of 32. The bring back Mayfield and Evans, so it will be interesting to see how they do under Liam Coen. Is he a genius or is just a grifter living off a reputation?

 

[Tf2217]

Dude has been a journeyman and will likely continue to be.

 

[EdgeHD]

He took two interviews, one was with the Chicago Bears one with Tampa Bay Bucks both were opportunities to be NFL OCs with play calling responsibilities which IMO were unexpected opportunities that he felt he could not pass up.

IMO that's the end of the story. Nothing to do with Stoops wanting to control the offense or other conspiracies. We have a really good OC that has a lot of strengths including a lot more experience in coaching the college game and I'm 100% satisfied with that choice. Time to move on.

All correct and to the point. And end of story.

Some people here are so anxious to tie it back into their false narratives of Stoops that they have conveniently ignored what Coen himself said.

Having given this some thought, I think it is an unexpected blessing for the program. Coen has some good qualities but is not the man for the job. Fool me twice, right? Coen brought us Woodward and Yenser. Enough. Hamdan has the right resume and seems like a winner. He has coached at a couple of SEC outlets plus the Falcons. Players like him. If he can recruit, we are better off now.

 

[EdgeHD]

Dude has been a journeyman and will likely continue to be.

All coordinators are journeymen. What current SEC OC is not a journeyman? I do not see one.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Some people here are so anxious to tie it back into their false narratives of Stoops that they have conveniently ignored what Coen himself said.

There are definitely the stoops haters who took it as another opportunity to bash stoops. However what coen said is imo what has most people upset. He things he absolutely didn't mean and many of us knew he was lying when he said it.

You want to keep moving up the ladder? Want back in the NFL? All good. Just don't go into all the unnecessary bs about loving the college game, loving the area, and wanting to put down roots etc etc. I didn't hear bush talking that way and for good reason.

 

[6andahalf]

Ambition. He left for a better job twice, y’all act like he left to coach Trinity HS. He is as loyal as the fans are to him, fans wanted him because of the job he was doing, if he wasn’t he would be hated by the fanbase and his firing would be called for. There’s no real love or loyalty from either side, it’s a transactional relationship.


Joker Phillips played at UK, graduated from UK, and had a successful career playing for UK. He came back as assistant for 6 years in the 90’s until Curry was fired and Hal Mumme brought in his own staff. He had another 6 year stint at UK in the 2000’s under Rich Brooks. He became head coach, was fired because he was a bad head coach, and is hated by most of the fans. There’s no real loyalty in any of this.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

All coordinators are journeymen. What current SEC OC is not a journeyman? I do not see one.

All looking for that opportunity to run their own program. All the stops are just resume builders. I don't think for a second it's because they don't like a particular place.