If you want to be a head coach in the NFL, becoming Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator appears to be a surefire path to accomplishing it.
The Arizona Cardinals on Sunday began working on a deal to hire current Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as their new head coach. LaFleur’s hire keeps a remarkable streak going among McVay’s offensive coordinators with the Rams.
McVay has employed four full-time offensive coordinators with the Rams: Matt LaFleur, Kevin O’Connell, Liam Coen, and Mike LaFleur. All four of them have now gone on to become head coaches elsewhere.
#Rams HC Sean McVay has had four OCs during his tenure as head coach:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 1, 2026
* Matt LaFleur
* Kevin O’Connell
* Liam Coen
* Mike LaFleur
All four are head coaches. https://t.co/YoI1ICtTqi pic.twitter.com/NxH3YyaRnQ
The Rams did not employ a single offensive coordinator in 2018 and 2019, instead separating the duties among multiple offensive assistants. One of the coaches on his 2018 staff, Zac Taylor, also went on to become a head coach with the Cincinnati Bengals.
There are plenty of reasons that teams keep going back to McVay’s coaching tree when seeking a new head coach. McVay has proven himself capable of adapting and putting together high-powered offenses for roughly a decade now. Perhaps more importantly, the former assistants have proven successful. Matt LaFleur is 76-40-1 with the Green Bay Packers, O’Connell is 43-25 with two playoff appearances in four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, and Coen guided the Jacksonville Jaguars to the playoffs in his first season on the job.
Perhaps the wildest part of all is that McVay has done all this before turning 40, not that he wants a reminder of that. People will likely be keeping a close eye on who the Rams hire as offensive coordinator next, because that person will probably be getting head coach interviews pretty quickly.
