Liam Coen’s exit leaves Mark Stoops with his biggest decision as Kentucky’s coach
When news broke Friday morning that Liam Coen was once again leaving the Kentucky football program, I texted a Coen supporter for his reaction.
“Good riddance,” came the reply.
I doubt he’s alone.
After Coen’s celebrated return as Kentucky football’s offensive coordinator in 2023, his continued flirtations with the NFL and other colleges hasn’t sat well with Big Blue Nation. With good reason. Upon his return, it was Coen himself who said he wanted to “put down roots.” Shallow roots those turned out to be.
Worse still, Coen’s sudden departure for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaves Mark Stoops in a bind. We’re a little more than a month before spring practice. This is the fourth consecutive offseason UK’s head coach has had to make an offensive coordinator hire. Coming off a pair of 7-6 seasons, this is Stoops’ most important OC hire.
First, let’s acknowledge that Stoops is at least partially responsible for the instability. In 2015, he hired and fired Shannon Dawson after one season. In 2020, he parted ways with Eddie Gran after five seasons. In 2022, he hired and fired Rich Scangarello after one season. Twice now he has hired Coen, only to see the former NFL assistant coach pull a one-and-done and return to the pros.
From a professional standpoint, you can’t blame Coen for relocating to Tampa Bay. It’s a chance to actually call plays in the NFL, something he did not do when he rejoined the Los Angeles Rams as Sean McVay’s OC in 2022. Coen worked there with Baker Mayfield, the quarterback the Bucs are trying to keep in free agency. Mayfield apparently endorsed a Coen in Tampa Bay. NFL employment is without college football’s necessary evils of recruiting, NIL and the transfer portal. There are only 32 offensive coordinator jobs at the next level.
From Stoops’ standpoint, he now has a philosophical decision to make. Running an NFL-style offense, with different play-callers, Kentucky was 116th nationally in total offense in 2022 and 100th in 2023. The Cats went 14-12 overall, including 6-10 in the SEC in those two seasons. After averaging 32.3 points and 424.1 yards a game during Coen’s first UK stint, the Cats dropped to 29.1 points and 339.5 yards in his second.
Here’s the thing: So many of the Cats current offensive players came to Lexington to play for Coen. That includes Brock Vandagriff, the transfer from Georgia expected to be UK’s QB in 2024. He said so himself. Vandagriff and his new teammates harbor NFL ambitions. Coen coached in the NFL. Same scenario with Scangarello, who owned an extensive NFL resume. In this age of the transfer portal, those are players Kentucky needs to keep.
If you’re Kentucky, you need an identity. You need a draw for recruits. After playing for Coen, Will Levis and Wan’Dale Robinson were second-round NFL draft picks. Chris Rodriguez was taken in the fifth round. All three made significant contributions to their professional employers, as has Luke Fortner, a two-year starting center for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Yes, returning to the NFL for your OC to keep your current stars and lure future recruits runs the risk of another short-term stay. To that point, I’d argue there are no more long-term stays.
Trivia question: Who is currently the SEC’s longest-serving offensive coordinator?
Answer: Florida’s Rob Sale and Ole Miss’ Charlie Weis Jr. Both have served their current stops for two seasons. Only Weis calls plays.
Fun fact: If you include Texas and Oklahoma, nine of of the 16 schools will have new offensive coordinators in 2024.
Kentucky is one of the nine. I’m probably in the minority among the BBN, but I’d continue with the NFL path. (Full disclosure, I’m an NFL guy.) This late in the game, best not to pull the rug out from under the players. Giving future prospects a reason to sign with Kentucky is paramount. That said, considering what happened with Coen, I wouldn’t blame Stoops for going a different route.
Ultimately, the decision lies with Stoops. It won’t be an easy one, but the direction and success of his program depends on it.
This story was originally published February 3, 2024 at 1:06 PM.
