Former NFL offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello replacing Liam Coen at Kentucky
Rich Scangarello, an assistant in the NFL the last five seasons, will be the University of Kentucky’s next offensive coordinator.
Following multiple reports, Kentucky on Friday night confirmed that Scangarello, who spent last season as the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterbacks coach, will be its next offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. It also was the first acknowledgment by the university that it was seeking to replace Liam Coen, who has been named offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams.
Scangarello, 49, will run the same offense, or a similar one, that Coen used to bring more balance to UK’s team. The Wildcats went 10-3 after defeating Iowa in the Citrus Bowl and for the first time in three seasons did not finish last in passing in the Southeastern Conference.
Last season in San Francisco, Scangarello coached alongside Zach Yenser, whom UK named as its new offensive line coach earlier this month. In a news release, Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops noted the value of both coaches having ties to Mike and Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay and Coen.
“It’s a seamless transition,” Stoops said. “Rich is inarguably one of the best quarterback coaches in the country. Rich is experienced, he’s coached elite quarterbacks, he’s called plays in the NFL and college, and the fact that he is interested in this job just shows the growth of our program. We have hired two coaches from one of the best organizations in all of sports. I couldn’t be more excited about where our program is headed.”
Scangarello will arrive at Kentucky with much more coaching experience than Coen had. Last year was his second stint as the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach, the first coming from 2017-2018. He was the Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator in 2019 before serving as a senior offensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020.
“I’m very excited to be coaching at Kentucky and in the Southeastern Conference,” Scangarello said in the same release. “The timing was perfect for me to be a coordinator again, especially under a head coach who has a vision for the offense we will run. … I’ve watched UK play on film and I really like the quarterback Will Levis. Seeing how he plays in this high-level system was part of the appeal. I think we will continue doing great things and I’m ready to get started.”
He spent a year at Wagner, an FCS program, as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, in 2016 after a stint as an offensive quality control coach with the Atlanta Falcons. Scangarello spent most of his coaching career prior to that at colleges on the West Coast after attending Sacramento State. He’s a Los Angeles native.
The 49ers finished 10-7 and third in the NFC West Division in 2021 but upset the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in the playoffs before falling just short of the Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 1:36 PM.
