Shots Hired! 49ers' Shanahan 'Rips' Rams Hiring: 'Annoying'

Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay went outside of his coaching past to fill the offensive coordinator vacancy this offseason.

When the Los Angeles Rams take the field Saturday for their preseason opener, they'll do so with their third offensive coordinator since Sean McVay took over as head coach in 2017. No, Mike LaFleur won't be the one calling the shots for the Rams offense - as that responsibility still belongs to McVay - but that shouldn't minimize the influence of the former New York Jets play-caller.

Nobody in the NFL knows more about the impact LaFleur can have on an offense than 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who had him on his staff in San Francisco.

“Sean can steal a lot of stuff from Mike now after he was with me for so long,” Shanahan said sarcastically in a recent interview. “So to tell you the truth, it’s kind of annoying.”

Shanahan and McVay, of course, are very close friends and have a long-standing relationship that dates back years, so any 'ripping' by one toward the other should always be taken in a joking manner.

Still, LaFleur should be able to bring some concepts learned from his time in San Francisco to Los Angeles. 

In fact, both LaFleur and his older brother, Matt (Green Bay Packers coach), worked with Shanahan at different points in their career.

Matt first served as the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Redskins during Shanahan's stint as the coordinator before the pair reunited in the same roles with the Atlanta Falcons for two seasons. During Shanahan's time as the Falcons' play-caller is where he first worked with the Rams' new coordinator. 

From there Mike followed Shanahan to the 49ers, serving as the passing game coordinator for all four seasons in San Francisco and being the receivers coach for the first two. 

That is a lot of experience serving under one of the top offensive minds in the NFL for LaFleur. The 36-year-old was praised by Jets coach Robert Saleh even after he departed for his creativity in the passing game, which may not have shown on the box scores. 

While the Rams will undoubtedly lean on LaFleur's experience as a passing game coordinator, the Athletic specifically notes that McVay and the Rams are already picking his brain on implementing new concepts in the run game.

This means that while Ram fans can expect to see the same offense McVay has run since being hired, they can count on seeing a few new wrinkles thanks to the hiring of LaFleur.

“We’re lucky to have him,” McVay said recently about LaFleur. “You know, he makes me feel a lot better about being able to be a head coach because he can lead those guys on offense. And while we see the game through a similar lens, he’s also not afraid to challenge me. And he takes the initiative.”

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