LA Rams coaches McVay, Staley, O’Connell are NFL’s newest 3 amigos

Collaboration does not mean Yes-Men

Let’s pause and reassure that collaboration does not mean “Yes-Men”. The LA Rams struggled in 2019 from the fact that the only voice in the offensive room seemed to be that of head coach Sean McVay.  While he will continue to make the final decisions, he will rely heavily on the input of offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell.

Creating new ideas works a different part of the brain than editing the ideas and proposals of others.  Ideas for new plans spring from an innovative cycle of defining what a problem is, and then creating a new way to resolve that problem. It requires imagination and art, both of which are found in the areas of the human mind that includes music composition, painting and drawing, and other forms of art.

Glass half empty valuable perspective as well

The head coach must vet, or exhibit skepticism to ensure new ideas have been well-thought-out. That dynamic creates a meeting point of opposing views and concerns. If the plan has been prepared correctly, it passes that skeptical review and is implemented. That skill is not from the right side of the brain, but from the left.  That is where math, science, logic, and reasoning gather. Skepticism is the ability to test the logic of a plan in various ways to prove or disprove its validity.

If a plan does not pass that test of reason and logic, it’s back to the drawing board. And that is why the Rams’ offense struggled in 2019. Nobody had a veto over McVay’s ideas. Whatever he thought up, became Gospel for the Rams offensive playbook. Right or wrong, good or bad. It was in there. Skepticism offers a valuable perspective as well.