Liberty Bowl coaching foes are friends

Rice defensive coordinator Chris Thurmond and Mississippi State offensive coordinator Les Koenning will match wits and schemes against one another in Tuesdays AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

But dont expect any hard feelings to develop, regardless of the result.

Thurmond and Koenning are friends and veteran college football assistants, whose paths have crossed on numerous occasions. They have served on the same staffs at TCU (in 2000), at Alabama (2001 and 02) and at Texas A&M (2003 to 05).

Les is not just another guy on the (opposing) sidelines, Thurmond said. He is a good friend.

Thurmond, in his third season at Rice, is no stranger to the Liberty Bowl. He was an assistant at Houston when the Cougars played in the 2006 game and was an assistant with Kentucky when the Wildcats played in the 2008 game.

Koenning is the cousin of former University of Memphis defensive assistant Vic Koenning, the co-defensive coordinator at North Carolina and a former head coach at Wyoming.

Les Koenning, 54, also spent time as a Rice assistant from 1990 to 93.

Im very familiar with a lot of the people there, Les said. And theyve done an outstanding job. I know what they have to go through at Rice to get 10 victories.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE

The handlebar mustache worn by Rice University safety Paul Porras begs the question: Why would a college senior be interested in growing one?

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Liberty Bowl coaching foes are friends