Rams OC not worried about John Wolford’s inexperience as QB2

Kevin O’Connell doesn’t think John Wolford’s inexperience will be an issue behind Jared Goff.

The Rams’ three quarterbacks behind Jared Goff on the depth chart have combined to take exactly zero regular-season snaps in the NFL. They’re all undrafted, two of them being rookies from the 2020 class.

John Wolford was signed as a free agent last year after shining in the AAF, but he spent the entire season on the practice squad. It’s reasonable to be concerned about him being one play away from starting for the Rams, but Kevin O’Connell doesn’t share that sentiment.

The Rams’ new offensive coordinator is pleased with the progress Wolford has made this offseason despite the lack of OTAs and minicamp, making it clear that he’s confident in the young quarterback as Goff’s backup.

“First and foremost, with John, I’m really happy with where he’s at right now,” O’Connell said on a conference call Saturday. “Obviously, coming in not getting the spring, the repetitions we hoped to get for John, it puts a certain amount of importance on everything we do here in training camp, but that’s all the quarterbacks really. You know, all four of them that we have in camp right now, including (QB) Jared, Bryce (Perkins) and Josh (Love), as well as John. But John is going to get a lot of reps, he’s going to get a lot of opportunities to really lead a group in that huddle with him, that maybe some young players, maybe some guys that have been around here that are ready to compete. So, I think he’s going to be in a great situation in that huddle, being able to lead that group.”

Wolford will get second-team reps in practice while Goff works with the starters, but he should get some chances to play with and against first-team contributors when the Rams hold scrimmages at SoFi Stadium.

Up until this point, he’s received high praise from the Rams’ coaches, which should only get better as he continues working this offseason.

“He’s prepared, he’s incredibly smart. I’ve been really happy with how he’s progressed fundamentally and he’s throwing the ball really well,” O’Connell said. “It’s just a matter now of, as we transition to playing real football, competitive full speed reps, how many times can he consistency go out there, do his job, and put our offense in a great position to have success? And you know, I don’t worry too much with John about the experience, just because I’ve seen him work already and just as you get in the meeting rooming with him you know he’s prepared to be a professional quarterback and he operates every single day on that basis. And it’s our job to get him ready to play if he were called upon.”

Jared Goff explains why he feels ‘further along’ than last year

Jared Goff can’t wait to get to work with Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell when practices finally begin.

Jared Goff is still a relatively young quarterback compared to a lot of other starters in the NFL today. At just 25 years old, he’s in the early part of his career, potentially with another decade-plus of play to go.

It’d be foolish to say he’s already hit his peak or is in the prime of his career after just four seasons, considering how long it takes some quarterbacks to really break out. And as he continues to work with Sean McVay, the more comfortable he’ll get in the offense.

That’s still occurring today as he enters his fifth NFL season. He and McVay have essentially come up together as a quarterback-coach duo and Goff is continuing to find his voice as a leader.

Even though the Rams have been unable to practice, Goff feels further along this offseason than he did last year.

“I definitely feel further along than I did last year – and I know I say that every year, but I do,” Goff said on a conference call with reporters. “I feel like I’m able to have even more of an opinion than I’ve ever had and it’ll continue to grow, but at this point, me and Sean have been through so much together, we’ve seen so much together where he can say something and I can disagree confidently and likewise with him. I can say something and he can disagree with me and it’s not that I’m still so much learning, even though we are learning every day. I know our system so well at this point and I’m able to speak my mind if I need to.”

Goff’s first full season as a starter was also McVay’s first year as an NFL head coach, which has helped their development together. Relatively speaking, they’re still in the early stages of their partnership and ideally, they’ll turn into the next Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

There’s a new voice in the room with Goff and McVay this year, though, with Kevin O’Connell joining the mix as the Rams’ new offensive coordinator. O’Connell hasn’t had the chance to work with the Rams during a practice yet, but Goff can’t wait for that time to come.

“Kevin’s been awesome. I can already see – I mean, we haven’t been able to get on the field with him – but I can already see through this point that he’s going to be really good for us and really good for our whole team,” Goff said of O’connell. “I mean, for me specifically, him being a guy who played quarterback and has coached quarterbacks at a high level, it’s exciting for me and it’s going to be fun. He’s had a lot of experience doing it and has a really good track record and I’m excited to actually get on the field with him and get to work.”

Goff and McVay always try to keep an open line of communication with each other, and that won’t change with O’Connell now on the coaching staff, too. They’re able to voice their concerns and speak freely with each other, which will only help the entire offense as the year goes on.

“That relationship between me, Sean and Kevin is kind of the driving force of our offense and just making sure we’re on the same page at all times and speaking the same language and at the same time, like I mentioned, if we disagree on things, voice that and get it fixed,” Goff added. “And I think that’s the biggest thing that this year will be great is myself, Sean and Kevin being able to have that fluid conversation throughout the year. What we see, what we like, what we don’t like and just continue to work on it.”

Kevin O’Connell knows importance of adjusting on the fly in games

Kevin O’Connell hopes to take some pressure of Sean McVay to handle all the duties on offense.

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.

6 things we learned from Rams’ introduction of new coordinators

The Rams will be staying with a 3-4 defense under Brandon Staley.

The Los Angeles Rams made several major changes to their coaching staff this offseason, bringing in three new faces to fill the coordinator jobs on offense, defense and special teams.

On Wednesday, Sean McVay introduced offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, defensive coordinator Brandon Staley and special teams coordinator John Bonamego at a press conference, fielding questions from reporters in attendance.

He and the coordinators were asked about potential changes coming schematically, roles of the new coaches and what sold McVay on them as candidates for the jobs.

Here are six things we learned from the press conference.

Rams will stay in base 3-4 scheme

One of the biggest questions when the Rams replaced Wade Phillips with Staley was whether they’d switch to a 4-3 front. Staley coached a 3-4 defense under Vic Fangio in Chicago and Denver, and that will seemingly continue in 2020.

Staley said there will be a lot of carryover from last year’s Rams defense, indicating that their base scheme will remain a 3-4.

“A lot of it’s predicated on the players, but structurally, our system – from a personnel standpoint – there will be a lot of carryover,” Staley said. “With Vic, we’ve been a 3-4 structure, but we’ve played a lot of different groupings. As an offense or a defense, you’ve got to have a framework of where you’re guys are going to meet, so I think that’s going to be the comforting thing for our players. They’re going to be performing a lot of the same jobs, a lot of the same roles. There’s none of those wholesale changes that happen other places.”

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Sean McVay explains his decision to hire an offensive coordinator

Kevin O’Connell will not only be the offensive coordinator, but quarterbacks coach, too.

When Sean McVay was hired by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, he not only took over as head coach, but also as the de facto offensive coordinator. He was an offensive-minded coach who would call the plays on that side of the ball, taking full control of Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and the rest of the Rams’ playmakers.

McVay had an offensive coordinator on his staff that year in Matt LaFleur, but he wasn’t the play caller. He left after one season, taking the same job with the Titans in 2018 before being hired as the Packers’ head coach last offseason.

That 2017 season was the last time the Rams had an offensive coordinator on McVay’s staff, but he brought back that title this offseason. After a disappointing 2019 campaign, McVay hired Kevin O’Connell as his offensive coordinator.

But why now? Put simply, McVay wants to figure out a way to field the best version of the Rams offense next season, which wasn’t the case in 2019.

“We’ve operated under a very similar structure before Kevin, our first year when Matt LaFleur was in that same role. When you look at Coach Kromer, Shane Waldron – those guys will continue to play instrumental roles and really, it’s always a collaboration of the coaching staff and how we formulate the best game plan to attack the opposing defense and ultimately put our players in the right spots with our weekly rhythm and how that translates to that three-and-a-half-hour window,” McVay said Wednesday during the introductory press conference for his new coordinators. “But his ability to communicate, his big picture – I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for Jared to work with somebody like him because of some of the things that he’s done that maybe I haven’t gotten exposed to. So I’m really excited about learning from him, working together and us positively pushing each other to ultimately figure out what’s the best version of the 2020 Rams offense and how does that look as we continue to put that together with our players in mind.”

It’s interesting that McVay mentioned Goff specifically, as it seems O’Connell will be working closely with the quarterback. The Rams announced their official coaching staff Wednesday and absent was a quarterbacks coach – a job previously held by Shane Waldron in 2019 and Zac Taylor in 2018.

That’s because O’Connell will assume that role, with the help of assistant QBs coach Liam Cohen and Shane Waldron, as well.

“In a lot of instances, Kevin will assume those roles, working with those guys,” McVay said. “But whether it’s Liam Cohen that’ll be in that room, Shane will still have some interaction. But ultimately, Kevin will take on the typical responsibilities of a quarterbacks coach, very similar to what Matt had done a couple years ago.”

Having an offensive coordinator who also serves as the quarterbacks coach will not only help McVay in the game-planning process, but also take some pressure off of Waldron, who remains in his role as the pass game coordinator.

4 things to know about new Rams OC Kevin O’Connell

Kevin O’Connell is joining the Rams as their new offensive coordinator.

For the first time since 2017, Sean McVay will have an offensive coordinator. The Rams are hiring Kevin O’Connell to take over that role next season, effectively replacing co-coordinators Shane Waldron and Aaron Kromer.

This is a major change for McVay and the staff, though it’s likely one that doesn’t come with the head coach giving up playcalling duties.

O’Connell, 34, was most recently the Redskins’ offensive coordinator, and has been a coach in the NFL since 2015. Here are four things to know about him as he joins the Rams.

He joined Redskins when McVay left

O’Connell was hired by Jay Gruden and the Redskins in 2017 to take over as their quarterbacks coach. That same offseason, McVay left to become head coach of the Rams, so they never worked on the same staff.

O’Connell worked his way up the ranks fairly quickly, though. He became the pass game coordinator in 2018 and was promoted to offensive coordinator this past season. During his time in Washington, he worked with quarterbacks such as Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith, Colt McCoy, Case Keenum and Dwayne Haskins.

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