Details emerge on Liam Coen's departure from Kentucky
Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who had one very solid year with the Wildcats, is reportedly leaving Lexington after his short stint in the SEC, as reports say he’s headed back to the NFL to become the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator.
Coen, a former Rams assistant coach, was re-hired by Sean McVay to replace outgoing offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell just one season after he left Los Angeles for Kentucky. And according to Matt Jones, his exit after just one season still had a positive reception from the Kentucky players; they understood Coen’s desire to take the NFL job.
“Coen met with the UK Offense on Thursday night and told them if the Rams offered he would take it I think the players understand and are happy for him,” Jones said on Twitter. “I have also been told the major players expect the next OC to be of a similar mold and all are still secure in Lexington.”
Despite Kentucky losing the top-ranking coach on the offensive side of the ball, the Wildcats appear — at least for now — to be holding onto the rest of their offensive assistants. Now, the job for head coach Mark Stoops is to replace Coen, and folks within Kentucky’s program are expecting a “similar mold” at offensive coordinator.
Report: Sean McVay, LA Rams hire Liam Coen from Kentucky
Sean McVay was quick to replace former offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, who was hired as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, as the Rams head coach went to the college ranks to hire Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen, per Albert Breer.
“Source: The Rams are hiring Kentucky OC Liam Coen as their new offensive coordinator, bringing Greg Olson back to the staff, and giving assistant head coach Thomas Brown more responsibility within the offense and team,” Breer wrote on Twitter.
Coen, who was named Kentucky’s offensive coordinator in December of 2020, spent just one season calling the plays for Kentucky in 2021 before his departure. Unsurprisingly, it was McVay who hired him back, given that Coen served on the Rams staff prior to his arrival in Lexington.
Coen spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams before he took over Kentucky’s offense. He spent 2018 and 2019 as the assistant wide receivers coach, and in 2020, he was named the assistant quarterbacks coach. In his time as wide receivers coach, Coen helped the Rams produce two receivers with over 1,000 receiving yards for two straight seasons, mentoring the likes of Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Brandin Cooks.
Kentucky’s offense averaged 425.15 yards per game under Coen, the eighth-best tally in the SEC, as the Wildcats relied heavily on a well-balanced attack. Kentucky threw for 225.62 yards per contest, while rushing for 199.54 yards per game, the latter of which was the fifth-best total in the SEC. Overall, Kentucky, averaged 32.31 points per game under Coen, which was fifth-best in the SEC.
Despite spending just one season with the Wildcats, after O’Connell was named head coach of the Vikings, Coen had long been rumored to make his return to Los Angeles.
The reports started on Feb. 13, when ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter pinned Coen as an early favorite to land the Kentucky offensive coordinator job. Schefter, who noted that Coen had previously worked under McVay, said that Coen was a “prime candidate” for the role. The reports only continued to gain steam over the next several days, with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler days later confirming Schefter’s report.
“Univ. of Kentucky preparing for very real possibility it loses OC Liam Coen to #Rams, per source. Coen has turned down college jobs and a pro job to stay at UK, but chance to return to LAR, work with Sean McVay will be enticing. Still has to be offered job but is firmly in mix,” Fowler said on Twitter.
Prior to his first stint with the Rams, Coen served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Maine, and the pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach at UMass, among other roles.