Liam Coen: 'No Update' on Kentucky OC Job, Will Finish Season With Rams
On Dec. 9, NFL insider Chris Mortensen reported that Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator was returning to Lexington to become Kentucky's OC for the second time in three seasons:
Coen was with the Rams from 2018-2020, where he was an assistant wide receivers coach, then assistant quarterbacks coach. He was then hired to replace Eddie Gran, who was relieved of his OC and running backs coach duties after a five-year stint from 2016-2020.
In his sole year as play-caller, Coen's pro-style attack spearheaded Kentucky to its best offensive season under head coach Mark Stoops, as it ranked 47th in total offense en route to its fourth 10-win season in program history.
In the offseason, Rams OC Kevin O'Connell would leave LA to become the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. With that OC spot newly vacant, Rams head coach Sean McVay wasted no time in finding O'Connell's replacement, quickly snatching up Coen to take his spot, announcing his official return on March 2.
The departure saw Stoops go back to the NFL for Kentucky's next offensive coordinator, hiring San Fransisco 49ers QBs coach Rich Scangarello. There was a clear decline in the Wildcats' offense, as they finished in a tie for 106th in total offense in 2022, averaging a measly 22.1 points-per-game, finishing the regular season with a 5-7 record.
Once it was thought that Coen was an option, the Wildcats jumped on the opportunity, and it seems as though there will be a reunion. Reports have since circulated that Coen will finish the NFL season with the Rams, then head to UK.
The OC verified the former, but not the latter when speaking to reporters on Friday:
"No update right now," Coen said. "Biggest thing is focusing on the season, you know, if that's the conversation that I'll end up having with those guys at the end of the season, and the biggest thing is just trying to do right by this place and finish the season off in the right way."
In LA, the Rams' Super Bowl defense has gone poorly, as they currently stand at 4-9, with the playoffs out of sight.
Coen played quarterback in college at UMass from 2004-2008. He then jumped into coaching in 2010, becoming the QBs coach at Brown University. His first coordinating gig came in 2016 at Maine, just two years before his first stint with the Rams. The 37-year old is a native of Warwick, Rhode Island.
It remains unofficial, but signs still point to Coen making his return to the Bluegrass in 2023.
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