Tag: liam coen

Eagles GM Howie Roseman, HC Nick Sirianni reaching out to coordinator candidates

After finishing their exit meeting, Eagles GM Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni have begun reaching out to potential coordinator candidates

It appears that Nick Sirianni will be safe and keep his job as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles after meeting with owner Jeffrey Lurie and GM Howie Roseman.

The same can’t be said for his assistants on both sides of the football.

Dianna Russini reports that Roseman and Sirianni have contacted potential coordinator candidates on the offensive and defensive sides.

Sirianni gets much credit for the Eagles’ success over the past three seasons.

Still, after a late-season meltdown that saw the Eagles go 1-6 in their final seven games, including the playoffs, the head coach and his assistant coaches expected were on the hot seat.

Philadelphia’s third-year head coach has far exceeded expectations, but it’s clear that Gannon and Steichen played far more prominent roles than we thought.

We previewed potential offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator candidates, and as the process began, the dominoes started to fall.

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10 offensive coordinator candidates the Eagles could target if Brian Johnson departs

We’re looking at ten offensive coordinator candidates the Philadelphia Eagles could target if Brian Johnson departs or is fired

Nick Sirianni officially has his own coaching tree after the Cardinals hired Jonathan Gannon and the Colts hired Shane Steichen in the 2023 coaching carousel.

Sirianni rightfully gets a lot of credit for the Eagles’ success.

Still, after a late-season meltdown that saw the Eagles go 1-6 in their final seven games, including the playoffs, the head coach and his assistant coaches could be on the hot seat.

Philadelphia’s third-year head coach has far exceeded expectations, but it’s clear that Gannon and Steichen played far more significant roles than we thought.

Report: Bears to interview Kentucky’s Liam Coen for vacant OC position

CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports the Bears are planning to interview University of Kentucky’s Liam Coen for their OC position.

The Chicago Bears are set to interview another candidate for their vacant offensive coordinator position, and it looks like they have zeroed in on a certain type of coach.

On Friday evening, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported the Bears plan to interview University of Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Liam Coen for their coordinator position.

Coen has coached various offensive positions since 2010, but has primarily bounced back and forth between Kentucky and the Los Angeles Rams in recent seasons as their offensive coordinator. In 2023, he coordinated a transitioning Kentucky offense that saw quarterback Devin Leary throw for 2,746 yards with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. In 2021, he helped put quarterback Will Levis on the map in his first season as a Wildcat with his 2,826 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions during Kentucky’s 10-3 campaign.

In between those stints, Coen spent the 2022 season as the Rams’ offensive coordinator on Sean McVay’s staff during their sluggish Super Bowl hangover, where they were a bottom-five offense in many categories, including dead last in total yards (280.5). He also worked with the Rams from 2018–2019 as the assistant wide receivers coach and in 2020 as the assistant quarterbacks coach.

The 38-year-old is the third coach to surface on the Bears’ radar, joining Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator Clint Kubiak. All three coaches hail from the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, providing a glimpse into the type of offense the Bears are looking to run in 2024.

Former Rams OC Liam Coen says Will Levis will be ‘steal of the draft’

Liam Coen, who coached Will Levis at Kentucky, believes the team that drafts him will be getting a steal

There may not be a team in the draft with more information and background on Kentucky quarterback Will Levis than the Los Angeles Rams. It stems from their connection to current and former Wildcats offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who was with the Rams from 2018-2020 and again in 2022.

Coen coached Levis during his time at Kentucky in 2021, serving as the OC and QBs coach. He returned to the Rams in 2022 but is now back at Kentucky in the same role he held two years ago. He knows Levis’ game and skill set better than just about every other coach and his friendship with Sean McVay could yield some valuable information for the Rams.

When it comes to Coen’s view of Levis, he doesn’t leave any room for doubt. Coen told Albert Breer that he believes Levis will be the “steal of the draft” for whichever team takes him.

Coen isn’t with the Rams anymore so he can’t pound the table for Levis in the war room, but he can give McVay a good sense of what he brings as a prospect. There are obvious concerns about his decision-making and accuracy, but he has a ton of upside thanks to his size, arm talent and athleticism.

It could be enough for the Rams to bite and take Levis at No. 36 if he’s on the board in the second round.

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Sean McVay let Liam Coen call the plays in Week 12 vs. Chiefs

Sean McVay gave Liam Coen play-calling duties for one week against the Chiefs, but the Rams only scored 10 points in the loss

Things didn’t go according to plan for the Los Angeles Rams during the 2022 season, and while everything was spiraling downward, Sean McVay deployed multiple strategies to get the team back on track. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue recently wrote a fantastic, in-depth piece on how one of McVay’s ploys was to try and give play-calling duties to Liam Coen in Week 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The low point came when the Rams traveled to Kansas City in Week 12. McVay gave up play-calling, handing off duties to Coen. McVay wanted to see if ceding control could ease some stress, and at 3-8, the Rams had nothing to lose by trying it out.

The Rams lost that game to the Chiefs, 26-10, gaining just 198 total yards, their second-lowest total of the season. Clearly, delegating play-calling duties wasn’t the answer.

McVay has called plays for the Rams since being hired in 2017 and he’s shied away from handing it over to anyone else during his tenure — aside from the preseason. But with McVay searching for ways to ease some stress off of himself, he thought that maybe delegating play-calling would help.

Despite the effort to let Coen call plays, McVay realized that allowing someone else to handle the play-calling wasn’t the solution. Kevin Demoff, the COO of the Rams, went on to say that he believes McVay’s decision to let Coen call plays made him “even more miserable.”

After a flurry of rumors of McVay potentially retiring for the second straight offseason, the bright offensive-minded coach has elected to return and he’s replaced Coen with Mike LaFleur as offensive coordinator. LaFleur has confirmed that McVay will continue to call plays in 2023 and he now realizes there are better ways to deal with the rigors of coaching in the NFL.

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Liam Coen officially returning to Kentucky as OC and QBs coach

Liam Coen has made his decision: He’s leaving the Rams again to become Kentucky’s offensive coordinator and QBs coach

Liam Coen is leaving the Rams for Kentucky – again.

The University of Kentucky made it official on Tuesday, announcing that Coen has been hired as the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Coen left the Rams after the 2020 season to become Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, spending one year in Lexington before returning to the Rams in 2022.

Now, he’s headed back east.

This move was first reported in December after the Rams’ Christmas Day win over the Broncos, but Coen said last week that he was still undecided. He’s now made his decision and is excited to be back with the Wildcats.

“Ashley and I are thrilled to be back in Lexington” Coen said. “I want to thank Coach Stoops and Mitch Barnhart for the amazing opportunity.  I also want to thank Coach McVay for his mentorship and guidance and the Rams organization for their support throughout this process.  I can’t wait to get to work in helping lead the UK offense and bring a championship to Big Blue Nation!”

The Rams offense struggled mightily this season, though not entirely because of Coen. They lost four starting offensive linemen and several backups, as well as Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson.

That alone excuses Coen’s one-year stint in 2022, but fans still were not happy with the way the offense operated under his guidance.

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6 candidates to replace Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael

It’s clear the Saints need to go in a new direction on offense. These candidates could be good picks to replace OC Pete Carmichael, via @RossJacksonNOLA and @john_siglerr:

It’s clear that the New Orleans Saints offense needs to change. The team made an assumption that Pete Carmichael could keep it afloat thanks to his 15 years of experience in the system, as the NFL’s longest-tenured offensive coordinator — but that blew up in their face. They averaged just 19.4 points per game this season and a meagre 13.5 points per game through their final six contests. That’s inexcusable with the playmakers assembled in New Orleans.

Carmichael mismanaged personnel throughout the season, failing to creatively use Alvin Kamara on the ground (with too many runs flowing between the tackles in 10 yards-to-go situations) and through the air (with the fewest designed screen passes in the league, and little to no targets out of the slot) and neglecting to keep his most effective short-yardage convertor, Taysom Hill, involved for long stretches of play. Electrifying rookie receiver Rashid Shaheed didn’t become a regular part of the offense until Week 11.

And that doesn’t even get into his concerning trends as a play caller. Few offenses had more rushing attempts on 2nd-and-10 after an incomplete pass than the Saints did under Carmichael (37), with defenses responding accordingly by allowing just 3.4 yards per carry on those downs. Carmichael never seemed to buck that trend, among others. New Orleans needs to evolve.

So making a change at offensive coordinator should be one of the first moves of their offseason. Whether the Saints try to keep things in-house again or fully explore their options outside the building, here are five names on our radar:

Liam Coen still undecided on whether he’ll leave Rams for Kentucky

Liam Coen has been offered the offensive coordinator job at Kentucky, but he’s still undecided on whether he’ll take it

It was reported by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen at the beginning of December that Liam Coen is headed back to Kentucky to be their offensive coordinator, leaving the Rams for the second time in three years. However, with the NFL season still ongoing, Coen hasn’t yet decided what his future holds.

He told reporters on Thursday that he’s still thinking things over and will decide whether he’ll take the Kentucky job shortly after the Rams’ season ends on Sunday afternoon in Seattle.

“Have not made a decision quite yet,” Coen said. “The focus has obviously been to truly put everything into this and this opportunity to be around these guys. There’s so many of these guys that I’m not only coaching them – or they’re players – I’m close with them as friends and also the staff. Gonna take the next couple days after the game to think it through, talk through with my family, my wife Ashley and make a decision that’s best for us. Never easy, but that’s kind of this world. You get opportunities you have to weigh and decide the pros and cons, make your list and figure out what’s best for you and your family. But the focus is here for sure, and we’ll definitely come up with that in the next few days.”

Coen joined the Rams’ staff in 2018 as an assistant wide receivers coach before transitioning into a role as the quarterbacks coach in 2020. He then left to become Kentucky’s offensive coordinator in 2021, spending one year in Lexington before returning to the Rams in 2022.

The Rams lost their offensive coordinator last offseason when Kevin O’Connell became the Vikings’ head coach, so Sean McVay has become used to filling this role. If Coen leaves again, McVay will have another void to fill in 2023.

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Liam Coen is leaving the Rams again to go back to Kentucky

For the second time, Liam Coen is leaving his job with the Rams to become Kentucky’s offensive coordinator

Liam Coen joined the Rams’ staff in 2018 and spent three years learning under Sean McVay before leaving in 2021 to become Kentucky’s offensive coordinator. He returned to Los Angeles this season after just one year in Lexington, but apparently, he missed his old job too much.

According to Chris Mortensen, Coen is leaving the Rams to once again become Kentucky’s offensive coordinator. That’s a surprising move for the young coach who said several times this offseason how happy he was to be back on McVay’s staff.

It’s par for the course for the Rams, who have to replace key coaches just about every year. Coen took the place of Kevin O’Connell as the Rams’ offensive coordinator after the Vikings hired O’Connell as their head coach this offseason.

Coen enjoyed a successful year with the Wildcats in 2021, calling the offensive plays and helping turn around the team with a 10-3 record after they went 5-6 the year prior. When he re-joined the Rams as their offensive coordinator this year, he knew he wouldn’t call the plays, but the chance to work with McVay again was something he coveted.

Coen is the second Rams assistant to accept a coaching job at the college level in the last week. Running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples is headed to Arizona State to coach the wide receivers.

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Liam Coen ‘really liked’ Baker Mayfield in 2018 draft, as did Sean McVay

Liam Coen says he watched “a ton” of Baker Mayfield film before the 2018 draft and really liked what he saw, as did Sean McVay.

Baker Mayfield has arrived in Los Angeles as the latest quarterback who will attempt to replace Matthew Stafford. It was somewhat surprising that he was not only waived by the Panthers, but that the Rams chose to claim him off waivers.

But given the team’s quarterback situation, it really was a matter of “why not?”

It helps that both Liam Coen and Sean McVay liked Mayfield a lot when he was coming out of Oklahoma in 2018. Coen was the Rams’ assistant WRs coach that year and though Los Angeles had no shot at drafting Mayfield, nor any plans to do so, Coen watched a lot of film on him.

Coen liked what he saw and says McVay did, too.

“Just looking at the whole picture, where we’re at, where he’s at. We’re realistic about bringing somebody in, acquiring somebody at this stage in the season, and what that actually might look like. But if it is something that can provide a spark and somebody that can come in and help us compete to win football games, that’s the ultimate goal for the last five weeks of the season. So obviously, really liked him coming out. I remember watching him a ton. (He’s a) competitor, tries to do everything to win football games. Sean obviously liked him at the time as well and had some conversations with him, I think like during the Combine or something. Just liked him as a dude. So that’s really the extent of that kind of nature.”

Mayfield obviously went first overall in the 2018 draft to the Browns but after an up-and-down tenure in Cleveland, he was traded to the Panthers. He was benched twice this season and recently, he asked to be released, which the Panthers granted.

The Rams only have Mayfield under contract for five more games, but there’s a chance he could be brought back in 2023 if this partnership works out in the next month. Coen can’t say what Mayfield’s long-term future in Los Angeles looks like, though.

“That I don’t know,” he said. “That’s more so something to play out for the rest of the season. We have five weeks left and kind of just go out and see how it plays out, whether he plays, doesn’t play, depth, I have no idea. Obviously, we’ll find out about his ability to come in and learn and do all those types of things. But excited to get him in here.”