List of Los Angeles Rams head coaches

History

Damon Wetzel was the Rams' first head coach in 1936. Although the team was scheduled to play against the Boston Shamrocks in the AFL's Championship Game, the Shamrocks were forced to forfeit the game after unpaid players on that team declined to participate in it. The Rams then moved to the NFL the following year and hired Hugo Bezdek as their new head coach. During his tenure, however, he coached the team to only a single win in his first year. Bezdek was later fired after three games to start the 1938 NFL season and was replaced by assistant coach Art Lewis for the remainder of the year. The Rams continued to struggle under subsequent head coaches Dutch Clark and Aldo Donelli, none of whom had a winning percentage of over .400. The team finally found success under Adam Walsh, who guided the Rams to the franchise's first NFL Championship in 1945. Walsh remained head coach during the team's relocation to Los Angeles in 1946 before being replaced by Bob Snyder in 1947. Snyder's tenure turned out to be short due to then-owner Dan Reeves firing him prior to the start of the 1949 NFL season and replacing him with newly-minted advisor Clark Shaughnessy. For the next three seasons, Shaughnessy and his successor Joe Stydahar, who was previously the team's line coach, led the team to three consecutive playoff berths, including the franchise's second NFL Championship in 1951. The following season, however, tensions between Stydahar and backfield coach Hamp Pool led the former to resign and the latter succeeding him as head coach. Pool led the Rams to a playoff berth as did his successor Sid Gillman.

After Gillman left to coach the Los Angeles Chargers in the newly-formed third incarnation of the American Football League, the team languished from 1960 to 1965 under head coaches Bob Waterfield and Harland Svare whose tenures yielded winning percentages no higher than .279. In 1966, the Rams hired George Allen as head coach where he led the team to two playoff berths in five seasons. After Allen stepped down following the 1970 NFL season, Tommy Prothro was hired as head coach and served for two seasons until he was replaced with Chuck Knox by new owner Carroll Rosenbloom. From 1973 to 1980, Knox and his successor Ray Malavasi guided the team to seven straight NFC West division titles and eight consecutive playoff berths including an appearance in Super Bowl XIV at the end of the 1979 NFL season, the first in team history. After the 1982 season concluded, Malvasi was replaced by former USC head coach John Robinson. During his time as head coach, Robinson led the team to six playoff berths and one division title. He is still the Rams' leader in years as head coach (9), regular season games coached (143), and regular season loses (68). After a finish in 1991, Robinson was fired and Knox was rehired as head coach where he remained with the team for three seasons prior to the Rams' relocation to St. Louis.

For the Rams' first two seasons in St. Louis, Rich Brooks served as head coach before being replaced by Dick Vermeil in 1997. Despite two consecutive seasons where the team finished last in its division, Vermeil alongside a rejuvenated offense nicknamed The Greatest Show on Turf led the Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV at the end of the 1999 NFL season, marking the franchise's first Super Bowl title. Upon Vermeil's retirement at the conclusion of the aforementioned season, offensive coordinator Mike Martz was named his replacement, leading the Rams to four playoff berths in five seasons, including an NFC Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVI. After Martz took a medical leave of absence five games into the 2005 NFL season, assistant coach Joe Vitt was hired as his replacement for the remainder of the season. From that point on through 2016, the Rams entered a 12-year period of poor results under the leadership of head coaches Scott Linehan, Steve Spagnuolo, and Jeff Fisher, with the latter's tenure occurring during the team's return to Los Angeles. Linehan, Spagnuolo, and Fisher were each fired in midseason, with Vitt, Jim Haslett and John Fassel serving as interim head coaches during that period. The Rams franchise's fortunes turned around with the hiring of Sean McVay as the 28th and current head coach of the team. Upon his hiring in 2017 at the age of 30, he became the youngest head coach in league history. In eight seasons, McVay has led the Rams to six playoff berths, four NFC West Division titles, two NFC Championships, including a loss in Super Bowl LIII in 2018 and a victory in Super Bowl LVI in 2021. Already the youngest coach to reach the Super Bowl three years earlier, McVay became the youngest head coach to lead a team to a Super Bowl championship. In 2024, McVay became the Rams franchise leader in regular season and overall coaching victories.

Head coaches

Notes

References

References

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31. "Hugo Bezdek". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
32. "Art Lewis". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
33. "Dutch Clark". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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35. "Aldo Donelli". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
36. "Adam Walsh". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
37. "Bob Snyder". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
38. "Clark Shaughnessy". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
39. (October 1, 1952). "Stydahar Dropped as Coach of Rams; Pool, Former Assistant, Named to Succeed Mentor of 1951 Pro Football Champions". The New York Times.
40. "Joe Stydahar". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
41. "Hamp Pool". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
42. "Sid Gillman". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
43. (November 7, 1962). "Waterfield Quits As Coach of Rams". The New York Times.
44. "Bob Waterfield". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
45. "Harland Svare". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
46. "George Allen". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
47. "Tommy Prothro". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
48. "Chuck Knox". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
49. "Ray Malavasi". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
50. "John Robinson". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
51. "Rich Brooks". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
52. "Dick Vermeil". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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55. "Mike Martz". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
56. "Joe Vitt". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
57. (September 29, 2008). "Rams Fire Linehan; D-coordinator Haslett Tapped as Interim Coach".
58. "Scott Linehan". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
59. "Jim Haslett". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
60. "Steve Spagnuolo". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
61. (December 12, 2016). "John Fassel Put on Spot in Unexpected Opportunity as Rams' Interim Coach". USA Today.
62. "Jeff Fisher". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
63. "John Fassel". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
64. (February 3, 2018). "2017 NFL Coach of the Year: Sean McVay Wins Award for His First-Year Rams Magic".
65. (January 24, 2018). "NFL Coaches Vote Sean McVay Sporting News Coach of the Year for 2017". [[The Sporting News]].