There is a running joke in the NFL world that the top coaching candidates must be linked to the Rams' offensive mastermind, Sean McVay
- With eight NFL coaching vacancies this offseason (three have now been filled), there is a joke in the NFL world that the key to getting hired is simply to know Los Angeles Rams' coach Sean McVay.
- McVay is an offensive mastermind who has helped the Rams through a quick turnaround, becoming the prototype of what teams want in head coaches.
- Two coaches to get hired this offseason, Matt LaFleur and Kliff Kingsbury, have worked with or know McVay, and others from McVay's coaching tree also appear to be in contention for jobs.
Three of the eight NFL coaching vacancies this offseason have now been filled, with the Green Bay Packers hiring Matt LaFleur, the Arizona Cardinals hiring Kliff Kingsbury, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hiring Bruce Arians.
As five other teams - the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and Miami Dolphins - search for new coaches, many people in the NFL world think they know what it takes to get hired: being linked to Los Angeles Rams' head coach Sean McVay.
McVay has transformed the Rams in two years into an NFL powerhouse. He is considered one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, likable, and has impressed people with his incredible memory.
The Rams' quick turnaround and stylish brand of offense have other teams hoping to hire offensive masterminds to steer quick turnarounds.
The Ringer's Kevin Clark made a handy flowchart for how coaching jobs work today.
Through two coaching hires, Clark's logic seems to follow. LaFleur was the Rams' offensive coordinator under McVay in 2017 and left for the Tennessee Titans to call plays in 2018. Now he'll be calling plays for Aaron Rodgers.
"Rams coach Sean McVay - the 32-year-old offensive genius who has become the blueprint of many of the new coaching hires around the NFL - reached out to Kingsbury after Texas Tech let him go to see if Kingsbury wanted to join the Ram' staff for the stretch run and postseason as an offensive consultant. Kingsbury considered it but ultimately joined USC.
"'I think he's been a very good head coach,' McVay said last week when asked about Kingsbury's NFL prospects. 'I think he's demonstrated the ability to do a lot of different things at a high level, and he's got a great offensive mind.'"
Plenty of other members of the NFL world have jumped in on the joke.
Jokes aside, it's clear that there's a real connection there.
McVay joked when asked about LaFleur's hire and his influence on the league, "I'm too young to have a coaching tree."
Of course, McVay didn't just come out of nowhere. He's part of the Mike Shanahan coaching tree, which has proven to be just as influential. Before McVay's success, the NFL was looking for people who worked with Kyle Shanahan after his success as an offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons.
Want to take it a step further? McVay and Shanahan's coaching trees all fall under another current, prominent head coach's tree - Jon Gruden!
As The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore pointed out, there is an overlap between the Gruden's coaching tree and Shanahan's. McVay served as an assistant on Gruden's Buccaneers coaching staff. He was also a tight ends coach with the Washington Redskins under Kyle Shanahan and offensive coordinator under Jay Gruden, Jon's brother.
Connections are important in the NFL. There may not be anyone more important to be connected to that McVay at the moment.
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