KU offensive coordinator Rob Likens adjusting to life without play-calling duties

Kansas offensive coordinator Rob Likens admits it was difficult having play-calling duties taken away by coach David Beaty in the offseason.

“I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t disappointed. I was,” Likens said Wednesday. “But you know what? I think in life — I have a tremendous faith in what I believe — it’s your attitude. Your attitude when something happens, how are you going to take that?”

Likens, who is starting the second year of a three-year contract that pays him $350,000 annually, is still keeping KU’s offensive coordinator title even though his role has shifted away from that.

Beaty announced March 6 that he would take over the team’s play calling, saying he wanted to switch to a more true Air Raid offense while giving his quarterbacks additional freedom to make their own calls at the line of scrimmage.

Following the change, Likens said he was told by Beaty that he wanted them to essentially switch roles at practice. Now, Beaty coaches the quarterbacks, while Likens oversees drills while looking more big-picture like a head coach would.

Many days, that means Likens will watch players’ interactions with coaches. He might give a guy a pep talk if needed or examine what type of motivation makes each player perform his best.

Likens jots notes during drills, and afterward he hands those notes to Beaty. Some days, Likens might point out that the team isn’t transitioning quickly enough from period to period. On another, he might suggest a ball be spotted in a different location, or talk about how the coaches can better maximize the practice space they have.

Beaty and Likens discuss the observations after each practice.

“He values my opinion,” Likens said, “and I appreciate that.”

Likens, who has never been a head coach in his 25-year career, says he has enjoyed getting a different practice perspective, as he aspires to become a head coach himself one day.

Though there have been difficult moments since the switch, Likens says his mind always circles back to helping KU’s players succeed.

“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,” Likens said. “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?’ ”

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 6:44 PM with the headline "KU offensive coordinator Rob Likens adjusting to life without play-calling duties."