After Liam Coen decided to return to Kentucky as the program’s offensive coordinator, the Los Angeles Rams replaced him with Mike LaFleur this offseason. Sean McVay praised LaFleur when the Rams hired him and he continues to have nothing but positive things to say about the team’s new offensive coordinator.
“Mike sees the game through a great lens. He’s super smart. You can feel when you’ve led and you’ve been in the situations that he’s been in, whether it be in San Francisco, Atlanta prior to that, even Cleveland or with the Jets,” McVay said. “He’s got a great ability to understand the game from an all-22 perspective. He’s a great communicator. He and Matthew established a real quick rapport. Mike’s a hard guy not to like.”
LaFleur began his coaching career in the NFL as an intern under Kyle Shanahan with the Cleveland Browns in 2014. He would work alongside Shanahan from 2014 to 2020 before being named the offensive coordinator of the New York Jets in 2021.
Mike is the brother of Matt LaFleur, who was the offensive coordinator of the Rams in 2017, and they share similar philosophies on the offensive side of the ball. McVay likely had a previous relationship with Mike due to working with his brother earlier in his career.
The head coach and offensive coordinator must be on the same page, especially when the head coach is the one calling plays. Ahead of their first season together, McVay is excited to work with LaFleur, and he believes the rapport with Matthew Stafford is trending in the right direction.
