{"id":1050663,"date":"2026-09-08T10:23:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T10:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1050663\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T10:23:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T10:23:29","slug":"the-secrets-behind-sean-mcvays-booming-nfl-coaching-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1050663\/","title":{"rendered":"The secrets behind Sean McVay’s booming NFL coaching tree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sean McVay<\/a> never stops coaching his coaches \u2014 even after they leave his staff.<\/p>\n

Last season, during a bye week following the Rams\u2019 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars in London<\/a>, McVay counseled Jaguars coach Liam Coen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow to reset,\u201d Coen said. \u201cHow to have a little more grace for yourself and your players.\u201d<\/p>\n

As McVay prepares for his 10th season, his influence and growing coaching tree will once again populate the NFL.<\/p>\n

Five former Rams assistants are head coaches: Green Bay\u2019s Matt LaFleur<\/a>, Cincinnati\u2019s Zac Taylor<\/a>, Minnesota\u2019s Kevin O\u2019Connell<\/a>, Arizona\u2019s Mike LaFleur<\/a> and Coen.<\/p>\n

Former Chargers coach Brandon Staley<\/a> and former Atlanta coach Raheem Morris<\/a> \u2014 now defensive coordinators with New Orleans and San Francisco, respectively \u2014 also parlayed stints with McVay into head coaching opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe development of the coaches who have worked for him \u2014 that\u2019s not an accident,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cThat is something he\u2019s purposeful about, and that he genuinely does care about.\u201d<\/p>\n

As always, McVay is quick to acknowledge the early NFL opportunities he was afforded and the lessons learned from his grandfather, John McVay<\/a>, and the Gruden<\/a> and Shanahan<\/a> families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would hope is that the most helpful thing for them is that they get exposed to everything,\u201d McVay said of helping assistants become head coaches. \u201cBecause I try to be as inclusive as possible, so when they get that role, they\u2019ve kind of been in a lot of those scenarios already because they\u2019re helping me navigate those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Green <\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, right, hugs Rams coach Sean McVay following a game at Lambeau Field in November 2023.<\/p>\n

(Patrick McDermott \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThat was a huge learning experience for me, just being so close to Sean and seeing all the stuff he had to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2014 Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers coach, on the influence Sean McVay had on igniting his head coaching career<\/p>\n

Matt LaFleur said he knew McVay would become an NFL head coach within 10 minutes of McVay interviewing for a quality control job with Washington in 2010.<\/p>\n

Seven years later, after the Rams made the then-30-year-old McVay the youngest head coach in modern NFL history, McVay hired LaFleur as offensive coordinator. To that point, LaFleur said, becoming an NFL head coach himself was not at the forefront of his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until I was with Sean and you got kind of a front-row seat,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cThat was a huge learning experience for me, just being so close to Sean and seeing all the stuff he had to deal with. That\u2019s where it kind of intrigued me and piqued my interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the 2017 season, and the Rams\u2019 first playoff appearance since 2004, LaFleur interviewed to become the Tennessee Titans\u2019 head coach. The Titans ultimately hired him as offensive coordinator and playcaller.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration <\/a> <\/p>\n

2026 NFL season preview<\/p>\n

In 2019, the Packers hired LaFleur as head coach, and he has since guided teams to five playoff appearances and two NFC championship games.<\/p>\n

Taylor also was a member of the Rams\u2019 2017 staff as an assistant receivers coach. The next season, he coached quarterbacks.<\/p>\n

McVay empowers all coaches, said Taylor, who had previous experience as a coordinator. Taylor\u2019s initial role with the Rams was a step back, but McVay and other staff members did not make it feel like one. <\/p>\n

A month after the Packers hired LaFleur, the Bengals hired Taylor. Two years later, Taylor guided his team to a matchup against the Rams in Super Bowl LVI.<\/p>\n

\u201cSean just shows you this is the model you can follow that works well,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cYou take it to your own place, you tweak it. And certainly, over eight years, tweaked it drastically. … But I think there\u2019s just belief when you work there, that this is something you can model off of and win championships with.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chargers hired Staley after the 2020 season. The Chargers requested to interview O\u2019Connell to become offensive coordinator and playcaller, but McVay blocked it, citing it as a lateral move.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had different plans,\u201d O\u2019Connell said, \u201cand he\u2019s entitled to do that. But he followed that up with: \u2018We\u2019re going to go get Matthew Stafford, we\u2019re going to win a Super Bowl, and you\u2019re going to become a head coach.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen all three of those things became true a little over a year later \u2014 I love him to death, and I would love to not give him that kind of credit. But I absolutely need to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vikings hired O\u2019Connell after McVay led the Rams to their Super Bowl victory.<\/p>\n

\"Head <\/p>\n

Rams coach Sean McVay, left, and Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O\u2019Connell greet one another after a game at SoFi Stadium in October 2024.<\/p>\n

(Kyusung Gong \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were countless times where he brought me into his office for circumstances that went beyond the role of a coordinator \u2014 to really pull back the curtain and let me understand,\u201d O\u2019Connell said, adding, \u201cHe wanted to help my development, and that\u2019s something I\u2019ve now taken very seriously with some of the coaches who have coached for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coen joined the Rams\u2019 staff in 2018 as an assistant wide receivers coach. He left in 2021 to become Kentucky\u2019s offensive coordinator, but returned to the Rams in 2022 as offensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

The Rams suffered the worst Super Bowl hangover in NFL history, and Coen returned to Kentucky before becoming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019 offensive coordinator. The Jaguars hired him in January 2025.<\/p>\n

Coen said the lessons he learned from McVay in 2022, when injuries decimated the Rams\u2019 roster, were among the most valuable.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe challenges every aspect of who you are as a coach,\u201d Coen said.<\/p>\n

Coen and McVay talked for close to three hours in the days after the Rams sent the Jaguars to a loss that dropped their record to 4-3. Coen then led his team to nine victories in their last 10 games en route to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe mentioned something like, \u2018Look, you can get frustrated with jersey number X or Y, but we still need to love the name on the back,\u2019\u201d Coen said. \u201cAnd that was helpful for me because sometimes you can get caught up in the assignment and the execution that you forget, \u2018Man, like I really care about that player. His last name, that means something to me as a coach,\u2019 and to lean into that and to make sure that when you come in the building every day and your players come in the building every day, they genuinely want to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville <\/p>\n

Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen stands on the sideline during a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Aug. 28.<\/p>\n

(Parker S. Freedman \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Falcons hired Morris in 2024, and the Cardinals last February made Mike LaFleur, Matt\u2019s younger brother, a head coach for the first time.<\/p>\n

During three seasons as the Rams\u2019 offensive coordinator, Mike LaFleur said McVay established strong foundations but also used his tireless energy to encourage assistants to tear down tried-and-true concepts and build them back, sparking innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s long, it\u2019s tiring, but it\u2019s necessary,\u201d LaFleur said, adding that lessons learned from McVay have served him and others well.<\/p>\n

\u201dYou look at Kevin [O\u2019Connell], you look at my brother, I do think you just kind of naturally take that with you.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in my opinion, it just gives you a leg up.\u201d<\/p>\n

McVay laments, usually lightheartedly, the loss of staff members that have ascended to become head coaches.<\/p>\n

But said he was grateful for the opportunity to help them achieve their goals.<\/p>\n

And there is an added benefit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I think has been really cool is that if you are fortunate to see guys go on and do well, it attracts really high-level coaches as well,\u201d McVay said. \u201cWhen you show that you\u2019re willing to invest in people, there\u2019s really good coaches that become available on a year-to-year basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

First-year offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase<\/a>, a Rams assistant since 2024, appears on track to be the next head coach from McVay\u2019s staff. During the offseason, several teams interviewed Scheelhaase for head coaching vacancies.<\/p>\n

If this season plays out as anticipated \u2014 the Rams are favorites to win the Super Bowl \u2014 McVay\u2019s tree likely will have another branch.<\/p>\n

Staff writer Sam Farmer contributed to this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sean McVay never stops coaching his coaches \u2014 even after they leave his staff. Last season, during a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1050664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[420821,1582,276,9069,123226,34225,2961,224,5337,131473,72006,420820,20972,90726,7138,32896,6831,120258,3007,213815],"class_list":["post-1050663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-10th-season","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-coen","tag-defensive-coordinator","tag-head-coach","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-matt-lafleur","tag-mcvay","tag-oconnell","tag-offensive-coordinator","tag-ram","tag-rams","tag-sean-mcvay","tag-staff","tag-super-bowl-lvi","tag-team","tag-zac-taylor"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117234934847438977","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1050663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1050664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1050663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1050663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1050663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}