Liam Coen left Kentucky’s offensive coordinator post after the 2021 season to take the same role with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, replacing the vacancy left by Kevin O’Connell’s departure for Minnesota to become the Vikings’ head coach. Coen had previously spent 3 seasons with the team.

The difference in quality in the Wildcats’ offense without Coen was palpable, as a unit that ranked in the top half of the SEC in several categories sunk to at or near the bottom in 2022 under Rich Scangarello. Scangarello lasted just 1 year as Kentucky’s OC as he was given his walking papers at the end of the season.

While the Rams, a Super Bowl winner a season ago, had their own struggles in 2022, much of those were down to injuries. And when the opportunity came for Coen to return to Lexington, he took it.

“We missed the heck out of that place…There’s a lot of aspects that go into making a decision like this, or starting to think about the reality of potentially coming back to Lexington and coming back to Kentucky,” he said during an interview on WLEX-TV’s BBN Tonight.

Coen, whose wife, Ashley, gave birth to their son in Lexington, mentioned the “culture and personality fit” that drew him back to the Bluegrass State.

“It’s nice to be able to be a little bit closer to the family and friends, and to be able to be a part of SEC football again,” he added.