5 LA Rams coaches who may not be back in 2022

Offensive coordinator

The motivation to the hiring new Offensive Coordinator Kevin O’Connell was a rather pointed task of developing the team’s quarterbacks. That was doubly so for the Rams starting quarterback in 2020, Jared Goff.  The Rams offense regressed in 2019, with a failing offensive line that was battered due to multiple repetitive injuries, and the hope was to grow Goff beyond needing perfectly formed passing pockets to run the Rams offense.

Okay, so the LA Rams hired Kevin O’Connell, he was brought in due to his ability to coach up young quarterbacks. Funny thing is, Goff is gone. Now that he is coaching veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, what is there for Kevin O’Connell to really do?

Time to grow or go

While there is most certainly a stack of inbox player evaluations, scouting notes, and a host of other administrative types of tasks to perform, the question comes down to whether that role is truly challenging to O’Connell as his third NFL season approaches the team.

When the LA Rams lost former Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley to the Los Angeles Chargers, his first order of business was to request permission to interview Kevin O’Connell for the role of his new offensive coordinator. Because it was not a promotion and was simply a lateral move, the LA Rams were able to deny the request and in the process retained O’Connell. Still, Staley worked daily with O’Connell and the fact that he felt that O’Connell would consider a lateral move in the first place suggests that Kevin O’Connell is vulnerable to leaving this year as well.

While I do not suspect that O’Connell will be on the list for NFL head coaching positions, I would be surprised if some NFL team did not dangle a title of ‘Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator’ in front of him to lure him away from the Rams, particularly after the strong offensive rebound shown by the Rams offense this year.