Why Mike LaFleur is the right OC hire for the LA Rams in 2023

The LA Rams have a lot of coaching vacancies to address. But the first and foremost additions to the team coaching staff are the coordinators. In 2020, the LA Rams had to hire three new coordinators for the team’s coaching staff. In 2023, the LA Rams have now hired one, have one vacancy at the Special Teams Coordinator, and may lose their Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris to the wave of new NFL Head Coach hires that are occurring right now.

Morris is currently in the running for two head coaching positions: The Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts.

He is not the only member of the Rams coaching staff who is exploring opportunities for promotion outside of the LA Rams. Both TE/RB coach Thomas Brown and QB coach/Passing game coordinator Zac Robinson are making the rounds as candidates for offensive coordinator for a number of teams.  Ah yes, offensive coordinator. This brings me to the LA Rams vacancy.

No Reich? No problem

Many had linked the name Frank Reich to the position, but it was clear that Reich had his sights set on head coach roles for now. His search ended when the Carolina Panthers hired Frank Reich to be their new head coach. With Reich now officially out of the running, the LA Rams had nothing more to gain by keeping their role open, and have now made their own Offensive Coordinator hire decision.

As my sources had indicated, the LA Rams’ new OC will indeed be Mike LaFleur. The Rams rumors were reported early on January 27, 2023, by NFL insider Ian Rapoport:

So why is this a good hire? Let’s talk through some of those reasons and see if you agree that this is a good pickup:

Reason III: Mike LaFleur is Matt LaFleur’s younger brother

The LA Rams head coach Sean McVay is about legacy. That means that he respects the family origins of NFL experience, having been raised in an NFL-centric family himself. Mike LaFleur is the younger brother of Matt LaFleur, who himself was once an LA Rams offensive coordinator under Sean McVay. After one season as the LA Rams offensive coordinator, he was hired on as the offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans for one season before hiring on as head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

The tales of the tumultuous interactions between Matt LaFleur and Sean McVay are legendary, but it was the heat of their discussions that forged the best offense in Sean McVay’s head coaching career.

Mike LaFleur is not some name that just appeared in the Rolodex queue. Sean McVay is quite familiar with the younger LaFleur’s body of coaching work, he knows the man, and the LA Rams did not hesitate to seek him out and interview him. That, by itself, should lead fans to the conclusion that he is the candidate that McVay has wanted all along.

It’s on like Donkey Kong

Undoubtedly, McVay hopes to recapture that same passionate discourse that helped to place both himself and his offense on the NFL map. His last offensive coordinator, Liam  Coen, was too close to McVay in developing his own offensive strategies and concepts to effectively balance out the passion and rigidness of McVay’s playbook and playcalling.

LaFleur, much like his older brother, has a separate and distinct mindset. It was that family lineage that helped to temper McVay’s raw ideas into one of the most effective offenses in the past six seasons. And it’s now that same LaFleur lineage that he hopes can reignite his strategy out of his comfort zone to be effective in the NFL once more.

Reason II: Mike LaFleur may be fresh, but he is not a ‘Yes Man!’

Some have pointed to Mike LaFleur’s unsuccessful tenure with the New York Jets offense as a reason to hate this hire. I’m not so sure. Look at what LaFleur had to work with. LaFleur joined New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh in 2021, and the offense was not exactly poised for a breakout season.  In fact, the Jets’ offense was dead last in 2020. The team’s quarterback was Sam Darnold and the leading rusher was seasoned veteran Frank Gore.

The Jets’ offense improved modestly in 2021 but regressed slightly in 2022. The reason is that the team had hitched its wagon to the erratic throwing arm of Zach Wilson, and rookie running back Breece Hall, who is just what the LA Rams offense needs as a 6-foot-1 220-pound punishing running back, fell to injury after just seven games. The Jets were 5-2 with him carrying the football.

LaFleur is comfortable making others uncomfortable

But the Jets were stuck behind a quarterback, the second-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, who simply was not panning out. In this second season in the NFL, he played in nine games, completing just 54.5 of his passes, and throwing six touchdowns to seven interceptions.  And this was in a Jets offense that was dummied down for the guy:

The Jets’ offense was bad, but not of LaFleur’s doing. The team was built to run first but lost their star running back. Without the threat of that running game, defenses sat back and demolished the Jets’ less-than-perfect passing game.

It was Mike LaFleur who was forced to simplify the offense to try to match the limits of the quarterback, and that is why wide receivers who were the third or later options, like Elijah Moore, became so frustrated that he demanded to be traded. Thanks to the quarterback’s inability to process his reads, the guy was completely ignored in the passing game.

Now that does sound a bit familiar . . .

Reason I: He has insights into the 49ers’ offensive mindset

The LA Rams do not want to ‘replicate’ any other offense in the NFL. That is not Sean McVay’s style. Rather, he wants to take pieces from other offenses that work well, and graft them into his own offensive playbook. That, in itself, is a very positive sign for the direction the LA Rams offense is taking in 2023 and beyond.

Before the Jets’ offense lost rookie RB Breece Hall for the season, the Jets were 5-2. But let’s dive a bit deeper into those first seven games in terms of offense production:

Game           Opponent       Passing                             Rushing            Final score
Week 1:       Ravens            37/59 309 1 TD/I INT    17/83/0           24-9 Loss
Week 2:       Browns           27/45 309 4 TD/0 INT   20/93/0           31-30 Win
Week 3:       Bengals           28/52 285 0 TD/2 INT  20/76/0           27-12 Loss
Week 4:       Steelers          19/37 250 2 TD/2 INT   29/98/1           24-20 Win
Week 5:       Dolphins         14/21 210 0 TD/0 INT   33/135/5         40-17 Win
Week 6:       Packers           10/18   99 0 TD/0 INT   33/179/2         27-10 Win
Week 7:       Broncos           16/26 121 0 TD/0 INT  24/155/1         16-9 Win

What does this mean for the LA Rams? How does this translate into helping the Rams’ offense? Well, the basis for the Jets’ impressive start to the 2022 NFL season was not a great passing offense. In fact, the Jets’ offense passed rather well with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco under center. But when the Jets needed to manufacture points, the team leaned heavily into their running game, and rookie Breece Hall was ready to deliver.

Big burly backs? Yes, please

For those fans who want to see a change in the Rams’ offense, pivoting to bigger offensive linemen and running backs for a more physical style of play, and it could all combine to be music to the ears.

In his two seasons with the Jets, they drafted two offensive linemen, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Max Mitchell, and two running backs, Michael Carter and Breece Hall. If that same pattern holds true, then the LA Rams could very well be on track to draft one offensive lineman and one running back in the 2023 NFL Draft.

That’s not a bad mix. The Rams will have plenty of returning veterans, rookies are nowhere close to ‘sure things,’ and the Rams roster is packed with veterans who are in that chapter of their careers when it’s important to make the playoffs, and not babysit a crop of young rookies who could take several years to find success in the NFL.

Yes, the Rams’ offense is due for some changes. And I believe that hiring Mike LaFleur will be the catalyst to bring those changes about. But don’t look for the Rams to draft an entirely new offensive line. Nor would I recommend counting on the Rams steering clear of some old draft favorites, like drafting a rookie wide receiver.

But the Rams have a new offensive coordinator. Their next stop is to land a solid offensive line coach. Stay tuned . . .