LA Rams nix Kevin O’Connell’s defection to Chargers

The LA Rams slammed the door, nixing the LA Chargers from interviewing Kevin O’Connell for their vacated offensive coordinator position. It seems as though the Rams have endured enough. The team endured a minor shakeup of the coaching staff in each of the past three years, and are finally pulling up the draw bridge for future coach defections.  There is a rule that essentially prohibits a team from forbidding another team access to interview for a promotion to a head coaching position with that team.

But the lines can be drawn for lateral moves. And that is what the Rams are doing now. After all, the Rams hired Brandon Staley as the defensive coordinator and Kevin O’Connell as the offensive coordinator. The goal was not to serve as a stepping stone to promote an individual coach’s career, but rather to improve the continuity and quality of the LA Rams. Allowing O’Connell to join former Staley with the LA Chargers coaching staff does neither for the team. And so, thankfully, the Rams blocked the interview for that lateral move.

The LA Rams offense is in decline. While there are signs of improvement, it’s quite clear that the Rams struggled to put points on the scoreboard. The Rams averaged 23.3 points per game in 2020 and 24.0 points per game in the postseason. The same Rams averaged 24.6 points per game in 2019.  That’s the problem. for two years, the Rams offense is stuck in a rut.

Well, in output at least. The Rams have tried featuring the pass in 2019, and have tried a more balanced attack in 2020. At times, scoring has seemed easy to do. But as the season rolled on, the Rams offensive proficiency seemed to fade as well. All of this has fueled speculation that the Rams head coach Sean McVay is indeed unhappy at the quarterback position.

There are many aspects of the LA Rams offense that need to be evaluated, tweaked, and in some cases, renovated. All of the necessary pieces are there. But the quality of the overall offensive play has declined. That is not the occasion to allow people to walk away. The need for a fresh approach to the offense exists right here with the Rams.

There is no compelling reason for Kevin O’Connell to hit the pavement looking for work to run an offense. He signed up a year ago to do exactly that for the LA Rams. And no matter how you look at it, the job is not done yet.