McVay's Tree: Rams New Coach Mike LaFleur Reveals Why He Left Jets

"It was a pretty simply decision," said newly hired Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur of leaving the New York Jets and accepting Rams coach Sean McVay's job offer.

Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is just a few days into his new job on the West Coast, nearly 2,800 miles from MetLife Stadium, where he spent the last two seasons in the same role with the New York Jets.

But for LaFleur, the younger brother of Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, it's not quite the culture shock it otherwise could be, as he was an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers for four years before heading to New York.

The snag of this LaFleur's situation is that the Jets never officially let him go - he left for Los Angeles in what some viewed as a mutual parting from New York after a difficult offensive season marred by quarterback inconsistency.

But evidently, LaFleur did enough to impress others around the league, including Rams coach Sean McVay ... so, why Los Angeles? The 35-year-old explained ...

“Obviously things happened fast right after the season," LaFleur started. "(I) got to connect with Sean and it was a pretty simple decision. You're going into an organization that has won, knows how to win, wants to win, has the right system and process and culture in place to win, and to be able to do it with great people.

"When you pair that up of one winning and two great people, what more could you ask for?”

Of course, LaFleur would likely ask for the outcome to have gone better with the Jets; no coach wants to be a two-and-done for anything other than a promotion.

However, even though the results weren't always there and the decision to leave was "pretty simple," LaFleur still sees plenty of value in his time in East Rutherford.

“I won't pass those two years up for anything," said LaFleur. "Every building, every circumstance is a little bit different. There were things I won't share in terms of what I would do differently or anything like that, but it was a great learning experience about building a roster with a lot of youth and I was proud of a lot of the things we did."

LaFleur added that he took the Jets job because he wanted to "grow and learn" - which has ultimately led him to a "great situation" with the Rams.

And ultimately, while LaFleur will no longer be calling plays as he was in New York, he has plenty of reasons for optimism.

Consider McVay's coaching tree - at offensive coordinator alone, the elder LaFleur and Kevin O'Connell (Minnesota Vikings) have gone on to become NFL head coaches.

On the defensive side, Brandon Staley (Los Angeles Chargers) is set to enter his third season as a head coach and incumbent defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has received plenty of interest for vacancies around the league.

In essence, McVay's assistants often get a lot of attention come time to hire new head coaches - but that's not the primary reason the younger LaFleur took the job.

“They've won a lot of games and they’ve scored a lot of points," LaFleur said. "That's the simple answer. But they've done it the right way. In all seriousness, the one thing that's always stood out about Sean and the Rams’ offense is they are as detailed and fundamentally sound as anyone in football, and that's the truth."

Now, LaFleur will look to keep growing and learning - and potentially add his name to the list of McVay's subordinates to ascend into head coaching positions, shortly after being run out of New York.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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