The Liam Coen, LA Rams Deal is Unusual, even for the Coaching Carousel

The college football coaching carousel produces some outstanding content for fans throughout the offseason. Over the last two months we had an unsuspecting move for Brian Kelly, creating the best-worst accent ever shared in public. Some moves are less comedic and more enraging, like the feathers Eric Wolford ruffled on his way out the door to Alabama. Of all the weird coaching carousel consequences, Liam Coen’s tango with the L.A. Rams is certainly one of the weirdest.

Liam Coen’s possible departure from Kentucky for L.A. is not surprising. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator? What is surprising is how it’s transpired.

Wolford’s messy departure is not unprecedented. This business is no stranger to hard feelings. What is weird: Seeing one report that Coen is going to the Rams, followed by another report that “no deal is in place.” SI’s Albert Breer had the first report, presumably from the Rams’ side, followed by Bruce Feldman’s report, likely sourced from Coen’s camp.

It’s been almost ten hours and the BBN has heard nothing since.

Earlier this afternoon it appeared that Kentucky was not completely out of the dark, giving UK fans a sliver of hope that he could ultimately turn down the Rams’ offer. McVay has seemingly added 17 new offensive staffers over the last three days, throwing more fuel on the fire. It’s bizarre to spend a day without any sort of confirmation. As of this post’s publication, I could not receive any confirmation that Coen and the Rams have a done deal, but I can share that UK is preparing for Coen’s departure. Mark Stoops’ coaching search has unofficially begun.

As UK starts to look for a new Offensive Coordinator, I am hearing it’s a “wide search” and “most of the names people are talking about are not names being considered”

I think Stoops is going to be as creative as he was when he hired Coen. I also think hire likely will be young

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) February 22, 2022

Thankfully, this situation never got ugly. But it did get weird. Behind the scenes it has been a roller coaster ride. The mood shifted back and forth throughout the day. One hour he was ready to be a Ram. The next one Kentucky actually had a shot at convincing him to return to Lexington. Weirdness aside, the final outcome was ultimately inevitable. Liam Coen is a good one. It was going to be hard for the Cats to keep him around for long. Thankfully, he made the job much more attractive for his successor. We’ll let you know when the move is officially, official. Until then, it appears he will be a Ram in 2022.