No coach ever gets to their highest levels without the mentorship or learning experience from another before them. We saw that extensively when Dave Canales came to the Bucs last year after spending years with Pete Carroll in Seattle. The Bucs are getting another coach who comes from a prominent developmental system with new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who has ties with a couple of decorated coaches.

In the last six years, Liam Coen has gone back and forth between the Los Angeles Rams and Kentucky Wildcats. That puts him under the coaching tree of Sean McVay in L.A. and Mark Stoops over at Kentucky. Talk about a variety of coaching experience at both the NFL level and the SEC.

Liam Coen’s History With Well-Known Coaches

Liam Coen was able to learn from one of the brightest offensive minds the NFL has seen over the last decade in Los Angeles Rams head coach and offensive guru Sean McVay. Coen went as far as thanking McVay in his opening statement for helping him get his “Football PHD.” Since becoming a head coach, McVay started a trend of having a more innovative offense.

He has compiled a regular season record of 70-45 and playoff record of 7-4 in seven seasons. McVay has reached the Super Bowl twice, winning Super Bowl LVI and making history as the youngest coach to reach the big game.

Rams HC Sean McVay, Bucs OC Liam Coen and Rams QB Matthew Stafford – Photo by: USA Today

Mark Stoops has been a sign of stability at Kentucky, coaching there for a decade. In a battle-tested SEC where Kentucky constantly has to play against the likes of Georgia, Alabama and LSU, Stoops has a winning record of 73-65, including four bowl wins. In 2018 Stoops was named SEC Coach of the Year, as the Wildcats went 9-3 and won the Citrus Bowl. With Stoops as a defensive guy, Coen was able to get his reps in calling offensive plays under his own discretion.

As Coen goes from place to place, he’s taken a little of something from each coach he’s worked with.

“Sean… he gave me a different outlook on coaching,” Liam Coen said. “I had been doing it for a little while there and [I was] sitting there one afternoon as an assistant receivers coach. I [had] just gotten there, and he comes in at 6:00 a.m. during OTAs and says, ‘Hey man, I appreciate what you’re doing and I’m really glad you’re here.’

“To get the pat on the back that you just don’t typically ask for, or think is necessary in this profession, but to actually have somebody do it, you saw a little of a different lens of how football can be and coaching in general can be. He’s the best communicator I’ve ever been around – hands down.”

Then Coen went on about Stoops.

“And Coach Stoops, [has] the ability to step away, but also have an organization that he trusts, that he worked really hard to [build], and to be able to step away with understanding and trusting his coaches,” Liam Coen said. “That was something that I really learned from Coach Stoops was, ‘Man, hey, play the next play. Don’t worry about it, man. It’s all going to be okay, just go.’ He trusted and believed, and I couldn’t thank him enough for that.”

The next stop for Liam Coen pits him on the Bucs with head coach Todd Bowles, who of course handles Tampa Bay’s defense. This makes for a great opportunity for Coen to truly take control of his craft on offense in a new spot without much interference from the head coach. He had that with Stoops, but to do it at the NFL level is a different animal. Outside of some brief play calling on the Rams 2022, Coen hasn’t yet to fully run the show for an entire season.

Liam Coen Has Another Coaching Connection

A big question heading into the year with Liam Coen on offense is how much the offense may change from the year before under Dave Canales. Will there be a learning curve? How fast can Bucs players understand the offense from Coen and get down the terminology of it?

Bucs OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Matt Matera/PR

Luckily, Canales and Coen each have a mutual coach they worked under that helped shape their offenses. This happened to be now-Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Because of that, there shouldn’t be too much of a difference.

Waldron was on the Rams’ coaching staff from 2017-2020 in capacities such as tight ends coach, quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator coordinator along the way. Coen had worked with him for three of those years from 2018 to 2020.

In his next stop, Waldron went to the Seahawks to be their offensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023. That’s where Dave Canales was for the first two years of his stay. The former and current Bucs offensive coordinator picked up a lot from Waldron, and Liam Coen gives him credit for plans to have a smooth transition.

“I think it will be actually very similar in terms of some of the terminology,” Coen said. “The run game I think will be really similar in some ways. Formations – some ‘daffy’ might be ‘dixie’ or ‘double’ might be ‘deuce’ – some of those things may be a little different, but at the end of the day, those guys [know], ‘Okay, well that was just this.’ They can put those things together.

“The protections I’ve got to believe will be very similar in some ways. Dave was with Shane Waldron in Seattle, so there are a lot of similarities there. I don’t expect an overly difficult learning curve, but obviously, we’ll want to be able to put our stamp on things and be able to do things our way, as well.”