Over the years, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has become well-known for his growing coaching tree around the NFL.
Members of McVay’s coaching staff are almost always a lock to get interviews for head coaching jobs and this year is no different as defensive coordinator Chris Shula, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. That’s not to mention the current head coaches around the league that worked with McVay, most notable among them Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur who served as McVay’s offensive coordinator during the 2017 season.
LaFleur has enjoyed moderate success with the Packers, though they were eliminated in the Wild Card Round by the Chicago Bears. The Rams and Bears are set to face off against each other in the NFC Divisional Round, a matchup that features plenty of subplots.
McVay and Matt remain close and the former tried to hide his cards when asked about consulting his friend about Chicago, via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN:
“What would you guess? We watch the tape, we do our work and Matt is a very close friend of mine,” McVay said.
With McVay set to take on a fellow offensive mastermind in Bears head coach Ben Johnson, getting any sort of insight from LaFleur could help swing the matchup. Green Bay played Chicago three times this season, so he would have a lot of information that could be useful for McVay and his own staff.
One of the underlying storylines for the game is there is no love lost between LaFleur and Johnson who have been rivals for years. Johnson was the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions before coming to coach the Bears, so the two have plenty of head-to-head matchups against each other.
Despite the cold weather awaiting on Sunday, there’s an expectation that there will be plenty of points to be had as both teams can score efficiently and in a hurry. Los Angeles has the advantage on paper by virtue of being the better running team, though Chicago’s proven their offense can manufacture points in clutch situations.
Sean McVay and Ben Johnson share mutual respect
McVay and Johnson are widely regarded as two of the best offensive coaches in the league despite their youth relative to their peers. Ahead of the Rams-Bears matchup, McVay and Johnson shared their mutual respect for each other even though they have never worked together.
