LA Rams suffer from too many Sean McVay offenses in the NFL right now
By Bret Stuter
Too many McVay clones
To say that the NFL coaching circles have been flooded with grafts and clippings from LA Rams HC Sean McVay's coaching tree is not an overstatement. Rams head coach Sean McVay has inspired many offensive coaches to adopt his basic philosophy in terms of basic offensive principles. Purely from a head coaching perspective. McVay has personally turned out a number of successful head coaches in the NFL.
Like who? Well, here is a list of several notable coaches who once coached under Sean McVay:
- Zac Taylor (O), Bengals
- Matt LaFleur (O), Packers
- Brandon Staley (D), Chargers
- Kevin O'Connell (O), Vikings
- Jedd Fisch, Arizona (NCAA)
- Liam Coen, Kentucky OC (NCAA)
- Shane Waldron (O), Seahawks
As you can see from the list above, the McVay coaching tree is growing in both the NFL and NCAA football circles as quickly as vetch. While the popularity and interest in McVay's offensive strategy has remained strong, with each new coach who finds himself running a new team or offense, they bring with them many of the McVay offensive principles.
Evolution, not revolution
In short, the diamond-rare McVay offense in 2017 and 2018 that rocked the NFL is now no longer rare. It has proliferated to the point where NFL defenses know that they will face that offense, or one very much like it, With so much familiarity, NFL defensive coordinators have learned to adapt new countermeasures. Those defenses that have continue to compete in the NFL. Those who have not were pruned, and in turn replaced by coaches from the defenses that did neutralize McVay's offense.
In other words, if McVay's offense was an infection, the NFL has developed antibodies to shut it down. While some offense that have found success in the NFL in the past had evolved to counter the defensive counter-measures, we will find why that has not exactly taken place for the Rams offense and offensive strategy: