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Will the Rams and Sean McVay look to draw inspiration from Liam Coen’s ‘pony’ personnel?
Throughout the Sean McVay era, the Los Angeles Rams have primarily been an 11 personnel team. However, following a season in which the Rams were one of the least explosive, especially in the run game, there is a growing feeling that changes are coming. The Rams released wide receiver Cooper Kupp in the offseason and then drafted the ‘F’ tight end that McVay has been wanting. After struggling to find explosives in the run game, the Rams also drafted Jarquez Hunter who had a higher career explosive run rate in college than Ashton Jeanty.
It’s very possible that we could be getting a fourth iteration of the McVay offense and it revolves around how the Rams are going to replace Kupp in the offense. In 2017 and 2018, McVay’s offenses revolved around the wide zone and play action off of that. When Stafford arrived in 2021, the Rams became much more of a spread team that excelled in empty formations. Over the past season and a half, the Rams have relied on more gap scheme runs while also introducing some pistol formations and also getting back under center.
Following the 2024 season, McVay seemed to understand that the offense needed to make changes. For the first time under McVay, the Rams offense struggled to create explosives which are key in the modern NFL. A less explosive Kupp hurt the explosive potential in the passing game while the Rams run game had an explosive run rate of 1.8 percent. Said McVay after the season,
“I think the biggest thing is there would be a little bit more versatility. How do you utilize the offseason and how are you making yourself more versatile from a personnel perspective or from a run variety perspective? Those are the things that I’m excited to be able to dive into. I was talking to Liam Coen the other day. One of the coolest things that I think is reflected about what a great job he did was you’ve got a background and then when you watch them evolve with Bucky Irving and the way they ran the football and some of the variety and personnel groupings, I thought that was a cool reflection of maybe we think we’re going to do that and then what you evolved into if you’re able to understand that the best coaches adjust to their players.”
The key part of what McVay says here is, “How are you making yourself more versatile from a personnel perspective or from a run variety perspective?”
Prior to last year, the Buccaneers run game ranked last in yards per rush in the previous two seasons. In 2025, it was a unit that finished third. Under Coen, the Buccaneers leaned heavily into counter and trap runs. A key aspect of this was the utilization of 21 or ‘pony’ personnel. Said Joshua Queipo of The Pewter Report in October of last...
