(Los Angeles Rams Photo)
Liam Coen is not a coach I really know a lot about but the new Kentucky offensive coordinator made a few comments Tuesday after his hiring was announced that make me thing UK fans are really going to like him and that he also knows what Kentucky fans want/need to hear.
“I emulated Tim Couch. I wanted to be Tim Couch,” said Coen, a Rhode Island prep standout who then play at the University of Massachusetts from 2004-08 and is regarded as the all-time best quarterback ever at UMass.
Couch obviously is considered one of, if not the best, quarterbacks ever at UK and is a former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
Coen has a definite idea how he wants his quarterback to handle a game.
“The quarterback should act like a point guard,” Coen said.
That basketball analogy works well in the Bluegrass — well maybe not this year with UK’s struggles at point guard but most years it would.
Maybe his NFL experience led Coen to have a little different take on a familiar saying when talking about personnel it takes to win.
“It’s not Xs and Os, it’s G.I. Joes,” he said instead of using the traditional Jimmys and Joes.
But bottom line is that he knows UK’s talent means more than his philosophy.
And why is he leaving the Los Angeles Rams after three years — two seasons as assistant receivers coach and this season as assistant quarterbacks coach — to join Mark Stoops at Kentucky.
“Being the offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky is one of those special positions that I just had to take,” Coen said.
Not sure I really thought any rising NFL coach might say that about the UK offense, especially with the way it seems Stoops prefers a dominant run game over an open passing attack.
“Fitting out in terms of what we want to like, what pieces do we have here in place, and I believe that there’s pieces in place. … It’s not about them fitting to this system, it’s about me fitting to their skill sets,” Coen said.
“And I believe that for every position. I can’t come in and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re gonna do and I’m not gonna budge, you need to fit into what I want you to do.’ No, no, no. It’s about personnel and trying to find what these guys do best.”
I like that. Even with the best recruiting, it’s not always possible to get players that are the best fit for a system. Coaches have to be flexible and willing to adapt. Seems Coen understands that.
LA coach Sean McCoy is known as a creative offensive mind. He obviously saw something in Coen that he liked and has developed his skills. He thinks Kentucky made a terrific hire.
“Liam is a great communicator, coach and leader of men,” McVay said. “He will do great in leading the way for what will be a fun and exciting offense that will accentuate the players’ skill sets.”
