RichScangarello

Rich Scangarello (pronounced SKANG-ah-rill-oh), who has spent the last five seasons in the National Football League, enters his first season as Kentucky’s new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. He was hired on Feb. 25, 2022, replacing Liam Coen who was named the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.

Scangarello, 49, comes to the Bluegrass with 25 years of coaching experience, seven in the NFL and 15 in the collegiate ranks. He arrives in Kentucky fresh off a run to the NFC Championship game with the 49ers.

“When the Rams hired Liam Coen, I knew I wanted to find a replacement that would continue what we’ve built here,” Stoops said. “We just hired Zach Yenser from the 49ers to coach the offensive line and having both Rich and Zach, who come from the same (Mike and Kyle) Shanahan tree, (Sean) McVay tree and (Liam) Coen tree, not only bring a wealth of experience but they also help keep continuity. It’s a seamless transition.

“Rich is inarguably one of the best quarterback coaches in the country,” Stoops continued. “Rich is experienced, he’s coached elite quarterbacks, he’s called plays in the NFL and college, and the fact that he is interested in this job just shows the growth of our program. We have hired two coaches from one of the best organizations in all of sports. I couldn’t be more excited about where our program is headed.”

Scangarello returned to San Francisco in 2021 to coach the quarterbacks after previously serving in the same position from 2017-18.

In 2021, he along with Yenser, helped the 49ers go 10-7 in the regular season with a great late-season run that saw them advance to the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three seasons. San Francisco, led by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, ranked seventh in the NFL in total offense (375.7 yards per game), averaging 248.3 passing yards and 127.4 rushing yards per game. Garoppolo completed 301 of 441 passes for 3,801 yards and 30 touchdowns with a 98.7 QB rating this season.

“I’m very excited to be coaching at Kentucky and in the Southeastern Conference,” Scangarello said. “The timing was perfect for me to be a coordinator again especially under a head coach who has a vision for the offense we will run. His belief in a pro-style system felt like the right opportunity for me and at the right time. I’ve watched UK play on film and I really like the quarterback Will Levis. Seeing how he plays in this high-level system was part of the appeal. I think we will continue doing great things and I’m ready to get started.”

In 2020, Scangarello served as a senior offensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia’s offense was led by second-year players in WR Greg Ward, who led the team with six touchdown receptions, and RB Miles Sanders, who finished the season with 164 carries for 867 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

He served as the Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator in 2019, working with QB Drew Lock, who completed 100 or 156 passes for 1,020 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie. He became the seventh rookie quarterback in NFL history to win four of their first five starts. Lock was paired with fellow rookie TE Noah Fant, who finished with the most receptions (40) and receiving yards (562) by a rookie tight end in franchise history. WR Courtland Sutton registered 72 receptions for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns through the air and RB Phillip Lindsay tallied 224 carries for 1,011 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Prior to his time in Denver, Scangarello spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as the 49ers quarterbacks coach. In 2018, he worked closely with QB Nick Mullens, who saw extended action for the first time in his NFL career. Mullens started all eight games in which he appeared and completed 176 of 274 attempts for 2,277 yards and 13 touchdowns for a QB rating of 90.8. He joined Hall of Famers Fran Tarkenton (1961) and Jim Kelly (1986) as the only players in NFL history to throw for 250-or-more yards, three-or-more touchdowns and zero interceptions in their NFL debut. His 2,277 passing yards in his first eight career games are the 4th-most by a quarterback since 1970.

In his first season with San Francisco in 2017, Scangarello worked with rookie QB C.J. Beathard and mid-season acquisition Garoppolo, helping both set franchise records. Beathard, who played in seven games (five starts), set the single-season franchise record for attempts (224), completions (123) and passing yards (1,430) by a rookie quarterback. He also set the franchise record for the longest completion by a rookie quarterback on an 83-yard touchdown pass to WR Marquise Goodwin. Garoppolo, who started the last five games of the season, became the first 49ers quarterback since the merger in 1970 to win each of his first five starts with the team and set the franchise record for the most passing yards in his first five starts with the 49ers (1,542). His 1,542 passing yards also ranks fourth among all quarterbacks in their first five starts with a new team since the merger in 1970.

Before his first stint with the 49ers, Scangarello was the offensive coordinator in 2016 at FCS Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. He joined Wagner following one season (2015) as an offensive quality control coach with the Atlanta Falcons. In Atlanta, he assisted the offensive line with run-game preparation and coordinated the defensive scout team for the offense.

From 2012-14, he was as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northern Arizona University. In 2013, the Lumberjacks offense completed 235 of 387 passing attempts (60.7 completion percentage) and finished with 2,425 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. In 2012, Scangarello worked with QB Cary Grossart at NAU, who finished his career with the top completion percentage in school history at 66.3. He also registered the second-best completion percentage in a single season with 66.7. The Lumberjacks averaged 31.6 points per game that season, finishing tied for 27th in the nation.

Prior to his time at NAU, Scangarello served as the offensive coordinator, assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach two seasons at Millsaps (Jackson, Mississippi) College (2010-11), where he saw QB Garrett Pinciotti earn Second-Team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference honors in 2011, after throwing for 2,200 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Scangarello first entered the NFL coaching ranks in 2009 with the Oakland Raiders as an offensive quality control coach. Before Oakland, he coached four years (2005-08) at UC-Davis, which included one year (2008) as the school’s co-offensive coordinator. That season, the Aggies offense ranked 11th in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in total offense, averaging 426.5 yards per game and 28.5 points per game. He originally joined Davis as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, serving in that role from 2004-07. In 2005, he coached All-American WR Tony Kays, who led the NCAA and set a school single-season record with 93 receptions.

Scangarello also worked at the University of Idaho in 2000 as an offensive graduate assistant before being promoted to the quarterbacks coach for the 2002-03 seasons.

He began his coaching career at UC-Davis in 1998 and 1999, working with consecutive consensus Division II All-Americans, Kevin Daft and J.T. O’Sullivan, who both were drafted in the NFL.

A native of Roseville, California, Scangarello earned a degree in business administration from Sacramento State University in 1996.