Photo - UK Athletics
Liam Coen brought a pro-style offense with him from the Los Angeles Rams when he joined coach Mark Stoops staff at Kentucky as offensive coordinator for the 2021 season. It worked so well that UK won 10 games and brought in its highest-ranked recruiting class under Stoops and it included several big-time receivers.
However, Coen recently decided to go back to the Rams as offensive coordinator — just a few days before UK was scheduled to start spring practice.
Give Stoops credit not only for moving swiftly to find another offensive coordinator but also for going back into the NFL to land Rich Scangarello, who has spent the last five seasons in the National Football League.
The 49-year-old Scangarello has been with three NFL teams:
— Scangarello for his first NFL job in 2009 with the Oakland Raiders as an offensive quality control coach.
— Scangarello spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as the 49ers quarterbacks coach.
— He was the Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator in 2019.
— In 2020, Scangarello was the senior offensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles.
— Scangarello returned to San Francisco in 2021 to coach the quarterbacks and along with Zach Yenser, UK’s new offensive line coach, helped the 49ers finish 10-7 during the regular season and advance to the NFC Championship game.
“When the Rams hired Liam, I knew I wanted to find a replacement that would continue what we’ve built here,” Stoops said in a release from UK. “We just hired Zach Yenser from the 49ers and having both Rich and Zach, who come from the same (Mike and Kyle) Shanahan tree, (Sean) McVay tree and (Liam) Coen tree, not only bring a wealth of experience but they also help keep continuity. It’s a seamless transition.”
Scangarello will also be UK’s quarterbacks coach just like Coen was.
“Rich is inarguably one of the best quarterback coaches in the country,” Stoops continued. “Rich is experienced, he’s coached elite quarterbacks, he’s called plays in the NFL and college, and the fact that he is interested in this job just shows the growth of our program.”
To be able to hire Coen last year and then have the Rams want him back and then persuade two coaches off an NFC Championship game team to join the program says a lot about what Stoops has built at UK.
“We have hired two coaches from one of the best organizations in all of sports. I couldn’t be more excited about where our program is headed,” Stoops said.
Scangarello also has a variety of college football coaching experience.
“The timing was perfect for me to be a coordinator again, especially under a head coach who has a vision for the offense we will run,” Scangarello said in the UK release. “His belief in a pro-style system felt like the right opportunity for me and at the right time.
“I’ve watched UK play on film and I really like the quarterback Will Levis. Seeing how he plays in this high-level system was part of the appeal. I think we will continue doing great things and I’m ready to get started.”
One Response
Coen leaving was a jolt, but Coach Scangarello sounds like a good replacement. Hope he stays for more than a year to give the UK offense stability. Hope it works out for this team and the BBN. Hope all the talent recruited stays around too. We shall see.