The Los Angeles Rams hired a familiar face in Liam Coen as their new offensive coordinator. Coen will replace Kevin O’Connell who is the new head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Rams are bringing back one of their own in Coen. He is returning to Los Angeles after a stint as the offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach at the University of Kentucky. In a stretch which lasted only one season, Coen returns to Los Angeles after serving two seasons with the Rams as an assistant wide receiver coach. In his final season with the Rams, Coen was an assistant quarterback coach.
He returns this time to have a much larger role within this Rams offense.
Coen fits the Ram way to a T.
At 36-years-old, he falls in line with the age range of coaches this team tends to prefer. Also he is not new to the system, considering his two seasons with head coach Sean McVay and the franchise.
The former UMass quarterback is also a diligent and dedicated film guy. He spends countless hours breaking down game-plans and plays.His dedication was evident in which Coen sold himself to Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops. During the interview, he presented a compilation of over 300 plays he could bring to the table for Kentucky. He presented numerous plans he would have in place for the Wildcats to succeed.
Year-after-year the Kentucky Wildcats tend to be an afterthought in a tough SEC. The top teams are usually title contenders in college football. The Wildcats benefited from Coen’s energy and deep playbook, which turned the SEC on its heels. The team finished with 10 wins to only three losses. They also won the Citrus Bowl victory over a heavily favored Iowa Hawkeyes team.
The Wildcats finished in the top-five in points per game in 2021 in the SEC.
The high-octane offense led to the Wildcats having one of the top running backs in Chris Rodriguez Jr. and wide receivers in Wan’Dale Robinson. They also got solid quarterback plays from Penn State transfer Will Levis.
Coen was able to succeed with a lack of major talent and high recruits in Kentucky. He should be able to expand on that, joining an already talented offensive staff. Additionally, this time around, the Rams are led by quarterback Matthew Stafford.
College football and the professional ranks are different beasts entirely. However, even the best college coaches have for the most part “faltered” when faced with the step up in competition in the NFL.
With Liam Coen, he is a different breed entirely. His intelligence and deep knowledge of football will keep the Los Angeles Rams in place as of the top offenses in football going into the 2022 season.
It is widely known that the offensive play-calling belongs to McVay.
The also 36-year-old coach is an offensive mastermind. This is where he is the most successful in coaching. However, with Coen, McVay may trust his former coach who is just as dedicated to the sport of football as himself.
McVay will still be in charge of chief play-calling for this offense. Do not be surprised to see some new play calls within this offense, as Coen will implement his own brand of football within this system and give McVay some fresh ideas.
Coming off a Super Bowl victory, it is truly hard to figure out how this team can improve. Still, no team is perfect. Although the passing game is one of the best in the league, there is still areas of improvement. One area the Rams have that kept its offense from being routinely dominant was the run game.
The dominance of the Wildcats rushing attack was nothing to balk at. The Wildcats accumulated nearly 200 rushing yards per game in 2021. That was higher than the likes of the national champion Georgia Bulldogs, and more than the usual SEC leader in the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Coen bringing his brand of power running will give the Rams a new dimension on offense. They do not lack talent at the running back position in Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson.
For some reason though, the Los Angeles Rams could not find a consistent rushing attack in 2021. This was evident in the Super Bowl when the team could not even muster 40 yards of rushing.
With such a diverse and unpredictable play-calling style from Coen, the Los Angeles Rams should be even more dangerous. McVay will surely lean on Coen to help with a rushing attack that was never seen as a true threat throughout the 2021 season.
Liam Coen is a mixture of youth and exuberance this Rams team seems to eye. You can never truly predict what success he will have after just one season as an offensive coordinator which came in the college ranks. With his familiarity with McVay and Los Angeles, expect this hire to be another home run. It could be one that keeps the Rams in contention for a second Super Bowl run.
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McVay has a great record of hiring and developing assistants. It might be his greatest strength as a coach. I’d bet this will be a good hire for the Rams. At the same time, the hire rings a bit cliquish. The Athletic has a story noting that Coen showed Rams game film to Kentucky every week so it makes me wonder what will he bring. How will be different than McVay? Coen may not call plays but he has to make his voice heard — any Rams OC would. He has to work with McVay but be distinct. I hope… Read more »