Kentucky OC Liam Coen Rejoining Sean McVay And The LA Rams, According To Report

Another coaching hire has been completed. The Los Angeles Rams have hired Kentucky OC Liam Coen to be the new coordinator, according to Albert Breer. 

The Kentucky faithful had been hopeful that Coen would remain in Lexington, where he led the Wildcats offense to a successful season in 2021. But it looks like that won't be the case for the 2022 season. Coen spent three seasons with the Rams, including the last one as an assistant quarterbacks coach, before being named as UK’s offensive coordinator in December 2020.

Kentucky's offense showed great promise last season behind Will Levis, Chris Rodriguez and the departed Wan'Dale Robinson. Levis threw for more than 2,800 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2021, which was significantly better than the previous season where Terry Wilson threw for 1,187 yards and seven touchdowns in a completely different offense.

The opening came when former OC Kevin O'Connell took the Minnesota Vikings head coaching job after the Rams won the Super Bowl.

This is a pretty big hit for the Kentucky staff, with Mark Stoops hoping to keep Coen around for another season to go along with the offensive weapons returning. The 'Cats finished the 2021 season ranked 35th nationally in scoring offense and 50th in total offense. These numbers represented a dramatic jump from the 2020 season when Kentucky finished 107th in scoring offense and 115th in total offense.

The Wildcats averaged more than 100 more passing yards in 2021 than they did in 2020, showing just how far they came in one short year. This will undoubtedly leave Mark Stoops looking to hire someone with the same type of offensive philosophy just a few weeks before they open spring practice.

I've been told Coen has kept Stoops in the loop regarding this decision, so the search for a new OC could possibly already be underway. It will also be interesting to see how this affects players who might move on to the transfer portal, especially with a new coach running the offense. This will be something to keep an eye on.

We will keep you posted on any updates to this story.