Coming off an 0-12 season and heading into 2016, Kansas head coach David Beaty, who was entering his second season as a head coach, had a major decision to make.
The Jayhawks were coming off a season where they ranked 115th in total offense, 121st in rushing offense, 69th in passing offense, and a dismal 123rd out of 128 FBS teams in scoring offense. As an offensive guy who had been a coordinator at Rice and Kansas, and coached receivers at the college level for nearly a decade, Beaty knew he could no longer sit idly. Changes had to be made.
About a month ago, Beaty made the announcement that he would be coaching the quarterbacks and taking over the play calling duties from offensive coordinator Rob Likens, and Likens would transition to a role where he would oversee the entire offense, giving him the freedom to walk from position group to position group at practice. Essentially, the two switched roles during practice.
During spring practices, Likens (who has aspirations of one day becoming a head coach) jots down notes during drills and then hands them to Beaty and the two discuss them after practice.
The Wichita Eagle asked Likens how the transition has been going, and instead of sulking about the move, he provided an inspirational response that all coaches can learn from.
“If I ever had a bad day and started feeling sorry for myself, you know what I would think about? I would think about (quarterback) Montell Cozart and my love for him and what these kids and what they’ve been through and what they deserve”
“That overrides any feelings I had about my situation, because these guys deserve the best, and they deserve my best. My best is not to sit around and think about, ‘What? Why?’ My best is, ‘How can I help this football team on a daily basis every single day?’ ”
Down at the AFCA convention in San Antonio this past January, I talked to a handful of coordinators who had their head coaches take over play calling duties at some point during the season, some of those head coaches gave the reigns back after a period of time while remaining involved in some form or another, while others completely took over for the remainder of the season for a variety of reasons. In a profession like coaching, that can damage some pride and egos.
Likens' outlook should be the blueprint for coaches facing a similar situation. Also, credit Beaty for finding a creative way to still allow, and value, Likens input while also preparing him to be a head coach one day. Not all coaches take that route.
“He values my opinion,” Likens added about the move. "And I appreciate that.”