Mike LaFleur Talks Familiarity Between the Rams and Falcons

The Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator knows Falcons head coach Raheem Morris well, working with him on multiple occasions

Aug 9, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams assistant coach Mike LaFleur looks on during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

INGLEWOOD, Ca. The Los Angeles Rams continued their week 17 preparations from SoFi Stadium on Friday, after taking off for Christmas. The Rams practiced on their home field on Friday and Wednesday due to heavy rains affective the Southern California region.

From their protected fortress, the Rams conducted their weekly press conferences with Mike LaFleur, Chris Shula, Ben Kotwica, and Byron Young addressing the media before practice while Jared Verse and Puka Nacua spoke after.

During his presser, LaFleur spoke on several topics as his team is set to play the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.

Dec 11, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris looks on against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

LaFleur, who was a former Falcons assistant before leaving with Kyle Shanahan when Shanahan became the San Francisco 49ers head coach, is set to return to the place he had his first paid NFL gig.

LaFleur detailed his extensive history with Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, having worked with him when both men were assistants with Atlanta and when both men were the offensive and defensive coordinators with the Rams in 2023.

Watch Mike LaFleur's Full Press Conference Below

The Xs and Os

LaFleur has been at the forefront of the NFL's latest offensive evolution, helping head coach Sean McVay establish a 13 personnel offense that utilizes the mismatches created by a heavy use of tight ends, creating multiple post-snap plays from the same pre-snap looks.

LaFleur spoke about how defenses have matched up to the personnel grouping, reverting back to some of thing things the Shanahan offense used during LaFleur's early career stints as a intern with the Cleveland Browns and his time in Atlanta.

"I guess you just had to grab more base defense [film] with 13-personnel," stated LaFleur. "It hasn't changed a ton. You have to sometimes guess what a defense is going to do because not a lot of people are running 13-personnel unless it's situational ball. If they are, you're only getting about four to six snaps a game. You still have to go, ‘Okay, they're going to be prepping for it so what's going to be different when they play us?’ You're playing that guessing game a little bit."

Jul 23, 2025; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur during training camp at Loyola Marymount University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"It's been fun to dive back into it. It's more in the roots of when I first started in 2014. We weren't necessarily 13-personnel. We'd sprinkle it in, but typically we'd have a fullback in there so 22 and 21 [personnel]. You’re mainly going against base defense. It's been fun over the last eight weeks, or however long it’s been, to really dive back into that and try to put these guys in position to be successful.”

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