Rob Calabrese name to watch in Kentucky OC search

Former Kentucky Wildcats offensive coordinator Liam Coen is heading to Los Angeles to take over the Rams offense.

That has left Mark Stoops with an important decision on his hands, and there’s a new name coming to life.

Thy name is Rob Calabrese, who served as the New York Jets’ quarterbacks coach this past season, tasked with making a star out of former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson.

Prior to being the Jets QBs coach, Calabrese served as a running back coach at Wagner, was later promoted to be their offensive coordinator, then jumped to the NFL as a quality control analyst with the Denver Broncos.

Still with the Jets, Calabrese is getting attention for the Cats’ offensive coordinator vacancy.

“There’s a new name in the mix to become Kentucky’s next offensive coordinator. Sources tell KSR that Mark Stoops is considering Rob Calabrese to succeed Liam Coen in Lexington,” Kentucky Sports Radio’s Nick Roush wrote.

Calabrese does have a connection to the Sean McVay coaching tree through Kyle Shanahan’s brother, Matt. However, Calabrese was in charge of Wilson's performance last season. That did not go as planned, as the Jets went 4-13.

To make matters worse, the rookie had nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 13 games, also missing time with injury. Wilson’s struggles were only part of a problem for New York.

Hopefully, if hired, Calabrese can have better luck running a Wildcats team that’s become an up-and-coming program in the SEC compared to how his stint in New York went.