How Brock Vandagriff can help attract Kentucky football’s Liam Coen replacement
As Mark Stoops searches for Kentucky football’s new offensive coordinator for the fourth consecutive offseason, there should be several selling points attractive to prospective candidates.
Kentucky has proven willing to pay at the top end of the coordinator market. A spot in the SEC offers a chance to prove oneself against the sport’s top competition. A head coach with a defensive background means the hire will have play-calling control.
But perhaps the most important selling point is the presence of an exciting transfer quarterback already on campus. Unlike when Stoops hired Liam Coen for the first time after the 2020 season, the next coordinator will not need to scour the transfer portal for his starting quarterback.
That is as long as Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff sticks around in Lexington.
In multiple interviews since Coen left UK for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Vandagriff’s father, Greg, has said the family has no plans to leave Kentucky despite Coen’s departure. In a text message to the Lexington Herald-Leader on Monday, Greg said he is staying out of the search for Coen’s replacement, but it seems unlikely Stoops would not at least keep the Vandagriffs apprised of his thought process as the search progresses.
The transfer portal threat has led to early speculation from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and others that Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who previously worked with Vandagriff as an analyst at Georgia, might be a candidate for the Kentucky job.
Just a few days before news broke that Coen was headed back to the NFL, Vandagriff met with local reporters to discuss his decision to transfer from Georgia, where he was a backup for three seasons, to Kentucky. Those comments might offer a look at what kind of coordinator Stoops will target to best suit Vandagriff’s skill set.
“I liked Kentucky before I even talked with Coach Coen much, just because of their offense,” Vandagriff said. “(Georgia) coach (Kirby) Smart, he regards Kentucky really highly. Playing them every year that we’re there at Georgia, he always spoke well about them, well about Coach Stoops, and that was before I even had any conversations with either of them.
“… I already knew their offense was really similar to what Georgia runs, a pro-style offense. You’re going to be able to go have success at the next level, which you obviously saw (Will) Levis being able to do at the end of the season.”
While Vandagriff only played sparingly in three seasons at Georgia, he arrived on campus with as much hype as any quarterback in the country.
The 247Sports Composite, which averages the ratings of the major recruiting services, rated Vandagriff as a five-star prospect in high school, ranking him No. 5 at his position in the class of 2021. Vandagriff was ranked two spots behind possible 2024 NFL draft No. 1 pick Caleb Williams and five spots ahead of possible first-round pick Drake Maye.
Coen was able to attract a quarterback of Vandagriff’s pedigree in large part because of the work he did with Levis, helping turning the Penn State transfer from a run-first backup into a second-round pick and eventual NFL starter. While early indications are Stoops is willing to move away from the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan coaching tree that sent Coen and 2022 offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello to Lexington, the next hire will almost certainly still want to sell the ability to prepare quarterbacks for the NFL like Coen did.
That does not necessarily mean Stoops has to stick to a traditional pro-style scheme.
Both starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl (Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy) played in spread offenses in college. There is no shortage of examples of NFL starters who played in college offenses that made heavy use of the read-option, and Vandagriff appears to have the mobility that could make the quarterback run game an effective part of Kentucky’s next offense.
“I’d probably see myself as a pocket passer,” Vandagriff said. “I think I was a dual-threat in high school or classified as that. Can extend the play if need be, but not a type that’s looking to run. Obviously, if something presents itself, I think I can get down the field a little bit. Move the chains, but nothing spectacular on the ground.”
The presence of four-star freshman quarterback Cutter Boley and return of former UK quarterback Beau Allen after stops at Tarleton State and Georgia Southern provides some depth behind Vandagriff for the next coordinator. On signing day, UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow made it clear the staff views Boley as the future at the position, so how he gels with the new coordinator during spring practice will be another important storyline to watch.
When Coen left Kentucky the first time after the 2021 season, Stoops included Levis in interviews with candidates to replace him. The final decision rested with Stoops, but the fact he was willing to involve his starter that deeply in the process reflects the reality of the current college football landscape.
Vandagriff and any other players who have already earned a college degree can enter the transfer portal at any time — though there is little reason to do so now with enrollment deadlines for the spring semester already passed at almost every school. All other players will have another window to enter the transfer portal in April.
Spring practice is around a month away with Kentucky generally starting during the first week of March. Having the new coordinator in place in time for spring practice is essential, but with coaches limited on how much work they can do with players in the interim and little threat of immediate transfer losses, Stoops has some time to make sure he finds the right candidate.
When Coen left Kentucky the first time, Stoops needed less than a week to hire Scangarello as his replacement. That departure came in late February though, increasing the time crunch before spring practice.
Stoops knew during that search he wanted to keep as much continuity in the offense as possible for Levis and the rest of his returning players. Even before Coen’s departure, Stoops acknowledged changes to the offense might be coming this offseason in an effort to increase the number of plays Kentucky runs each game. Opening this search to coaches from other offensive schemes might prolong the process.
In the meantime, Vandagriff can continue learning his new teammates in informal throwing sessions and offseason conditioning.
“People are doing their work,” Vandagriff said. “There’s no fussing out there. There’s no, ‘Freaking, I’m dying, I’m dying,’ letting people know you’re dying. Dude, just keep that inside. It’s been great lifting and great throwing, so I haven’t had to do anything so far.
“It’s just a statement to the culture that’s already in place here. Just a couple different plays need to happen, and hopefully they will this next year. Hopefully that will be us.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2024 at 6:00 AM.