Liam Coen leaves Kentucky to become Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator

History is repeating itself. For the second time in three years, Kentucky is looking for a new offensive coordinator in February following the abrupt departure of Liam Coen. After another one-season stint in Lexington, Coen is going back to the NFL.

Ian Raporport and Mike Garafalo report Coen will serve as Todd Bowles’ play-calling offensive coordinator next season. He succeeds Dave Canales, who took over as the Carolina Panthers head coach this offseason.

A reunion was at the heart of Coen’s last departure. He’ll get to have another one in Tampa Bay. During his last stint in A, the Rams quarterback room was decimated by injuries. They brought in Baker Mayfield, whose career was on its last lifeline. With only 48 hours’ notice, the former No. 1 overall pick led the Rams to an improbable Thursday Night Football win. He credited Coen for preparing him for the moment.

Mayfield parlayed that success into a gig with the Bucs as Tom Brady’s successor. He led them to a Wild Card playoff win. He’s expected to re-sign with Tampa Bay this offseason.

Coen was the 11th-highest-paid assistant coach in all of college football last fall. He was set to make $1.8 million in 2024.

His 2021 season in Lexington produced the best Kentucky offense of the Mark Stoops era. Those results were not replicated during his second one-season stint at Kentucky.

The Wildcats took significant steps forward following a disastrous 2022, finishing No. 34 in the SP+ rankings, the Cats’ second-best mark of the Stoops era. Kentucky scored nine more points per game and featured one of the most explosive offenses in the country, tallying 11 plays of 50+ yards, the most in the SEC. However, they were inefficient, unable to consistently move the sticks. Devin Leary was the least accurate passer in the SEC, the Cats led the league in turnovers, and Kentucky ran only 54 plays per game, the third-fewest in college football.

The Liam Coen Hokey Pokey has put Kentucky behind the 8-ball once again. Even though the NFL coaching carousel is still spinning rapidly, finding a college offensive coordinator in February is an unenviable task.

Unlike when a head coach departs, the transfer portal does not open right away for all of the players who came to Kentucky to play for Coen. The next Kentucky offensive coordinator will get a spring practice to convince the Cats to stick around until free agency resumes in April.

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