Les Koenning

Last updated

Les Koenning
Biographical details
Born (1959-02-10) February 10, 1959 (age 65)
San Antonio, Texas
Playing career
1977–1980 Texas
Position(s) Wide receiver
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981–1983 Texas (assistant)
1984 Alabama (assistant)
1985 Southwestern Louisiana (assistant)
1986–1989 Mississippi State (RB/WR)
1990–1993 Rice (WR)
1993 Duke (WR)
1994–1996 Texas A&M (WR)
1997 Miami Dolphins (assistant)
1998 Duke (OC)
1999 Houston (OC)
2000 TCU (PGC/QB)
2001–2002 Alabama (OC/QB)
2003–2007 Texas A&M (OC/QB)
2008 South Alabama (OC)
2009–2013 Mississippi State (OC/QB)
2014 Texas (WR)
2016–2017 UAB (OC/QB)
2018 Southern Miss (RB)
2019 Kansas (OC)

Les Koenning Jr. (born February 10, 1959) is an American football coach. During his career, he served as offensive coordinator for Duke, Houston, Alabama, Texas A&M, South Alabama, Mississippi State, Texas, UAB, and Kansas. He retired in 2020.

Contents

Playing career

Koenning played high school football for his father Les Koenning Sr., who was a longtime Texas high school and college coach, at Memorial High School outside of Houston and went to play for Texas in 1977. He was recruited to play quarterback by Darrell Royal at the University of Texas but ended up playing Wide Receiver. In 1980 he was a team Captain and led the Longhorns in receiving yards. [1] [2] He went on to get his Masters and was a graduate assistant.

Coaching career

Koenning began his career with graduate assistantships at Texas and Alabama before being named wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Louisiana-Lafayette in 1985.

He then went to Mississippi State in 1986 where he spent 3 seasons as the running backs/wide receivers coach. He spent the next several years as a wide receivers coach, first at Rice from 1990-1993; then to Duke where he finished the 1993 season and then at Texas A&M from 1994-1996.

He then spent one season in the NFL as an offensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins.

He returned to college football the next year and became and offensive cooridinator; first returning to Duke in 1998 and then going to Houston in 1999.

In 2000, he was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at TCU in 2000.

He returned to Alabama from 2001-2002, this time as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He performed the same job at Texas A&M from 2003-2007, South Alabama from 2008-2009 and at Mississippi State from 2009-2013.

At Texas A&M, Koenning had called plays from the press box, with head coach Dennis Franchione. In November 2007, the Aggies upset 13th-ranked Texas 38–30. Koenning, known for his recruiting skills recruited top players such as Ryan Tannehill and Martellus Bennett.

After leaving A&M, Koenning was hired by Joey Jones at the University of South Alabama, which was getting ready to play its debut season in 2009. [3]

In December 2008, Dan Mullen, the new head coach at Mississippi State, hired Koenning to coach the offense, though his specific role had not yet been revealed at the time. [4] Mullen announced that Koenning would serve as offensive coordinator in February 2009. [5]

Koenning previously coached receivers at Mississippi State under then-head coach Rockey Felker, during the late 1980s. Though he was replaced after the 1990 season at MSU by Jackie Sherrill, Felker continued to server for years as MSU's director/coordinator of recruiting. Koenning recruited and coached MSU star Quarterback Dak Prescott and during his time at Mississippi State, Koenning orchestrated what were then the top four seasons in school history in total offensive yards, the top two in passing yards and scoring, the top four in passing TDs, and two of the top four in rushing TDs.

In 2014 he left Mississippi State to return to his alma mater, Texas, as wide receivers coach.

Personal life

He is married to Lisa Koenning, and has two children Lana Koenning and Les Koenning. [6]

His father Les Koenning Sr was a successful Texas high school football Head coach bringing teams to state championships at Hamshire-Fannett, Memorial and Cypress Creek.

His cousin Vic Koenning has served as a defensive coordinator for several teams, among them Illinois, where he also served as interim head coach.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major Applewhite</span> American football player and coach (born 1978)

Major Lee Applewhite is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of South Alabama, a position he has held since 2024. Prior to that he was the head coach at the University of Houston from 2017 to 2018, where he previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He started his coaching career in 2003 and in addition to South Alabama and Houston he has held various positions at Texas, Syracuse, Rice and Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tee Martin</span> American football player and coach (born 1978)

Tamaurice Nigel "Tee" Martin is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee, University of Southern California, University of Kentucky, University of New Mexico, North Atlanta HS, North Cobb HS, and Morehouse College.

Lester Watson Brown is an American retired college football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at Tennessee Technological University, a position he held from 2007 to 2015. Previously, Brown served as the head coach at Austin Peay State University (1979–1980), the University of Cincinnati (1983), Rice University (1984–1985), Vanderbilt University (1986–1990), and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (1995–2006). He was also the athletic director at Rice from 1984 to 1985 and at UAB from 2002 to 2005. Brown played college football as a quarterback at Vanderbilt. He is the older brother of Mack Brown, the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Mullen</span> American football coach (born 1972)

Daniel Mullen is an American college football coach, who is currently the head coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 2009 to 2017 and the University of Florida from 2018 until 2021. From 2022 until 2024 he worked as a studio analyst and color commentator for ABC and ESPN.

Darrell Ray Dickey is an American football coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi State Bulldogs football</span> Football team representing Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State Bulldogs football program represents Mississippi State University in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They also have won one SEC championship in 1941 and a division championship in 1998. The Bulldogs have 26 postseason bowl appearances. The program has produced 38 All-Americans, 171 All-SEC selections, and 124 NFL players. The Bulldogs’ home stadium, Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, is the second oldest in the NCAA Division I FBS.

Dameyune Vashon Craig is an American football coach and former player. He is the wide receivers coach for Georgia State University, a position he has held since 2024. He was most recently the wide receivers coach at Texas A&M University. Craig played professionally as quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill O'Brien (American football)</span> American football coach (born 1969)

William James O'Brien, nicknamed "Teapot", is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Boston College. Previously, he was the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020, and at Penn State from 2012 to 2013. Prior to Boston College, O'Brien was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama and for the New England Patriots. After the Patriots parted ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick at the end of the 2023 season, O'Brien was not retained by the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Fedora</span> American football player and coach (born 1962)

Herbert Lawrence Fedora is an American football coach and former player who is the former coach and general manager for the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL). He previously served as head coach at the University of Southern Mississippi from 2008 to 2011, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2012 to 2018, and the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Baylor University in 2020.

Rockey Felker is a former quarterback, head football coach, and retired as director of player personnel for Mississippi State University, in Starkville, Mississippi after the 2017 season. After serving three different stints and working for four different head coaches at Mississippi State, Felker is considered one of the school's native sons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team</span> American college football season

The 2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Mississippi State has been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) since the league's inception in 1932, and has participated in that conference's Western Division since 1992. The Bulldogs played their home games in 2009 at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi, which has been MSU football's home stadium since 1914.

Brian Delance Johnson is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the assistant head coach and offensive pass game coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He has been an offensive coordinator for the NCAA's Utah Utes, Houston Cougars, and Florida Gators and the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson played college football at Utah and was briefly a member of the United Football League's (UFL) New York Sentinels in 2009.

James Coley is an American football coach who is currently the wide receivers coach at the Georgia Bulldogs. He had previously been co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Texas A&M University.

In American football, the air raid offense is an offensive scheme popularized by such coaches as Hal Mumme, Mike Leach, Sonny Dykes, and Tony Franklin during their respective tenures at Iowa Wesleyan University, Valdosta State, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech, and Washington State.

Tyler Ryan Russell is a former American football quarterback. He had played college football from 2010 to 2013 for Mississippi State University, where he placed fifth on the Bulldogs' career passing list with 5,441 passing yards, and third on the career passing touchdowns list with 42.

Kendal Briles is an American football coach. He is the offensive coordinator for Texas Christian University.

John Wozniak is an American football coach and former player. He is the running back coach at Oklahoma State University. He has been heavily involved with either offense, special teams, or both at all of his stops.

Darin Clifford Hinshaw is an American football coach and former quarterback who currently serves as the quarterbacks coach at Purdue. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He played college football at UCF, where he finished his career as the program's leader in career passing yards and touchdowns.

Mike "Mikie" Miller is an American college football coach. He is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Charlotte. He was previously the co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach for Maryland.

Bryan Ellis is an American college football coach. He is the tight ends coach for the University of Alabama, a position he has held since 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "Texas Football History and Honors" (PDF). Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Texas Football Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  3. ↑ "JONES NAMES KOENNING AS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR/QUARTERBACKS COACH" (Press release).
  4. ↑ "MSU's Mullen hires Koenning for offensive role".
  5. ↑ "UPDATE:Mullen sets roles for Miss. State coaching staff".[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Les Koenning Named To Mississippi State Football Staff". Archived from the original on December 20, 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.