Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen will Return to Kentucky

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, Kentucky football fans are going to love the Wildcats’ next play-caller. After serving as the L.A. Rams offensive coordinator for one season, Liam Coen will return to Kentucky in the same role for the 2023 season, reports Chris Mortensen.

Rams OC Liam Coen assisted in Baker Mayfield’s rushed prep for TNF dramatics but he is headed back to @UKFootball as OC, he job he had in 2021, according to sources. UK fans can relax.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) December 9, 2022

Mark Stoops initially recruited Coen from Sean McVay’s coaching staff to revitalize the Wildcats’ offense in 2021. The pro-style system fit Kentucky like a glove. Liam Coen used the transfer portal to bring in Will Levis from Penn State and Wan’Dale Robinson from Nebraska. The two rewrote Kentucky’s record book and won 10 games with the nation’s No. 21 offense. No other Kentucky offense under Mark Stoops has cracked the top 50.

While preparing for spring practice of his second season at UK, Liam Coen received a phone call from his mentor. Fresh off a Super Bowl victory, Sean McVay needed to replace offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connoll, who accepted the job to be the Minnesota Vikings head coach. The fast-track to an NFL head coaching opporuntity was too good for Coen to pass up.

Less than a year later, Kentucky’s once high-powered offense reached a new low in the Mark Stoops era. Out in L.A., Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp are injured, taking the Rams out of the playoff race. It all created the perfect storm for a homecoming in Lexington.

The Resume

Year	Position	School/NFL Team	Postseason
2022	Offensive Coordinator	Los Angeles Rams	N/A
2021	Offensive Coordinator, QBs	Kentucky	Citrus Bowl
2020	Assistant QB Coach	Los Angeles Rams
2018-19	Assistant WR Coach	Los Angeles Rams	Super Bowl (18)
2016-17	Offensive Coordinator, QBs	Maine
2014-15	Pass Game Coord., QBs	UMass
2012-13	Quarterbacks Coach	Brown
2011	Quarterbacks Coach	Rhode Island
2010	Quarterbacks Coach	Brown

Areas Liam Coen Must Immediately Address

Unlike his first stint as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, the former FCS quarterback does not have an experienced, top 25 offensive line to call plays behind. That’s just one of the few personnel problems Liam Coen must address in his first month back on the job.

His first quarterbacking protege is on his way to the NFL Draft. Coen will be tasked to find another talent under center to distribute the ball to the Wildcats’ impressive young pass-catchers. Kentucky’s running back room is also transforming. Chris Rodriguez will likely end his career as one of the program’s top three rushers as the Wildcats look for a new running backs coach.

It’s clear Liam Coen is a talented play-caller. He proved that with a dramatic one-season transformation in Lexington. Can that magic be replicated? History tells us, yes, if he has the right quarterback. Convincing Coen to return to Kentucky was only one piece of the large puzzle Mark Stoops is working through this offseason.