Turf Show Times
Sean McVay’s coaching tree, the technically accurate one and not the “let’s argue over semantics” version, currently stands at 5 teams, three of which are 4-8. Will this be the first time during McVay’s tenure as a head coach that the tree gets significantly pruned? More relevant to McVay and the Rams right now, if you cut one branch off does another one just pop right back into its place?
Could Aubrey Pleasant get a head coaching job before Chris Shula?
First, the latest on every coach who worked for the Rams under McVay prior to being hired as a head coach:
LaFleur is in no danger of losing his job and in fact continues to build a resume as one of the most successful head coaches in Green Bay’s history: 75-36-1 regular season record.
The only Packers head coach with a better winning percentage than that is Vince Lombardi.
We can argue about his 3-5 playoff record or his play calling, but LaFleur has managed to build a number one seed contender both with and without Aaron Rodgers. Jordan Love is an okay quarterback with a below-average supporting cast and yet the Packers are first in the NFL in third down conversion rate (49.3%) and third in red zone touchdown rate (67.4%).
The Rams have Matthew Stafford and two top-tier talents at receiver and they’re 18th on third downs, 4th in the red zone.
It’s true. LaFleur was basically just driving through L.A. for a visit in 2017 en route to his inevitable spot as a head coach. Regardless, he was OC for the Rams and now he’s in his seventh years as a head coach and he will get an eighth.
Coen’s team is 8-4 but Jacksonville is no less confounding as they always are:
The Jaguars beat the Chargers 35-6 a few weeks ago. They barely beat the Raiders (the worst team in football according to most) by a single point a couple weeks before that.
Jacksonville has gotten their asses handed to them by the Rams (35-7) but they’ve also beaten the Chiefs, 49ers, and Texans.
It’s hard to say exactly how far the Jaguars could go in the playoffs, if they make the playoffs, but Coen’s going to last longer than Urban Meyer did.
It was only a few years ago that Coen was basically told “thanks but no thanks” after his one season as Rams OC. It’s an impressive first season even if the Jaguars lose by 40 points in the playoffs, which is probably what will happen.
It’s tough to be less popular with fans than Raheem Morris is in Atlanta right now. Morris was a pretty surprising hire in 2024 already, with some of the others to get jobs in that cycle including Mike Macdonald, Jim Harbaugh, Dan Quinn (who was Morris’s boss in Atlanta when Quinn was fired and Morris took over as interim), and Dave...
