Feb. 3, 2026, 7:18 a.m. PT

The Los Angeles Rams lost offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur to the Arizona Cardinals, who have made him their next head coach.

Now, Sean McVay needs to fill the hole left by LaFleur’s departure, and while there are many candidates for the job, there may be an under-the-radar option already in the building.

Late Monday night, the MMQB’s Albert Breer released his weekly notes, and in this week’s column, he identified Rams quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone as someone that McVay could tab to be his offensive coordinator in 2026.

“The hire of Mike LaFleur in Arizona opens up the Rams’ offensive coordinator job. That one isn’t a play-calling gig, but it is a pipeline towards becoming an NFL head coach,” Breer wrote. “All four guys who’ve held that title under Sean McVay—Matt LaFleur, Kevin O’Connell, Liam Coen and Mike LaFleur—have become head coaches…

“That’s a good track record, and lends the question of who’s next. Pass-game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase is one name that’s certainly in the running. But I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone lands the job­—he’s been a coordinator before (under Arthur Smith in Atlanta) and is right there as a consideration for McVay.”

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Ragone, 46, spent five seasons as a quarterback in the NFL with the Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers as well as one year with the Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe where he earned the Offensive MVP in 2005.

He transitioned to coaching in 2010 in the UFL and began coaching in the NFL in 2011 with the Tennessee Titans. He’s held various titles across his six coaching stops in the NFL, even becoming the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator for three seasons (2021-23).

Ragone joined the Rams staff as their quarterbacks coach in 2024 and has helped prepare Matthew Stafford for the impressive performances he’d had over the last two years.

Scheelhaase seems like the top internal candidate to be McVay’s next offensive coordinator, but Ragone has the experience that could get him the call first.

Either way, if one of these guys gets the job, it wouldn’t be surprising to see LaFleur try to take the other.

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