Liam Coen left the Los Angeles Rams for Kentucky in 2021, then left Kentucky to return to the Rams ahead of this current season. And now he's set to leave Los Angeles again for Kentucky.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Friday that the 37-year-old is set to resume the role he had in 2021, calling plays for Mark Stoops's Wildcats again 2023.
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
Coen is not the first member of Sean McVay's offensive staff to return to the college game after one season. Running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples left the staff to take the wide receivers job at Arizona State, and offensive assistant Jake Peetz has joined Matt Rhule's Nebraska staff as quarterbacks coach and special teams assistant.
In a related story, the Rams' first season of Super Bowl title defense has not been nearly as fun as the climb. Los Angeles is tied for the second-worst record in the NFC at 4-9, and its next first-round pick is not until some time around 2067.
Coen did a masterful job in his first run-through on the bluegrass, as shown below in Kentucky's Before Coen (2020), With Coen (2021), and After Coen (2022) seasons. Every statistic in the chart improved from 2020 to '21, and all but one fell off from 2021 to '22.
Coen was replaced by Rich Scangarello, who was let go after one season.
The 2021 season represented the second-best of Mark Stoop's 10 seasons to date: a 10-3 record, wins over Florida, LSU and Kentucky, a No. 18 final ranking, and a Citrus Bowl victory over No. 15 Iowa. This season, though, UK has slunk back to 7-5 heading into a Music City Bowl rematch with the Hawkeyes.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.