Liam Coen was on The Pivot Podcast when he spoke about one of his biggest coaching regrets, and it boiled down to Coen leaving the Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay at the end of the 2022 season after L.A. finished their season 5-12.
2022 was McVay’s only losing season with the Rams to this point, and according to Coen, perhaps their most challenging year as a coach at any level.
Coen, with hindsight, looks back at leaving the Rams and choosing to go to Kentucky as their offensive coordinator as the easier
of the two choices. Despite how hard it may have been for Coen to stay in L.A. at the time, he thinks he would’ve learned more had he stuck with McVay and the Rams to help them navigate past their down ‘22 season.
Whereas the Rams finished 2022 on a low note, and McVay wasn’t even sure how much longer he’d stay with the team, the next season, in 2023, McVay and Rams turned things around as they bounced back with a 10-7 campaign before losing to the Detroit Lions in the playoffs. Coen missed out on the dramatic turnaround, and all the lessons that would’ve come with it.
It’s unclear exactly what Coen would want to change about his past as he reflects that everything worked out well for him as he did take the position at Kentucky, then took a position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024 before becoming the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025.
Perhaps he simply regrets missing out on the learning experience that McVay and the rest of the Rams went through between the 2022 and 2023 season. You can see Coen’s response below and judge for yourself.
“‘Kevin O’Connell is going to get the Vikings job; I’d love for you to come back as the OC’…I’m like ‘I can’t pass that up’. And it ends up being our hardest year, and the most challenging year. And that was probably one of my biggest regrets. In this profession you ask about movements and what goes into that. Sean at that time in ‘22 we had that tough year, won 5 games, and weren’t really quite sure what he (Sean) was gonna do maybe in ways? And Kentucky called back, and we had just loved it there…kinda chasing money a little bit and also an ego decision. I wasn’t calling plays in L.A…not just calling plays but leading…and that was my biggest regret going back to Kentucky in 2023…because you know what? I thought it was an opportunity…to stick something out with a friend and an organization that gave you your first opp (opportunity) that I missed, that I walked away from when it was hard…I had some regret…did work out in the end, but it was my biggest regret of moves in my career.”
Coen found success with Jacksonville in his first year as HC, leading them to a playoff spot. His Jags will now look to go even deeper into the playoffs in 2026 as the expectations for Coen are likely the highest they’ve been in his career.
Though things did work out for Coen, he’s perhaps reflecting that the best coaches learn by navigating hardships, not running from them. Coen didn’t do anything wrong; he had a chance to go elsewhere in a position he wanted and he took it with Kentucky. Would Coen be a better coach today had he stayed with the Rams? Seems like Coen wonders that.
Either way, Coen doesn’t have to worry about bouncing back from a losing season in Jacksonville, not yet, but he will have to continue to meet the high expectations that his team have setup for themselves. And if he fails to meet those high expectations, then Coen may wind up with more regrets from his time in Jacksonville than from his time in Los Angeles.
