HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2025
(On if he is enjoying the challenge of coaching WR/DB Travis Hunter) “Yeah, it is. That’s a lot
of the reason why you coach is, as you mentioned, is to accept challenges, try to overcome
challenges and Travis is no different, as you mentioned. And so, it’s been the scheduling—
all the way from the beginning until on the plane ride out here Monday night. We were
sitting on the plane going over any tweaks to the schedule we may be making this week, so
it’s every day. It’s a great challenge for us. It keeps everybody really having to be on it in
terms of the schedule, his position, coaches, athletic training, media, everybody has to be
involved in the process. And when you’re working with a guy that does love football and
does love to work, he loves to play, he loves to play the game, and you really want to help
people like that and that’s somebody that is ultimately going to continue, I think, to get
better and better each week but it has been a fun challenge thus far.”
(On why the Los Angeles Rams have been such a consistent team under Head Coach Sean
McVay) “Yeah, you guys know the respect I have for Sean. I think he is just as good, if not
better, of a coach after a tough game. Whether it’s a tough output for one side of the ball, a
loss. I just feel like that’s when he’s at his best in terms of being able to still put confidence
into the guys, the building, the staff, the culture. I don’t know what his record is after a loss,
which that has a lot to do with determining coaches’ successes, I think, in a lot of ways. But
in terms of his ability to get the guys up every single week, I think is pretty cool. The way he
addresses the players, the way that he handles the players, the staff, the coaches from a
positive state of mind, but also the standards, the demand, the way that he ultimately
wants that team to play. It shows up every single week and win, lose or draw, they play
hard.”
(On the challenges Rams QB Matthew Stafford presents) “Yeah, don’t trust those eyes,
now. Don’t trust his eyes, but we’ve talked [about] it, it’s his full command of the operation
that ultimately, we have to be great with our disguises. We have to be great with our spot
drop coverages. We’ve got to try to affect the pocket, obviously, in a lot of ways. But he has
such a great way of dissecting pre-snap and then operating post-snap. He sees it pre-snap,
he can then can things, fix the protections, get you in a better football play, but then, okay,
post-snap, it’s his ability to then see areas, see coverages, but also just see open spots on
the field, not necessarily just looking at receivers. That’s what makes Matthew so special
and so those details for us, the pre-snap, what does it look like? The discipline in our drops,
the discipline in our ability to work our games in stunts and pressures. That’s going to be
huge this week.”
(On the offensive line against the Rams defensive front) “I think those guys are—I talked to
Anton [OL Anton Harrison], talked to some of those guys. They’re very eager, I think for the
challenge to step up. Each week you face an opportunity in this league upfront to see some
of the best pass rushers and whether it’s individuals, whether it’s a crew of them, whether
it’s scheme, we’ve seen some good stuff. And so, we’ve protected at a high level in a lot of
ways. Last week was a tough go. So, they know, we all know. It takes truly not just those
guys up front. We’ve got to help them and have a responsibility as coaches, but also, hey,
stepping up to the plate and worrying about us. Let’s go get better at our sets. The way that
we slide in pass protection, the way that we protect our fundamentals, our techniques, and
worry about those things and not so much the guys that we’re playing against.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s improvement in the system) “I do think that there’s definitely
been improvements in a lot of ways. You look at his ability to still use his legs in some
areas. I thought there was some really good moments of being able to play some things off
schedule, make some plays. We’ve got to continue to help him create one-on-one
opportunities down the field to be able to push it down there, but I do think there’s been
improvement. I think he has confidence right now. I do. So, hopefully we continue to see
that growth this week because like we told the team, all of this week is about us, it’s about
our preparation, our operation. Let’s get better at the controllables and see how mentally
tough we are.”
(On how to clean up ‘controllables’) “Yeah, well we typically do game wreckers today and
talk just talk about the opponent a little bit and introduce that. We know who their good
players are and have a lot of respect for them. But the message this morning was we’ve
been our game wreckers [laughs], in a lot of ways. We played some really good opponents
and we have a lot of respect for those opponents but until we look at ourselves and fix our
mistakes, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. So that’s been the message. That was the
message this morning in the team meeting today. And how much can we go out and create
our own energy out here in a long walkthrough where you’ve got to stay mentally locked in
and focused and disciplined and detailed throughout the course of this day after travel,
after jet lag, after whatever it is. No excuses, let’s go to work and prepare the best week
we’ve had from a preparation standpoint and go play to not try to do too much. I think some
of that did show up a little bit on Sunday where it’s one of those tight ball games. You’re
back and forth, you’re struggling to maybe make some things happen in some ways and
guys maybe try to go outside of—alright, the routes at 15 [yards], but I need to run it at 20
because of this or that, or I’ve got to make a play and some of that stuff starts to happen,
it’s natural. But we need to let the game also come to us that way and not try to press and
do too much.”
(On how to get Hunter involved in the offensive explosive game) “Yeah, I think it’s obviously,
scheming him open is part of it, number one. It is my job, ultimately. Our job as an offensive
staff to make sure we’re putting him in the progression and putting him in the position to be
number one a little bit more often in some ways. And then when he is the primary, we’ve got
to throw and catch. We’ve got to make sure that we identify it, find him, be able to be at the
right spot at the right time—we just had this conversation. So, I think it’s a combination of a
lot of those things that ultimately can all be controlled. We can’t always say the ball’s going
to get thrown to one person based on any play unless it’s just they’re spitting it to them and
giving them a ball in hand touch. Down the field, there’s elements to that, especially when
you’re not getting a lot of one-on-one man coverage, which last week in Seattle was all
shell, cover-two, soft, kind of letting nothing get behind them. So that’s got to be a little bit
predicated on what we’re seeing but also making sure we’re doing our jobs as coaches. And
he’s doing his job to be in the right spot at the right time and Trevor’s able to deliver it
because it’s great protection. It takes all 11.”
(On his previous experience playing international games) “In 2019, I was able to come out
here with the Rams and that was a cool experience. We stayed here, practiced here, was
able to get down—I love London. It’s my wife’s favorite city. She’s out shopping currently, so
I’m really excited to see what that looks like. But this organization has done this for a long
time and there’s a lot of pride in this trip for us. Our owner, our ownership, it means a lot to
him and how his presence is in this city as well. And so, if he has pride in it, we have pride in
it as well. And I think our players and staff members that put this whole thing together take
a lot of pride in what they’re doing. And so, it’s a great experience and opportunity for us.”
(On if arriving in London early give the team an advantage) “I don’t know. I fully understand,
working with Sean, knowing their sports science behind why they are leaving later and we
had the same opportunity to make that decision and we just chose to come a little bit
earlier. It is more so because we’ve got the BYE [Week] afterwards and so, we can not have
to deal with getting back into our time zone as quickly as we would need to if we were
playing a game the following week. So is it an advantage? I don’t know. There’s sports
science that that kind of supports both. And so, I just thought it was a great opportunity for
our guys to get here, be able to be together a little bit more, have a little bit more continuity.
It just came at the right time after a loss and our guys are excited, I think, to be able to play
out here and be in that stadium, playing on Sunday.”
(On what DB Rayuan Lane III brings to the special teams unit) “Yeah, Ray’s got some
swagger, man. He plays the game very violently. He’s obviously a tough kid and what he’s
obviously gone through in high school to college to get to where he is at. He takes a lot of
pride in what he does and he knows he’s a darn good player. He’s got confidence right now.
The players in that room, that unit also believe in him at a high level. And so, man, who
knows what his ceiling is in terms of what he can be in terms of a special teams player in
this league. I think he takes it personal when he is getting double teamed and be able to
beat those things and when he is getting one-on-one opportunities down the field, he’s
taking advantage of them. So I’ve been really pleased with Ray.”
(On if it was difficult to evaluate Lane III because he played at a service academy) “It was
kind of wild. I think he forced, didn’t he force like some ridiculous amount of turnovers
coming out of Navy, in terms of like whether it was punching them out, causing them,
falling on them. He just disrupted a lot on his tape. So for us, I know James [General
Manager James Gladstone] was high on him very early on. It was somebody that we had
targeted very early on that they had their eyes on. And sometimes you’re like, well, is he
going to be able to get on defense this year and help us? But man, it’s a great pick, I think
and a great player for us. So it was a little bit challenging to go through the process a little
bit, just watching it and going through the tape, but man, he did so many good things.
They’re a well-coached operation there at Navy.”
(On if preparing for an organization that he knows well) “Yeah, there’s definitely a little bit of
that chess match to it in terms of the familiarity factor. But they’ve evolved a little bit over
the last few years. We’ve definitely evolved in some different ways, whether it was last year
in Tampa, this year in Jacksonville, it’s not identical to theirs and they’re not identical to
ours. So, there’s different wrinkles. But I do think, we both probably know some of the
details in which maybe you can affect the protection or be able to blitz to stop an open side
run or a closed side run. I think there’s some of that that definitely goes into it. I was
meeting with Campy [Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile] and the defensive staff
for a little while last night, just watching their tape, going through some of the thought
process and details of maybe their scheme and how they’re running the play, just so that
they get a little bit more insight. So many of the ball plays are similar that you see each
week. What makes Sean and those guys I think different, it is just the details that go into it
and the amount of—how specific the motions are, how efficient they are at their operation,
pre-snap, identifying it. What they’re looking for maybe in some of these plays, whether
they’re can to run or can to pass can to screens, whatever it is. I think that’s where he has a
notch above.”
(On how Lawrence has become a mentor for Hunter off the field) “Yeah, they do spend a
pretty good amount of time together throughout the course of the day, whether it’s in the
meeting setting, whether it’s at the walkthroughs, whether it’s post practice one-on-one. I
think a pretty cool moment was going into Kansas City two weeks ago. They had missed on
a throw in practice a few times and then Travis and Trevor stayed afterwards, threw it five
times until they got it right. And then it came to life on the catch that Travis made jumping
up in the air against Kansas City. And so that connection hopefully continuing to get
fostered, that relationship. And I think Trevor’s a unique leader in the way that he’s able to
give such great insight for a younger guy, if you will. He’s kind of mature beyond his years in
so many ways. Sometimes I feel like he is a little bit more mature than me [laughs], so I
think that relationship’s getting better and better.”
