Photos: UK Athletics
New offensive coordinator Liam Coen, born in Warwick, Rhode Island, will head to Lexington after a stop at UMass as a player, followed by Brown, Rhode Island, UMass, Maine and the Los Angeles Rams as coach.
At Kentucky, Coen joins defensive coordinator and fellow Rhode Island-born Brad White, who also coached stops at Wake Forest (player), Murray State, Air Force and the Indianapolis Colts before moving to Lexington in 2018.
The former graduated from La Salle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island in 2004, while the latter – a Portsmouth native – graduated in 2000 from La Salle’s rival, Bishop Hendricken High School.
“Rivals, they were high school rivals,” head coach Mark Stoops said of the relationship this afternoon. “They were a different era, Brad’s older but rival high schools.”
“How about that? I think there are about three or four in NFL or Division I football, so there aren’t many,” Coen said of the bizarre Rhode Island connection between him and his new coordinating partner. Lexington.
Strangely, Coen followed White’s football career as a player and coach quite closely, admiring his playing on the field and his coaching skills afterwards.
Coen even says that he can remember White’s back numbers and the prominent neck roll he used as a player.
“It’s funny, Brad and I don’t really know each other personally,” said Coen. “I didn’t have his phone number until today, but I remember which jersey number Brad White was wearing – there were two of them – I remember his large neck roll he wore at Bishop Hendricken High School.
“I was in eighth grade when he was a senior at Hendricken. I went to La Salle Academy, two rival private Catholic high schools in Rhode Island. I just always respected him as a player, I thought, “This boy is a stud. He’s a stud.” He went to play at Wake Forest, followed his career with the Colts and the Air Force. “
After his football journey from afar, Coen has always heard “incredible things” about White and is grateful that the “small world” is bringing the people of Rhode Island together for the first time in their professional career.
“I’ve always followed him, but we’ve never really had contact on a personal or professional level,” Coen told reporters. “I’ve just heard incredible things about him from everyone I’ve spoken to. Small world, man. Such a small world, how these things turn out. I am just really excited to get started with him. “
Once rivals in high school, Coen and White will now coach side by side across the line of scrimmage.