Blueboys football coach resigns

The Illinois College football program is looking for a new head coach.

Aaron Keen, who directed the Blueboys to a 23-27 overall record from 2003-07, has accepted a new job at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and is leaving by the end of this week so he can join his new team in time for spring practice.

Keen told his players the news at a special team meeting Monday evening.

“As I told the team tonight, this has been the best five years of my life,” said Keen. “There have been a lot of changes in my family and I’ve shared the experience with some great people here. Hopefully, I’ll have associations with those people for a lifetime.”

The University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) is a NCAA Division II powerhouse. The Mavericks finished their 2007 season at 10-0 and ranked No. 1 nationally in D-II. But then they lost 21-17 at home to Central Washington, a team UNO had crushed 59-21 only two weeks earlier in Washington. In week two, though, UNO upended eventual D-II runner-up Northwest Missouri State, 25-21.

Keen is joining the UNO coaching staff as the Mavericks’ new offensive coordinator. He said his first job will be to diversify the team’s attack, which has usually depended on a powerful running game.

“It’s an opportunity to jump up to the scholarship level of football and explore it a little bit,” said Keen. “It’s an awesome program, and it’s gonna be something great to be associated with.”

In 2007, Keen guided the Blueboys through a campaign that started out with high hopes, but then dissolved into a 4-6 finish. Injuries at key positions, especially at quarterback, made it Keen’s toughest, yet most-accomplished season as a head coach.

IC used four different quarterbacks last fall, and finished the campaign by nearly toppling Midwest Conference powers Monmouth and St. Norbert in back-to-back weeks. The Blueboys lost 26-23 at Monmouth and 31-24 at home to St. Norbert.

Under Keen, IC had two 6-4 seasons, two 4-6 campaigns and one 3-7 finish. His five years were marked by explosive offense and untimely injuries that always seemed to keep the Blueboys from winning as many games as they could. Despite the bad breaks, IC became more competitive overall in Keen’s tenure.

“I hope there was a culture change at IC,” said Keen. “We went 4-6 in my first year at IC in 2003. But we were a heck of a lot better football team this year, even though we had the same record. Their ability to be a championship program is still there, whether I am coaching them or not.”

IC will lose to graduation several players who helped define the Keen era on the hilltop, including quarterback Pete Jennings and record-breaking wide receiver/quarterback Joe Reed. But returning for IC next year will be talented receiver Michael Jennings (Pete’s younger brother), four senior offensive linemen, an experienced defensive secondary and a potentially dominant inside linebacker tandem of Ricky Padilla and Mike Kilgus.

The cupboard won’t be bare for IC’s next head coach. As for Keen, he said he ultimately has his players to thank for helping him move up in his career.

“I wouldn’t have an opportunity like this if our kids hadn’t had the success that they did,” said Keen. “I’m grateful to the kids that I coached for their ability to execute the different ideas that we put in, offensively.”