The Los Angeles Rams hired former New York Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur on Friday to join Sean McVay's quest to fix one of the least productive offenses in the league during the 2022 season.
LaFleur spent the past two years with the Jets in his first stint as an NFL offensive coordinator, but New York struggled statistically in both years while missing the playoffs twice. He parted ways with the Jets (7-10) three days after the regular season ended.
LaFleur will follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Matt, by becoming Los Angeles' offensive coordinator under coach Sean McVay, who has called the Rams' plays and been in near-complete control of the offense throughout his six-year tenure. McVay and Matt LaFleur are very close friends who speak and correspond often, so it should come as no surprise that the youngest winning head coach in Super Bowl history chose Mike to be his new OC.
McVay has publicly battled burnout exacerbated by a self-described inability to delegate during his Rams tenure, but he hasn't said whether he plans to give more responsibility to LaFleur or his other assistants as he enters his seventh season in charge.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
The Rams (5-12) wrapped up the worst season in NFL history by a defending Super Bowl champion this month. McVay's offense has been one of the NFL's best and most influential during his tenure, but Los Angeles finished last in the league in total yards and 27th in scoring after losing several significant players to injury, including Matthew Stafford, Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, No. 2 receiver Allen Robinson and most of the offensive line.
Offensive coordinator Liam Coen then left the Rams after one season to return to Kentucky, where he spent a successful 2021 season as the Wildcats' offensive coordinator.
The Rams' previous offensive coordinator was Kevin O'Connell, who became the Minnesota Vikings' head coach shortly after the Rams' Super Bowl victory a year ago.In his first year as a head coach, O'Connell led the Vikings to a 13-4 record and an NFC North title.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
Before Mike LaFleur, O'Connell was the only offensive coordinator hired by McVay who wasn't a first-time coordinator, serving as Washington's offensive coordinator in 2019. Matt LaFleur held the job during McVay's first season in 2017, and the Rams went without a formal offensive coordinator in 2018 and 2019.
Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury was mentioned as a possible candidate for the Rams offensive coordinator position once Coen left. Kingsbury was reportedly "close" to taking the offensive coordinator job with the Rams back in 2018, but chose the same position at USC before bolting for the head coaching job in Arizona.
Kingsbury was fired by the Cardinals on January 9 after going 28-37-1 over the last four seasons. Instead of taking another job in the NFL, Kingsbury reportedly bought a one-way ticket to Thailand.
Meanwhile, the Jets had one of the NFL's worst offenses in both seasons with LaFleur in charge under head coach Robert Saleh. He led an offense last season that ranked 29th in scoring — two spots lower than the Rams — and 25th in total yards while struggling for consistent quarterback play.
LaFleur and the Jets mutually parted ways after several teams reportedly expressed interest in him despite New York's lack of offensive success and a significant lack of progress by quarterback Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021.
LaFleur was on the San Francisco 49ers' staff from 2017 to 2020 under Kyle Shanahan, who has beaten McVay's teams in eight consecutive regular-season meetings. LaFleur also worked alongside Shanahan in the previous three seasons in Cleveland and Atlanta.
Matt LaFleur, McVay and Shanahan all worked on the same staff with Washington a decade ago. Matt LaFleur left McVay's Rams after one season to call the plays as the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator before becoming the Green Bay Packers' head coach in January 2019.
In addition to Matt LaFleur and O'Connell, numerous other coaches under McVay have gone on to have success as NFL head coaches.
Current Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor worked under McVay in 2017 as the assistant wide receivers coach and quarterbacks coach in 2018. Taylor was hired by the Bengals in 2019, and after a rough two seasons, he led the Bengals to the Super Bowl opposite the Rams last season, and has them on the precipice again this season.
Another branch on the McVay coaching tree is current LA Chargers head coach Brandon Staley. Staley was the Rams defensive coordinator in 2020, and led them to the No. 1 ranked defense that season. Staley was hired by the Chargers the following year, and after just missing out on a playoff spot in 2021, he led the Chargers to the postseason in 2022, and had a 27-0 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card round, before suffering a shocking loss, 31-30.
Current Rams' defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and tight ends coach and assistant head coach Thomas Brown are both sought after head coaching candidates this offseason and could extend McVay's coaching tree even further in the NFL ranks.
