New Rams OC Mike LaFleur focused on bringing 'big-play offense' back to L.A.

Attack.

That’s the key word that stood out during Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s recent introductory press conference.

The younger brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, L.A.’s new OC says his focus will be helping the Rams get back to the big-play offense that’s been a staple of this team since Sean McVay was hired as head coach in 2017.

LaFleur takes over for Liam Coen, who returned to his role as offensive coordinator for Kentucky after one season serving as the OC of the Rams.

"How can we attack and put pressure on them pre-snap with our motions, with our formations, with our cadence?" LaFleur said, when asked about his philosophy on offense. "And then, obviously after that, marrying it with the run and the pass — making all this stuff look as similar as possible and putting all that pressure on the defense.

"I keep saying the word attack. That’s what this system’s always been based on, being able to again put the pressure, attack … do whatever you got to do that fits within this roster."

Key members on the offensive side of the ball — including quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Cooper Kupp and several offensive linemen — dealt with various injuries throughout the 2022 campaign, which led to the Rams having their worst performance on offense since McVay took over as the team’s head coach.

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The Rams averaged an anemic 18.1 points per game and a league-worst 281 total yards per contest this past season. Los Angeles finished with 38 passing plays of 20-plus yards, No. 29 in the league. L.A.’s 23 giveaways tied for No. 17 in the NFL.

However, injuries were not the only reason for L.A.’s offensive woes. Even when players like Stafford and Kupp were healthy during the first half of the year, the Rams still struggled to consistently move the chains and create big plays that led to scores. Younger players like running back Cam Akers and receiver Tutu Atwell emerged during the second half of the season, taking on more prominent roles in McVay’s offense.

Following a disappointing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9 in which the offense had eight three-and-outs, Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey lamented that his team "Got to have more dogs who are going to go get it."

Enter the energetic LaFleuer, a disciple of one of the best offensive minds in the game in Kyle Shanahan, and someone who should add some feistiness, along with some wrinkles to McVay’s offense that helps to change things schematically, particularly in a running game that lacked consistency last season.

"A lot of people say it’s not necessarily the same offense, but similar," LaFleur said, when asked to compare Shanahan and McVay’s schemes. "It is similar, but there are differences from what Sean [McVay] and the Rams have had so much success here and what we did in San Francisco, what we did in New York, what Matt’s obviously doing now in Green Bay.

"Everyone takes it, and individually you’re going to make it match for what you believe, but you also more importantly have to make it match to what your players are and what your roster is."

LaFleur, who turns 36 in March, spent the last two seasons working as the offensive coordinator and calling plays for the New York Jets. However, McVay likely will continue to call plays for the Rams in 2023, so LaFleur will be tasked with helping the offense improve in other ways.

"I won’t pass those two years up for anything," LaFleur said about his time with the Jets. "We decided two years ago we were going to go young. And we did, we committed to that. There were things I won’t share in terms of what I would do differently, but it was a great learning experience about building a roster with a lot of youth.

"I was proud of a lot of things we did, and unfortunately, it slipped away from us on the back end. But fortunately, I’m in a great situation here."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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