Long before
Paul Cox became a coach at Morehead State, he knew exactly where he wanted to be—standing on the touchline, helping others chase the game he loved. He remembers the moment vividly.
"We were stretching, warming up one day, and I remember just looking across at my coach and looking at him going, this is your job. I was like, I'd love to do this for a year or so. And now I'm doing it, you know, however long later, 10, 12 years later, I'm doing it."
That spark eventually brought him to Morehead, Kentucky, where the early mornings and late nights feel a little lighter because of the people around him.
"The people, like, the moment I stepped on campus and got to know (Director of Athletics) Kelly (Wells) and his leadership philosophy... everybody here is so friendly. They're very supportive," Cox said. "I feel like we're in a really good spot with our program and the types of people we have here. It's just the people, I think like at the end of the day, people make everything."
Before Morehead State, Cox's coaching identity was built on the fields of England.
"My experiences in England shaped my coaching philosophy purely from a technical and tactical standpoint," he said. "Danny Flitter was really big on developing the technique and the ball manipulation. He was great at that."
Other coaches left their marks too. "Jason Blake was very much in the details of everything, which I loved," Cox said. "He actually mentored me during COVID as well."
Old-school values came from Andy Hooper.
"He was old school, which I love," Cox said. "There still needs to be the old school and the new school."
His mentors didn't just teach him how to coach—they taught him how to lead.
"My dad also coached me and was a big influence in shaping my coaching philosophy and how to treat people and also, you know, stick true to the stuff that you believe in," Cox said.
One of his favorite coaching memories happened far from Kentucky.
"The most rewarding moment in my coaching career so far was when I was at Briarcliff (College) (in Iowa)," Cox said. "I took the team to England... and we played at the soccer club that I played for before moving to the US."
He called it a full-circle experience.
"We were the away team coming from the US, but we were the home team with my friends and family there," he said. "It was a real kind of like full circle moment and two worlds colliding... hands down my favorite and most rewarding moment in coaching."
That trip reminded Cox why he loves the game—because of the connections it creates.
"People make everything," he said. "I'm very lucky to be here with good people who make working every day fun."
Cox's coaching philosophy centers on standards.
"Having standards, reaching the standard, maintaining the standard and then pushing the standard is things I want them to kind of take away from it," he said. "You've got to be striving for something all the time."
He believes those standards begin with accountability.
"I think you can put that all down to accountability," Cox said. "That's something I want them to take away."
Those expectations show up in daily habits, especially in the offseason.
"Fitness tests are a big thing for us," he said. "If you don't do anything over the summer and you come in and fail, there's a reason for it. If you work really hard over the summer and you come in and you pass with flying colors, there's also a reason for it."
Cox lives by a simple lesson from his dad.
"You get out what you put in," he said. "If you're going to put in average, expect to get average. But if you're going to put in your best, expect to get that back."
It's a message he delivers often.
"We have to deliver that message here," Cox said. "You get out what you put in."
That mindset also shapes how he recruits.
"Ultimately, I think the qualities on the field kind of stand out for you when you go to an event," he said. "But it's looking past that... getting a better understanding of them as a character."
He wants players who elevate the team.
"They have to be a quality person with a good attitude that's going to add to the culture of the team," Cox said. "That's what we look for."
When asked for advice to young athletes, Cox couldn't limit himself to one tip.
"Soccer players typically train two or three times a week and outside of that, they don't do anything," he said. "You need to be practicing for about 10 hours outside of your organized soccer."
He believes self-driven work separates good from great.
"Play less organized soccer, pick up on your own, juggling in the backyard, working on little things on your own," Cox said. "That's what separates a good player from an elite player."
The second piece ties into learning.
"Watch the game, study the habits of players and what they do and the little details that they do," he said.
Before coaching, Cox had a moment as a player he'll never forget, scoring the game winning goal in the NAIA Championship.
"We were actually two-nil down at half-time," he said. "Coach made some adjustments... Johnny Chavez scored a double, and then with about eight minutes to go... I bolted into the box, he crossed it in, I headed it in, and we won the game three-two."
It was more than a goal—it was a memory shared with someone he'd played with since childhood.
"It was the guy that crossed the ball in for me," Cox said. "There's videos of him crossing me the ball when I was nine years old and ten years later, we're doing it on a different continent."
Now, as a coach, Cox channels those moments into his program at Morehead State—teaching, mentoring, and building a culture where standards matter and people come first.
