Andy Cohen, former Lehigh football coach, dead at 57
Former Lehigh Mountain Hawks head football head coach Andy Coen has unfortunately passed away at 57 years old, the university announced Friday night. Coen stepped down from his position at Lehigh in 2018 after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Coen took over as Lehigh’s head football coach in 2006, and he held that position up until his resignation in 2018. He led the Mountain Hawks to five Patriot League titles (2006, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017) in his coaching career, made it to the FCS playoffs four times. Two of those appearances resulted in quarterfinals appearances, and Coen had an overall 2-4 record in the FCS playoffs.
Coen’s best seasons at Lehigh came in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. In 2010, Lehigh went 10-3 overall and 5-0 in Patriot League play. 2011 was an even better year, going 11-2 overall and 6-0 against Patriot League opponents.
Overall, Coen coached the Mountain Hawks to an overall record of 85-64 in his 13-year career as a head coach. His 85 victories tie Bill Leckonby for the most in school history. Coen was also named the Patriot League’s Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2016.
Coen had multiple stints working on Lehigh’s football staff
Prior to taking the Lehigh head coaching job in 2006, Coen previously worked on staff with the Mountain Hawks from 1994-1999. He served as the team’s offensive line coach from 1994 to 1995, and then served as the Mountain Hawks offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 1996 to 1999.
Coen’s coaching career began in 1986 at Widener as an assistant offensive line coach. He then went to James Madison in 1987 as a graduate assistant and offensive line coach. Then, Coen went to Minnesota from 1988 to 1989, where he held the same positions that he did at James Madison. Prior to coming to Lehigh in 1994, Coen was the offensive coordinator at Merchant Marine from 1990 to 1993.
Following his first stint with the Mountain Hawks, Coen served as Penn’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2000 through 2005, prior to returning to Lehigh to take the head coaching job in 2006.