Sean McVay is not wasting time finding replacements for his coaching staff.
The Rams are expected to hire University of Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen to replace the departed Kevin O'Connell as OC, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday. O'Connell left the Rams to become the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings last week.
The team announced Coen's hiring on Wednesday, March 2.
Former Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson is expected to return to the Rams as a senior offensive assistant and former LSU offensive coordinator Jake Peetz is expected to join the offensive staff, as well, per Rapoport.
The three additions are reunions for the assistants. Olson served as quarterbacks coach under McVay in Los Angeles in 2017 before moving on in 2018, while Coen was an assistant receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach with the Rams before he left for Kentucky in 2021. Peetz, who was the LSU OC last season, worked with McVay in 2014 with Washington.
Coen joins Los Angeles with big shoes to fill. The Rams enter 2022 as the reigning Super Bowl champions who bid their offensive coordinator adieu only after mounting a late comeback to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.
Coen will not lack talented playmakers with his new team. The former Wildcats coordinator has a veteran quarterback in Matthew Stafford and Super Bowl LVI Most Valuable Player Cooper Kupp to work with, as well as Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and a backfield that includes Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson.
With O'Connell as offensive coordinator, the Rams finished ninth in total offense in 2021, ranking fifth in passing while struggling on the ground for much of the season, leading to a 25th-place regular-season finish in rushing. Those issues carried over into Super Bowl LVI, which the Rams won despite averaging less than 2 yards per carry in the game.
A former collegiate quarterback, Coen will find a kindred spirit in Stafford. His greatest challenge will be reviving the Rams' rushing attack, which saw bursts of productivity during Los Angeles' five-game winning streak late in the 2021 campaign, but will hope to be better in 2022 with the hopes of repeating as champions.
