Sean McVay is in a familiar situation this offseason – in need of a new offensive coordinator. After Mike LaFleur agreed to terms Sunday with the Arizona Cardinals to be their next head coach – the fourth Rams offensive coordinator to make that leap under McVay – the Rams are beginning the sea rch for his replacement. Even if that means a little work for McVay while on vacation. “We’ve got great candidates in-house,” McVay said over Zoom from a hotel balcony. “You obviously – just based on the rules and I think what is the appropriate thing – you’re gonna do an extensive search to really just dive into what’s going to be the best way to bring in new people that help us continue to build and grow towards where we want to be able to go.” McVay historically has hired his offensive coordinators from a pool of external candidates rather than promoting from within, with the hopes of adding ideas from someone from a different school of thought. But McVay brought up the “in-house” candidates for the Rams multiple times during his press conference Monday. He did not mention any by name, but offensive line coach and run game coordinator Ryan Wendell and passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase – who interviewed for head coaching positions last month – figure to get consideration. “We’ve got some really good coaches in-house that we’re going to continue to develop,” McVay said. “I think it is thorough and I think it is the right and the reasonable approach to be able to really have a wind-ranging search while full-well knowing that I’ve got more-than-capable guys that could step up and do a phenomenal job. But you do have to do that based on the rules in general.” LaFleur leaves having had a slightly different role as coordinator than his predecessors. McVay remains the chief architect of the Rams’ offense and its play-caller. But in recent years, he has started to delegate more of the day-to-day game planning roles to his assistants, chief among them the last two years being LaFleur. Most of his duties were in common with other Rams offensive coordinators – leading installs or helping McVay with scripting some sequences, for instance – but McVay also let LaFleur lead some of the collaboration with the rest of the offensive staff as they developed the game plan. “I think I was able to be a better head coach because of the contributions that he and our offensive staff have made over the last couple years. And we’re looking to continue that,” McVay said. “So I’m looking forward to seeing what that looks like and exactly how that person that ends up being the OC, what their roles and responsibilities are. That’s earned on a daily basis. I would like something similar to Mike.” McVay will be able to focus all his attention on the offensive coordinator search after announcing Monday that the Rams have hired Bubba Ventrone as their special teams coordinator. Ventrone spent the past three seasons as special teams coordinator and assistant head coach with the Cleveland Browns. He previously was special teams coordinator with the Colts from 2018-2022 and special teams assistant with the Patriots from 2015-2017. “He’s a guy that I’ve had my eye on for a while,” McVay said. “Very aligned philosophically. He’s got a great energy, a great edge, he’s a great communicator.” McVay said that he sees a lot of similarities between who Ventrone has been as a coach and his personality as a player. He also cited the different coaches that Ventrone has worked with – specifically as a player and assistant for Bill Belichick in New England – as factors in his decision. “There’s an energy, there’s a toughness mentally and physically that he provides,” McVay said. “Just a guy that’s really continued to just elevate people that he’s around, but more importantly you talk about the impact that he makes, the ability to develop the totality of the roster.” Kyle Hoke will serve as Ventrone’s special teams assistant with the Rams, McVay said. Hoke spent the 2025 season with Ventrone in Cleveland after 13 seasons as a collegiate coach. Related Articles Rams will be patient as QB Matthew Stafford makes decision on future Rams sign Sean McVay, Les Snead to multi-year contract extensions Rams OC Mike LaFleur hired as Cardinals head coach The Audible: What’s next for the Rams and Chargers? Alexander: Seahawks’ Sam Darnold shuts up his critics – and makes history ...read more read less