With a new contract extension in hand, Rams head coach Sean McVay now turns his attention to getting his club back to the Super Bowl.
As expected, he will do so while filling a significant hole on his coaching staff. His offensive coordinator, Mike LaFleur, is moving on to Arizona to become the next head coach of the Cardinals.
It’s something McVay has grown accustomed to. The more success he and the Rams have, the more teams across the NFL come calling on his assistant coaches.
That is to be expected for a coach who has led the Rams to a 92-57 record during the regular season, a victory in Super Bowl LVI, two Super Bowl appearances, and four NFC West division titles.
And it’s made for a multi-branched coaching tree that seems to grow every single year. Since arriving in Los Angeles in 2017, McVay has helped groom seven assistants to become head coaches, including LaFleur.
McVay understands it’s just the price of success.
“Guys are getting better opportunities that we can’t offer here, and that’s a great thing for them,” McVay said last week.
LaFleur joins his brother, Matt, the head coach of the Packers, Bengals coach Zac Taylor, Jaguars coach Liam Coen and Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell as former McVay assistants who are now head coaches.
O’Connell, Coen, and both LaFleurs were Rams offensive coordinators under McVay. All four of his OC’s have become head coaches
Coen, Matt LaFluer, Taylor, and O’Connell have each led their teams to the playoffs and are considered among the top young coaches in the NFL
In addition, Rams defensive coordinators Raheem Morris and Brandon Staley also became head coaches.
Morris and Staley were both eventually fired by the Falcons and Chargers, respectively. Morris was hired as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator on Sunday. Staley is in his second season as the Saints defensive coordinator.
Mike LaFleur will not be the last Rams assistant to leave to become a head coach. The club’s current defensive coordinator, Chris Shula, interviewed with multiple teams for their head coaching vacancies in this cycle and is considered a head coach in waiting.
In addition, passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase interviewed with the Raiders, Browns and Ravens for their head coaching jobs. Scheelhaase is considered a strong candidate to replace LaFleur.
Either way, McVay now begins the process of replacing LaFleur, although other openings might need to be filled should LaFleur bring some Rams assistants with him to Arizona.
McVay has some specific qualities in mind.
“I think the first question is, what’s the fit?” he said when asked what he looks for in an assistant coach. “And we’ve gotten a lot of reps at this too now. It starts with character. You better be a high character individual, and I don’t really care what kind of coach you are, but I don’t think you’re a good coach if you don’t have high character. And then you better have capacity for the game. You better be a great communicator where you can connect with your coaches and with your teammates and with your players most importantly. Because our job is to elevate.”