Los Angeles Rams 2023 coaching staff: Who’s here, who’s gone, what’s open?


Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Rams are once again undergoing a makeover with their coaching staff. We know that Sean McVay is back, we know that he’s hired a new offensive coordinator to replace Liam Coen, and we know that he’s parted ways with at least a half-dozen other assistants. There’s so much we don’t know, so let’s review who is here and what jobs are needed, as well as who could still leave.

Head Coach - Sean McVay, 7th season
After much speculation that McVay would step down after six seasons, the head coach took a few days after the season to think it over and ultimately decided to come back for year seven. This shows confidence in McVay that the Rams are not finished with their championship window and that implies that the team will be active as buyers, not sellers. Unless McVay is interested in being part of a longer plan, which we should find out soon based on how L.A. plays the trade market, then expect the Rams to move forward like Super Bowl contenders again.

Offensive Coordinator - Mike LaFleur, 1st season
LaFleur spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the New York Jets offensive coordinator following a long career working as an assistant for Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and Washington. LaFleur’s Jets were among the worst offenses in the NFL, but Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp are far more established than Zach Wilson and most of what New York had at wide receiver.

Assistant Head Coach - Thomas Brown, 4th season
Brown is officially listed as the tight ends coach as well, but he took over for Ra’Shaad Samples as running backs coach in the middle of the 2022 season. Whether Brown will hold that title again in 2023 remains to be seen and he’s interviewed for both head coaching and offensive coordinator roles with other teams in the last two years. Expect Brown to stay on as assistant head coach unless he leaves, whereas his position group is yet to be established. Brown played running back with the Falcons and Browns from 2008-2010 and worked with some high-profile backs at Georgia.

Quarterbacks/Pass Coordinator - Zac Robinson, 5th season
Robinson got a major promotion in 2022, going from assistant QBs coach to the main QBs coach and the pass game coordinator. He has interviewed as the offensive coordinator for the Chargers, a job he did not get, and it remains to be seen if he will retain these titles in L.A. after the Rams finished 27th in passing yards, 29th in net yards per attempt, and 28th in passing touchdowns. Even when Matthew Stafford was healthy, the passing offense was among the worst in the NFL. Robinson is a former college quarterback who was on the rosters of the Patriots, Seahawks, Lions, and Bengals from 2010-2013.

Wide Receivers - Eric Yarber, 7th season
Yarber is one of the few to survive/not be promoted...

...as per ESPN. Not really sure what to make of this. LaFleur had success working with SF from 2017-2020 as their passing game coordinator and receivers coach. He also presided over an awful Jets offense recently, one which featured the total implosion of Zach Wilson, a guy they drafted 2nd overall in the 2021 draft. How does all this translate into him being able to serve as offensive coordinator?

On the one hand, he certainly isn't going to ruin Stafford, a thirteen year veteran. On the flip side, I never like hiring a guy coming off a pretty big failure, and the Jets' collapse qualifies as such; their defense played at a playoff-caliber for most of the year. It was their offense that cost them a shot.

Interested in everyone's opinions on the move.