Rams Coordinators Talk Sean McVay, Coaching Methods

The Los Angeles Rams have spent the last nine years finding ways to get coaches promoted. From 2017, Sean McVay's first year in charge, there is a clear record of promotions throughout his coaching staff.

Matt LaFleur, Zac Taylor, Jeff Fisch, Brandon Staley, Kevin O'Connell, Raheem Morris, and Liam Coen have become head coaches since working with McVay and both Mike LaFleur and Chris Shula, the team's offensive and defensive coordinators, are on the verge of their own oppertunities.

Both have had many trials in their coaching career. LaFleur's time as Jets offensive coordinator didn't work out and Shula struggled early as Morris' replacement.

All three coordinators have benefited from Sean McVay's coaching methods, methods which they spoke about on Friday. When asked about McVay and the autonomy he gives his coaches, the Rams' three coordinators, LaFleur, Shula, and Blackburn had this to say.

“We really appreciate how much trust he has in all of us," stated LaFleur.

"It’s not just us coordinators, it's all the staff, and really the players and the organization. There’s a reason this place has been what it's been for nine years now. It starts with his leadership and ownership and [General Manager] Les [Snead], and [Vice President] Tony [Pastoors], and [President] [Kevin] Demoff. It's such a collaborative group. I feel very fortunate that he has that trust in us. It starts with his leadership, and it's been great.”

“It allows me to be myself. We had a big talk," stated Shula.

"We were struggling going into the bye [week] last year and it was like, ‘Just be yourself. What'd you do at John Carroll [University]?’ When I was Defensive Corner my first year at John Carroll. ‘What exactly would you do?’ That resonated with me. I know he’s got my back. He's always believed in me. That’s a big feeling when you feel safety like that as a coach, when you're not out walking on eggshells if you make a call or do this defense or you make a mistake, it allows you to be a lot freer, and we want our players to play like that too.”

“I think it's shown daily. He talks about modeling the way and he does that really well with us and being experts in our own position groups and what we're doing and what was expected of us and handling situations and running things in an efficient, effective manner," stated Blackburn.

"When that means me and [Assistant Special Teams] Coach [Ben] Kotwica are together or we break up in certain groups and then I can deviate and put some onus on him to get certain things coached up. Having a guy like him that has a lot of experience coaching in this league at a high level and being a coordinator is huge, and you can develop a lot of trust there and kind of divvy up the work a little bit”.