Rams' McVay, Former Offensive Coordinators Dominate Recent Rankings

It's no secret that Sean McVay gets coaches promoted but when one sits down and looks at the results, it's shocking. Every single offensive coordinator McVay has had has become a head coach.

In 2017, Matt LaFleur was Rams' offensive coordinator before taking the same job with the Titans in 2018 in order to become a play caller. LaFleur was hired by the Packers in 2019.

In 2018, McVay was his own offensive coordinator but Zac Taylor, Rams quarterbacks coach was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals.

In 2019 and 2020, McVay remained as offensive coordinator but in that time, assistant offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch was hired to become the head coach at the University of Arizona.

In 2021, Kevin O'Connell was hired as offensive coordinator. One year and a Super Bowl victory later and O'Connell's the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2022, Liam Coen was the offensive coordinator. While things didn't work out is Coen's return to Los Angeles, he took McVay's offense, went back to college, refined it with Will Levis at Kentucky, used it with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to give Baker Mayfield a career year before being hired as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason.

Then Mike LaFleur was hired in 2023. LaFleur was instrumental in rebuilding the Rams offense, and as he's likely already a candidate many teams are looking at informally, a recent ranking of head coaches in the NFL by CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin has McVay, LaFleur, and O'Connell in ranked within the top ten, strengthening Mike LaFleur's candidacy.

O'Connell, who just won NFL Coach of the Year, is ranked ninth.

"The quarterback room has been a carousel in Minnesota, but each signal-caller to come under O'Connell's spell has at least briefly soared to career-high heights," wrote Benjamin. "It's almost easy to forget he's still searching for his first playoff win, because he's done almost everything else right, aligning with a creative defensive mind in Brian Flores and maximizing his playmakers with radiant positivity."

LaFleur, who made his fifth postseason appearance in six years last season, is ranked eight.

"Some tried to write him off as a pawn of the Rodgers show when he first got to Green Bay. He's only led back-to-back playoff bids with Jordan Love since then, despite half of the supporting cast breaking down in 2024. He could stand to bring a little more bite in the playoffs, but five postseason entries in six tries? The Packers' youth hasn't been an issue but an asset under his lead."

McVay is ranked second overall.

All three men are credited with turning around their franchises after taking over for long-term incumbent coaches, utilizing their schemes and surrounding talents to get the most out of their quarterbacks.

A quality some teams may look for in Mike LaFleur this next offseason.