Sean McVay led the Los Angeles Rams to the playoffs in four out of six seasons, including two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl win.
For the second straight year, the Los Angeles Rams entered the offseason hoping their superstar coach who made history by becoming the youngest coach to capture a Lombardi Trophy at the age of 36 would stick around. After contemplating retirement, Sean McVay has decided he’ll return as the Rams’ head coach next season.
It’s the first big shoe to drop for Los Angeles because had McVay left, the team would’ve needed a new head coach and an all-new staff.
With McVay back, the Rams are in a much better position to rebound in 2023, but there’s still plenty of work to do.
Here’s what’s next for the Rams with McVay returning.
Find a new offensive coordinator
The first order of business for McVay has to be the search for a new offensive coordinator. Liam Coen left for Kentucky, which means the Rams will have a new offensive coordinator next season. There are some strong candidates out there, especially if McVay wants to bring in a more experienced coach to help take some responsibility off his own plate.
Kliff Kingsbury would make sense, as would Frank Reich. McVay could also consider promoting Zac Robinson or Thomas Brown to the offensive coordinator if he wants to keep things in-house for that position.
Nevertheless, after a drop in offensive production due in large part to injuries, change is needed on the offensive staff with Coen gone.
Keep Raheem Morris and Thomas Brown
Morris and Brown are both drawing interest from teams searching for a new head coach. Morris interviewed with the Indianapolis Colts on Friday and will also meet with the Denver Broncos, while Brown has an interview lined up with the Houston Texans.
McVay should try to find a way to retain both coaches, especially Brown. Despite what fans think, Morris did a good job with the defense this season considering the fact that he was missing Aaron Donald for six games and there was endless shuffling at cornerback and outside linebacker.
Brown has the makings of an eventual successor in Los Angeles so keeping him on McVay’s staff is significant.
Confirm Aaron Donald will be back
It should be all but certain that Donald, the seven-time All-Pro interior defender, will return in 2023 now that McVay is back, but the Rams have to make sure that’s the case. He said last year he would’ve retired if McVay had done the same, which raised some concern about the possibility that he’d walk away this year if McVay retired.
“I told Sean when he first got here,” Donald said back in July. “We came up with some things early and I first told him as long as he’s the head coach here, I want to continue to build my legacy with him. As long as he’s here and I got the ability to still play at a high level, I’m going to be here. When he’s gone and it’s all said and done, that probably will be when I’m hanging it up, too.”
Obviously, the Rams aren’t going to give Donald more money to stay after giving him a massive contract last year, but they need to make sure he’s all in again this year. Donald had a down season for his standards, finishing the 2022 season with five sacks in 11 games played. Still, he was elected to his ninth Pro Bowl.
You can follow Kevin Tame Jr. on Twitter at @Kevin_Tame
Want to see the Champs? Get your L.A. RAMS game tickets from SI Tickets here!
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rams? Click Here
Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Ram Digest message board community today!
Follow Ram Digest on Twitter and Facebook.
Want even more L.A. Rams news? Check out the SI.com team page here.
