When the Rams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, one overarching takeaway from fans and analysts was Sean McVay’s struggle to adapt. New England played more man coverage than any other team in the NFL during the 2018 season, which McVay certainly took note of when watching film leading into the big game.
When the ball was kicked off, though, Bill Belichick flipped the script and showed the Rams a lot of zone defense. McVay didn’t seem to have a game plan to counter the Patriots’ changes and couldn’t adjust in the heat of the battle, which he admitted after the loss.
Entering the 2020 season, McVay is hoping to fix that issue by hiring Kevin O’Connell as his offensive coordinator. O’Connell won’t call plays and will be the de facto QBs coach, but most importantly, he’ll help the Rams adapt in-game and make the necessary adjustments.
“As far as Sunday goes, I’ve learned very quickly that it’s about each and every moment during those games and any competitive edge that you may be able to find as a player or coach – the people that can help do those things normally elevate pretty quickly,” he said in an interview with J.B. Long. “Not only with the play caller, but around the NFL – those things tend to travel pretty quickly. So if you can have a role, you feel prepared that the quarterback position and the entire offense, you’ve done your job to put those guys in the best possible situation, then it’s about Sunday. Then it’s about adapting real-time and being able to adjust and change on the fly to maximize your chance to win a football game.”
McVay is an outstanding coach, but not having a true offensive coordinator last season had a negative effect on the team. He overcame the absence of Matt LaFleur in 2018, but there were still times – like against the Bears – when he failed to make in-game adjustments. That’s difficult to do when you’re calling the plays on offense, which is where O’Connell comes in.
He can provide an extra set of eyes on the sideline and assist Jared Goff as the game is going on, acting as a bridge between the quarterback and head coach, too. And being a former play caller himself, O’Connell knows how much attention that duty requires.
“The role of a head coach that is a play caller and does run the offense, you really have to have somebody that you trust and you value not only their opinion in the game-plan setting early on in the week, but also within the quarterback room, within the offensive skill room, the interaction with the offensive line and how everything comes together. That’s not easy for somebody to do all those things,” O’Connell said.