The Los Angeles Rams may not have made a change at head coach, but they’ve had to make moves at the coordinator level, with the hiring of Ray Ventrone to run the special teams.
Now, with offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur leaving to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, head coach Sean McVay will need to find a replacement for LaFleur.
Everyone wants to be the offensive coordinator working under McVay, considering it’s almost a guaranteed that they’ll lead a team in the near future, but let’s take a look at some of the top candidates for the job.
Nate Scheelhaase
Scheelhaase is probably the favorite for the job, as he’s already on the staff and interviewed for head coaching opportunities with the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns this cycle. The 35-year-old former college quarterback has been with the Rams for just two years, so this would be a quick ascension.
Thomas Brown
Brown, 39, got his first NFL coaching job in 2020 working for McVay as the Rams’ running back coach. He took on the assistant head coach title in 2021 and moved to assistant head coach and tight ends coach in 2022 before leaving to become the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers.
He spent this past year as the New England Patriots passing game coordinator and tight ends coach, helping a team that went 4-13 the last two years make the Super Bowl.
Kliff Kingsbury
Kingsbury, like McVay, comes from the Kyle Shanahan tree. He’s been a head coach at the college (Texas Tech) and NFL (Arizona Cardinals) and spent the last two years as the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders. While Kingsbury may want to call plays this year, he could benefit from helping McVay out for a season.
Keenan McCardell
McCardell spent 17 season in the NFL as a wide receiver before joining Washington’s coaching staff in 2010-11 as a wide receivers coach, where McVay was an offensive assistant and tight ends coach.
The 56-year-old has spent the last five seasons as the wide receivers coach for the Minnesota Vikings, working under former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. Multiple teams have interviewed McCardell for offensive coordinator roles in recent years, so this could finally be the breakthrough he needs.
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This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 4 candidates to replace Mike LaFleur as Rams’ OC
Reporting by Mike Masala, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
