Mark Stoops discusses Liam Coen’s adjustment after returning to Kentucky

Following a one-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022, Liam Coen is back as offensive coordinator at Kentucky, a role he held for the 2021 season.

It’s a reunion that has Kentucky fans feeling confident again after a bit of an offensive lull following Coen’s departure in 2022. Injuries to starting quarterback Will Levis compounded the team’s offensive woes last fall, but still the results just weren’t good enough. Liam Coen will be counted on to turn it around.

“I think the nice thing is the familiarity is there, but for him it’s the confidence that he has,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “The last time he came back he had never been in that situation there, calling plays in the SEC.”

Liam Coen quickly rose to prominence with the Los Angeles Rams from 2018-20, ascending with the organization as he helped coach both receivers and quarterbacks.

His lone year as coordinator at Kentucky was also highly successful. The Wildcats won 10 games and ranking 35th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 32.3 points per game.

The dropoff in 2022 without Liam Coen was stark. Kentucky finished 112th in scoring, averaging just 20.4 points per game.

“Obviously coming to Kentucky and having success that we had with his one year in place, I think that helped propel him and put him in a position to be the offensive coordinator of the defending Super Bowl champs,” Stoops said. “I think putting those together and then him coming back, I think he has a better understanding of what goes on. That doesn’t mean it’s easy.”

Still, there’s a certain level of confidence that Stoops has in his coordinator, even after a rough stint last year in Los Angeles. That doesn’t guarantee success, of course, but the head coach has seen it done before in this exact same role.

He’s hopeful Liam Coen can manage yet again.

“We all know calling plays in the SEC is difficult,” Stoops said. “So I think with that, I think with Liam, he’s been through that process. I think he has confidence in that. And again, that doesn’t make it any easier. It doesn’t mean it’s just going to happen. We have to adjust, adapt. Things change from two years ago to now, they’re different. We have to always be able to handle that.

“But I think we’re both comfortable with each other. The players are comfortable with him, even the guys that maybe didn’t play for him last year. They knew or heard enough about him, maybe knew him in recruiting. So that helps.”

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