What Liam Coen adds to the Rams offense

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CGI_Ram

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I am really looking forward to the duo of Coen and McVay. Here are a couple of recent articles.

Maybe it was my perspective, but did McVay and O’Connell look as tight together as we hear Coen sound?

O’Connell definitely operated in the background while our OC.



Liam Coen watched Rams' offense evolve while at Kentucky. Now he gets to help it move forward​

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – By Wednesday, the NFL film would drop into the system, and on those mornings, the first thing then-University of Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Liam Coen did was come in and watch tape of the Rams' most recent game.

"It was more so because we, we would cut that film up and show it to our players in a Friday meeting every week," Coen said during a video conference Wednesday. "And it wasn't always about the plays, right? I mean, we ran a lot of the same concepts, even though the Rams started to evolve in a different way. It was the fundamentals, the techniques, the things that really ultimately help college football players get better off of NFL film."

Even if the primary purpose was to instruct his players, it still gave Coen the chance to keep tabs on the Rams' offense from afar as it evolved over the course of the season. Now, as it looks to take another step, Coen will be tasked with helping it move forward as the Rams' new offensive coordinator.

For Coen, who is back for his second stint on Los Angeles' coaching staff, accomplishing that objective will be helped by those Wednesday film sessions in Lexington. While some weeks weren't as much of deep-dives based on what the gameplan called for in a given week, he still had a pretty good idea of how the Rams' offense changed over the course of the regular season.

"You really started to see the evolution of the gun run really early on, especially in the beginning of the season, and then the drop back pass was kind of ever-evolving," Coen said. "Then you started to see, when they hit that a little bit of that lull there for a few games, them truly get back to running the football and getting a little bit more of that identity back until they were really comfy in terms of getting (to), 'Alright, this is who we are, this is what we need to do to be successful moving forward.'"

It also helped that one of his good friends on staff, current pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson, was still on staff and easily accessible, which proved beneficial in multiple ways.

"I would see something on film on those Wednesday film reviews, and I would text Zac Robinson and be like, 'Hey, what are you guys doing here?'" Coen said. "He's one of my best friends, so I was able to have dialogue there and be able to get some answers, which helped me as a coach be able to present that to the players at Kentucky in a better way."

The next iteration of that offense will be pieced together in the coming months, first during the offseason program scheduled to begin Tuesday, April 19 and continuing through training camp later this summer, with new personnel like wide receiver Allen Robinson to work with. And as the regular season showed, what gets put it during those times isn't the final product as defensive schemes and available personnel sometimes dictate.

Throughout that time, Coen will have a solid foundation to work with during that time thanks to those Wednesdays in Lexington.

"I think being able to keep up with it throughout the season really helped me be able to walk into this building and understand more," Coen said.



Is Liam Coen next Rams offensive coordinator who will become an NFL head coach?​


Three of coach Sean McVay’s former assistants on offense parlayed their success with the Rams into NFL head coach jobs.

Will Liam Coen be next?

Coen, the Rams’ new offensive coordinator, has yet to run a meeting or help McVay design a play for the Super Bowl champions.

But Coen, a former Rams assistant who was Kentucky’s offensive coordinator last season, is aware that Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor and Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell all saw their career trajectories soar after working closely with McVay. Chargers coach Brandon Staley is a former Rams defensive coordinator.

“If those opportunities come at some point, then great,” Coen said Wednesday during a videoconference with reporters. “It’s obviously the pinnacle of your career in terms of this profession, is getting to be a head football coach in the National Football League. And to say that wasn’t a goal of mine or isn’t a goal of mine, I’d be lying.

“But that’s not why ultimately you come take this job. ... Sean and this staff and this organization is just always adapting, always evolving, and that’s something I want to continue to be a part of.”

Coen, 36, first joined McVay’s staff in 2018 as an assistant wide receivers coach. He served in the same capacity in 2019 before becoming assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020.

Coen took many of the Rams’ concepts to Kentucky, where he designed the offense and called plays for a Southeastern Conference team that finished 10-3.

When the Vikings hired O’Connell, the Rams’ offensive coordinator the last two seasons, McVay brought back Coen.

“Loved my time at Kentucky, in the SEC, in college football again,” Coen said, “but this opportunity was too good to pass up.”

McVay said last month that Coen was somebody that he “leaned on heavily” before Kentucky hired him. And the two coaches remained in contact.

“I really love the way that he sees the game,” McVay said. “We see it through a very similar lens, and he’s got a great understanding.”

Coen, a Rhode Island native, played quarterback at the University of Massachusetts and in the Arena Football League before starting a coaching career that included stints at Brown, Massachusetts and Maine before McVay hired him.

Coen said he monitored the Rams last season and used their game film to instruct Kentucky players. He said he remained in contact with several Rams assistants and players. He also attended the Rams’ NFC divisional-round playoff victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Just to feel the love when I did go back down to Tampa for that game … really felt like home again,” he said. “Didn’t have any idea of any of this kind of coming to fruition at that time but it was nice to kind of go back to that experience after a year away from this place.”

As he prepares for his sixth season, McVay remains the play-caller and the main architect of an offense that is led by quarterback Matthew Stafford and features receivers Cooper Kupp and new addition Allen Robinson, among others.

Coen said his main role would be assisting McVay in devising game plans and leading meetings when McVay’s varied responsibilities pull him in different directions.

“Being a sounding board for Sean,” Coen said.

O’Connell was one of six assistants that left the staff after the Rams defeated the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.

Coen was among the new hires, and McVay also promoted and gave other assistants new responsibilities, ostensibly to strengthen their resumes.

Thomas Brown, assistant head coach last season and the running backs coach the last two seasons, will coach tight ends. Ra’Shaad Samples replaces Brown as a running backs coach.

Zac Robinson is the pass-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Chris Shula, linebackers coach last season, will coach defensive backs and serve as the defensive pass game coordinator.
 

Juice

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McVay really knows how to assemble a staff. I like his confidence in hiring people. McVay just wants the right guy for the job, and it seems like he doesn't spend a lot of time looking over his shoulder.

We know that Coach runs the offense and calls the plays, but let's hope he listens and/or as these articles suggest. we needed to get back to the run game last year, and McVay didn't make that call on his own (I think).
 

den-the-coach

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Looks Like McVay sounds like McVay, interesting to see where Coen ends up as I believe he could end up in college or the NFL for his first Head Coaching gig.
 

A.J. Hicks

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McVay really knows how to assemble a staff. I like his confidence in hiring people. McVay just wants the right guy for the job, and it seems like he doesn't spend a lot of time looking over his shoulder.

We know that Coach runs the offense and calls the plays, but let's hope he listens and/or as these articles suggest. we needed to get back to the run game last year, and McVay didn't make that call on his own (I think).

I think Mcvay listens to his assistants a ton! Two examples from last season:

1. I don't remember the exact play (I'm not Mcvay) but I believe it was a Cooper Kupp touchdown and during the mic'd up you can hear Mcvay tell O'connel "Great play call!"

2. In the super bowl Mcvay says "I'm not running the ball anymore guys" suggesting that they are giving him ideas and he just says we aren't running anymore.
 

OldSchool

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What will he add you ask?

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