7 things to know about new Rams OC Liam Coen

[theramswire.usatoday.com] 7 things to know about new Rams OC Liam Coen


Cameron DaSilva
March 2, 2022 1:32 pm PT

The Los Angeles Rams are bringing back a familiar face to replace Kevin O’Connell as their offensive coordinator. They’ve hired Liam Coen to fill that role on Sean McVay’s staff, rejoining the Rams after one year at Kentucky.

Coen, 36, is a rising coach in the football world and could be a head coach in the NFL at some point in the next few years. But before he inevitably leaves the Rams for a bigger opportunity (again), let’s get to know the team’s new offensive coordinator.

1
He was Rhode Island’s Gatorade Player of the Year in high school
Coen was quite the quarterback in high school, playing for his dad at La Salle Academy in Rhode Island. He was named the Gatorade Player of the Year and was also an all-state selection as a senior. In his final season, he threw for 2,341 yards and 26 touchdowns, leading La Salle to a 10-2 record. He had 66 touchdowns and 5,335 yards in his final three high school seasons, which propelled him to landing with UMass as a quarterback.


2
Was Victor Cruz’s roommate in college
During his time at UMass, Coen was actually roommates with Cruz, who eventually went on to win a Super Bowl with the Giants. Cruz was Coen’s favorite target in 2008, leading the team with 71 catches and 1,064 yards with six touchdowns, becoming just the sixth player in program history with 1,000 yards in a single season.

In an interview with The Athletic last year, Cruz said Coen was “always two steps ahead” and could dissect a defense “better than almost anybody.”

3
Holds 6 career passing records at UMass
Coen put up pretty solid numbers with the Minutemen, better than any other quarterback in school history. In four years as a starter, he totaled 11,031 yards passing. That’s a school record, but it’s not the only one he holds. He also set records for the highest passing efficiency (152.92), completion percentage (63.9%), and had the most completions (830), attempts (1,303) and touchdowns (90).

4
Coached at five different colleges
Coen made the rounds in college before eventually breaking into the NFL in 2018 with the Rams. He coached the quarterbacks at Brown in 2010, which was his first gig. He was also the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rhode Island in 2011 before returning to Brown for two years in 2012-2013 as their QBs coach. From 2014-2015, he was UMass’ pass game coordinator and QBs coach and was Maine’s offensive coordinator from 2016-2017.

His final college stop was at Kentucky in 2021 as their offensive coordinator and QBs coach. So Coen never stayed at one college for more than two consecutive years, and at every stop, he coached the team’s quarterbacks or was the offensive coordinator.

5
Spent three years with the Rams from 2018-2020
Coen was on Sean McVay’s staff for three years before he left for Kentucky. He was the assistant WRs coach in 2018-2019 before transitioning to assistant QBs coach in 2020. Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks were all productive players when Coen was helping coach them, though Jared Goff’s play in 2020 when Coen was the assistant QBs coach left plenty to be desired.

6
Kentucky went 10-3, improved from 94th to 18th in yards per play under Coen
Kentucky improved immediately after hiring Coen last year. After going 5-6 in 2020, the Wildcats went 10-3 with Coen leading the offense last season. They also improved from 94th in yards per play two seasons ago to 18th last year. Quarterback Will Levis ranked 46th among all FBS quarterbacks in yards per pass attempt, averaging 8.01 yards per throw. Needless to say, Kentucky is sad to see Coen leave.

7
Turned down interviews with University of Miami and New Orleans Saints
Coen said recently that the Rams were the only job he’d leave Kentucky for, and he wasn’t kidding. He had interview opportunities with both the Hurricanes and Saints to potentially become their offensive coordinator, but he turned them down and instead chose to join the Rams. That’s largely thanks to Sean McVay, who Coen has raved about and learned a lot from in their three years together.