It did not take Mark Stoops long to realize he had found the right fit for Kentucky's offensive coordinator position.
"I have recently had the opportunity to spend time with Liam and was immediately impressed with his knowledge and personality to move our program into the future," the UK head coach said Tuesday upon announcing the hiring of Liam Coen, an assistant coach on the Los Angeles Rams staff.
"We expect to be an exciting offense for both our players and fans. I really can't wait to get started."
The 35-year-old Coen is currently serving as an assistant quarterback coach with the Rams. He worked with receivers in 2018 and 2019. He is considered to be one of the rising stars in the profession under LA head Sean McVay, who is regarded as one of the game's top offensive minds.
"They are very creative and very innovative with what they are doing," Stoops said of the Rams.
Coen will take over for Eddie Gran, who was dismissed last week at the end of the regular season after Kentucky ranked last in the SEC in total offense (311.8 yards per game) and 12th in scoring (21.7 ppg). He will also assume the quarterback coaching responsibilities, filling the vacancy left by Darin Hinshaw.
According to Stoops, Coen will finish his season with the Rams, who are currently tied for the NFC West division lead with three regular-season games remaining. Kentucky, which is likely to play in a bowl game this winter, will delay implementing its new offense until Coen is in Lexington on a full-time basis.
Coen has not had a great deal of time to get familiar with his offensive personnel at Kentucky but stressed Tuesday that he plans to adjust his system to fit the talent in place.
"I don't know if it's necessarily about plays, it's definitely more about players," he said via Zoom video conference with the UK media. "We all know that. It's not Xs and Os, it's GI Joes... I believe there are pieces in place (to have a strong offense)."
Following the departure of Terry Wilson as UK's starting quarterback, Coen will likely be working primarily with sophomore Joey Gatewood and freshman Beau Allen in the spring. He admitted that he did not have a great deal of familiarity with them yet but noted, "It's not about them fitting to this system, it's about me fitting to their skillsets. I believe that with every position."
Stoops said Tuesday that he does not like to "pigeon hole" Gatewood as the dual-threat quarterback and Allen as the more traditional signal-caller. The UK boss believes both can do a little bit of everything the position requires.
Coen noted that it's not important for the quarterback to run the ball in his system, although it can be a nice bonus. "It can cause people fits... But ideally we would like to find someone who is a true passer first but can also extend plays and make some plays out of the pocket."
Passing accuracy is always the first priority at the position, Coen added.
Coen has been impressed with the way the Cats have run the ball in recent years and will likely keep a lot of those same concepts in place. "It's just about, how can we tweak some of this stuff and incorporate some of these concepts from the Rams to really detail-up some of the pass game, the marriage of the run and the pass."
He said fans can expect to see more of an attacking tempo and more from the play-action passing game and screens to the backs and tight ends than they have witnessed in recent years. The Rams are noted for spreading the ball around to several different targets in the passing attack. Nine players caught at least one pass in one of their recent games.
The Rhode Island native is the son of a former high school and college coach. As a senior in high school, Coen was Gatorade Player of the Year and an all-state selection as a quarterback for LaSalle Academy in Providence. He went on to play for UMass, where he was a four-year starter and broke nearly every passing record for the Minutemen.
Coen was an assistant coach at Brown, Rhode Island, and UMass before taking the offensive coordinator job at Maine in 2016.
