Kentucky football fires offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello after one season

Kentucky football’s Governor’s Cup rivalry win over Louisville was not enough to save offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello’s job.

Head coach Mark Stoops fired the Wildcats’ first-year offensive coordinator Tuesday, a UK spokeswoman confirmed to the Herald Leader. Kentucky ranks 107th nationally in yards per game (336.3) and 105th in points per game (22.1) despite featuring a projected first-round NFL Draft pick at quarterback, the SEC’s leading returning rusher at running back and a handful of talented young receivers.

Now, Kentucky is in the market for a new offensive coordinator for the third consecutive offseason. Scangarello is the second UK assistant fired since the end of the regular season, joining running backs coach and co-special teams coordinator John Settle.

Scangarello came to Kentucky in February from the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. At the time, Stoops pitched the hire as a continuation of the offensive scheme run to success a year ago by coordinator Liam Coen.

Scangarello and Coen hail from the same offensive system built by NFL coaches Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. After one season at UK, Coen returned to the NFL as offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. Coen replaced former Kentucky offensive coordinator Eddie Gran, who Stoops fired after the 2020 season then later brought back to his staff as special assistant to the head coach.

Hiring Scangarello, who most recently worked as quarterbacks coach for the 49ers and had spent one season as an NFL offensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos, was supposed to help mold quarterback Will Levis into a top NFL Draft prospect. While Levis has consistently been ranked among the top three quarterbacks in the draft class this fall, his statistical production has failed to match the hype.

Kentucky scored more than 21 points in just two of its eight SEC games. Levis failed to reach 200 yards of passing in four of the last five games.

The struggles hit a low point in a 24-21 loss to Vanderbilt, which snapped a 26-game Southeastern Conference losing streak for the Commodores, this month. Kentucky reached Vanderbilt territory on each of its four first-half drives but scored just six points on two field goals.

Kentucky ranks 103rd nationally in percentage of red zone opportunities converted to touchdowns (53.2).

“I understand (fans’) frustration,” Scangarello said after the loss. “I have the same frustration. I’m not going to make excuses. It ultimately will fall on me. We’ve got to coach them better.”

Kentucky followed the Vanderbilt loss by scoring just six points against No. 1 Georgia. There were signs of progress in that game, namely a 99-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, but the red-zone struggles that have plagued the offense all season were still prominent.

Against Louisville, Kentucky scored 26 points and totaled 346 yards, its highest totals since the Oct. 15 win over Mississippi State, but converted just two of five red zone opportunities into touchdowns.

The offensive collapse represented a drastic drop-off from the excitement surrounding Scangarello’s hire just nine months earlier.

With Coen as OC, Kentucky ranked 35th nationally in points per game (32.2) and 50th in yards per game (424.1). Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson broke the school records for catches and receiving yards in a season. Robinson, center Luke Fortner and right tackle Darian Kinnard were each drafted off the UK offense following the season.

Despite those losses, expectations were high for the offense thanks to the return of Levis, running back Chris Rodriguez and a deep tight end room. Kentucky also added four-star freshmen Dane Key and Barion Brown and Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson at wide receiver.

The turnover on the offensive line turned out to be a critical blow though. Kentucky returned two starters there, but both those players (Kenneth Horsey and Eli Cox) moved to new positions. The rebuilt line struggled to protect Levis all season with Kentucky ranking 125th of 131 teams nationally in sacks allowed (42).

“No one is more disappointed in the expectations we had and how this season has gone than me,” Scangarello said after the Georgia loss. “I feel terrible. I want to score points. I came here to help Coach do something special.”

Levis suffered a foot injury later described as turf toe at Ole Miss. He missed the next game, a loss to South Carolina. Even after returning to the field, Levis’ mobility was diminished. Levis also appeared affected by the pass protection issues to the point he no longer looked comfortable even when the pocket was clean.

At Ole Miss, Levis also dislocated the middle finger on his non-throwing hand. Against Mississippi State, he injured his non-throwing shoulder on a hard hit.

“He’s had a lot of adversity this year,” Scangarello said of Levis after the Vanderbilt loss. “We’ve had our struggles in protection. He’s physically had some real issues that have limited him and hampered him in practice from practicing full speed. I think those things add up, and then when it doesn’t go with the rhythm you hope and expect, yeah it gets frustrating.

“Today was one of those days where you expect more out of the pass game. There were opportunities there, but I think some guys around him too didn’t run crisp routes like you’d expect to. I think those things became frustrating at times, but ultimately it falls back on me.”

Per the terms of the three-year contract Scangarello signed with Kentucky in February, UK must continue to pay Scangarello his monthly salary through the end of the contract in June 2025. The total buyout is $2.625 million, but the contract does specify Scangarello is required to seek another job. His salary at any other job during the term of the contract would reduce the monthly payment owed him by UK.

Could Mark Stoops change his offensive philosophy?

With Scangarello out, Stoops faces another decision about the future of the program.

Does he try to stay with the same NFL system and hope to duplicate the success Coen found in one year in Lexington or does he search for a new system entirely?

“There are definitely, yes, some philosophical things that I have to think through and do think through a lot,” Stoops said this month.

Kentucky’s next offensive coordinator will be the sixth in 11 years of the Stoops era and fourth in the last four seasons.

Whoever Stoops hires to replace Scangarello could have an exciting young nucleus of talent to work with. With Robinson battling a leg injury down the stretch, all of Levis’ top receiving options were freshmen or redshirt freshmen.

Kentucky must fend off transfer portal interest from powerhouse programs to retain Brown, Key, freshman tight end Josh Kattus and redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Dingle, but Brown said after the Louisville win he is “BBN for life.” If those young receivers stay in Lexington, the new offensive coordinator should have a valuable selling point in the search for a transfer quarterback to replace Levis.

Kentucky could return four of five starters on the offensive line with Horsey considering using his extra year of eligibility granted all players in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic to return to school. Scangarello predicted Horsey would move back to guard in that scenario, opening up at least one starting spot at tackle.

Former five-star recruit Kiyaunta Goodwin was listed as the backup left tackle on the depth chart throughout the season but played almost exclusively on the field goal unit outside of a handful of offensive snaps in early blowouts. Former four-star guard Grant Bingham could also work his way into the rotation after a redshirt season.

Kentucky will almost certainly attempt to add multiple offensive linemen through the transfer portal. The Wildcats have added one starter to the line in the portal in each of the last two years but were unable to boost the depth at tackle as initially hoped last offseason.

After the Louisville win, Scangarello pointed to the growth from those young receivers and progress along the offensive line as proof his offense could work moving forward. Instead, someone else will be tasked with making the most of that potential.

“I like the core, and they played much better in the last five weeks,” Scangarello said. “It hasn’t always resulted in wins, but I like their grit. I like some of the young guys that didn’t play that were able to redshirt. Interject that with some others, and I think we’ve got a chance.”

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