John Wolford could be interesting candidate to return to Rams as coach, instead of QB

Wolford may have played final game with Rams

The Los Angeles Rams have ruled out John Wolford as a backup to Baker Mayfield in this Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, so does this spell the end of his four-year journey with the team? It was clear in Sean McVay’s decision to add Baker Mayfield three weeks ago, then replace Wolford almost immediately on Thursday Night Football, that the Rams do not view Wolford as a future option at quarterback.

Could McVay instead see Wolford as a future option to be his quarterbacks coach?

Wolford doesn’t seem to have the arm to become a starter in the NFL even though the Rams have held onto him as a former undrafted free agent since 2019. That’s four years in McVay’s system, only a handful of appearances to show for it, and a pretty clear ticket out of the system next offseason as L.A. searches for better backup options to Matthew Stafford.

But given his extensive history with McVay and McVay’s reputation for turning a former quarterback like Kevin O’Connell into one of the hottest head coaches in the league right now, Wolford may be best served as a future assistant coach.

It wasn’t long ago that Kellen Moore starred in college at Boise State, went undrafted in 2012, then spent about six years on various rosters as a backup or third stringer. Moore didn’t have enough talent to play on Sundays, but he became the Cowboys QB coach in 2018, then the offensive coordinator in 2019.

Moore has spent the last four years as the Dallas OC and will again draw head coach interviews in this upcoming cycle.

Previous Rams QB coaches include Zac Taylor, currently another star head coach in the league, and current offensive coordinator Liam Coen. The current Rams QB coach and pass game coordinator is Zac Robinson, himself a backup QB in the league from 2010-2013 and an assistant on McVay’s staff since 2019.

This is his first year as the sole QBs coach and pass game coordinator. If Coen leaves, Robinson could be the next OC. And Wolford, at age 27, could be earmarked for a position on the team given that he has already been working in the system since 2019 and rarely as a player on Sundays.

That is only, of course, if Wolford is ready to call it quits on his playing career. At the very least, it seems his playing career with the Rams is on its last legs.