LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has re-hired former Los Angeles Rams assistant Liam Coen as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, returning him to the program he built into one of the SEC’s top attacks in 2021.

What You Need To Know

  • Coen, 37, returned to the Rams as OC last season after a highly successful 2021 with the Wildcats

  • Coen spent three years in Los Angeles as assistant wide receivers and then quarterbacks coach before his first stint at Kentucky

  • Coen previously coached collegiately as an assistant at Maine, UMass (his alma mater), Brown and Rhode Island

Coen, 37, returned to the Rams as OC last season after a highly successful 2021 with the Wildcats, who went 10-3 and won the Citrus Bowl with a pro-style scheme led by quarterback Will Levis. Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. each exceeded 1,300 yards that season and helped Kentucky rank fifth in Southeastern Conference scoring at 32.3 points per game and eighth in total offense (425.2 yards).

Stoops said he was “very excited” to welcome Coen and his family back to Lexington.

“It was evident that he made a dramatic impact in the one season he was with our team,” the coach said in a release. “He brings a great deal of knowledge, and he also brings an excitement that players and recruits can relate to.”

Coen spent three years in Los Angeles as assistant wide receivers and then quarterbacks coach before his first stint at Kentucky. He helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl in the 2018 season and post consecutive years with dual 1,000-yard receivers. Coen also helped QB Jared Goff post his third consecutive season with at least 3,800 yards passing in 2020.

Coen previously coached collegiately as an assistant at Maine, UMass (his alma mater), Brown and Rhode Island.

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