Rams general manager Les Snead and Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone still talk every week.
Gladstone worked for Snead for nine years before the Jaguars hired him last January. So they have remained in touch through free agency, the draft and the season.
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But this week, with their teams playing against each other at Wembley Stadium in London, Snead thought it might be best to go old-school and not talk until the game was over.
“James, he’s of the younger generation, so he’s like, ‘No you can talk during game week,’” Snead said as he watched the Rams practice in Baltimore. “I’m more kind of … you shouldn’t shake hands before the game, right? We’re trying to beat each other.
“We joked about that. It just seems like a regular game week right now.”
As Rams coach Sean McVay and Snead navigate their ninth season together, they can’t avoid seeing throughout the NFL the fruits — and competitive challenges — created by their labors and success.
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Head coaches Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers, Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals, Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings and Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons all served as assistants under McVay.
Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes, who worked under Snead for many years, built the Lions into an NFC power after he was hired following the 2020 season.
On Sunday, McVay and Snead will face the latest challenge from members of their respective coaching and management trees.
Jaguars coach Liam Coen worked under McVay as an assistant receivers coach in 2018 and 2019 and assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020. After a season as the University of Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, he returned to the Rams as offensive coordinator in 2022.
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The Jaguars hired Coen last January after he spent the 2024 season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator.
The next month, the Jaguars hired Gladstone, who quickly established an aggressive approach, trading up to select cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter with the second pick in the draft. The wheeling and dealing has continued during the season.
Coen has the Jaguars off to a 4-2 start.
“He’s passionate,” McVay said. “You can see that quarterback background. He’s fiery, but he also knows when to be able to stay steady. I think he picks and chooses his spots accordingly. But I think the most important thing is authenticity. That’s exactly what he’s been.”
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Coen was offensive coordinator during the Rams historic Super Bowl hangover. The Rams lost many of their star players because of injuries, including quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive lineman Aaron Donald — and finished 5-12.
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen watches from the sideline during a game against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 12. (John Raoux / Associated Press)
“That was a challenging year for us,” McVay said. “But man, there was a lot of growth that occurred in the midst of a uniquely challenging year. I think there was a lot of growth for us personally and professionally. I think he’s used that to be able to use some of those scars, if you will, to be stronger.”
Coen this week praised McVay for instilling confidence in Rams players, coaches and staff members from “a positive state of mind,” especially during difficult periods.
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“But also the standard, the demand, the way that he ultimately wants the team to play, it shows up every single week,” Coen told reporters during a news conference.
Gladstone, 35, continues to supply Coen with talented players, and shows no signs of slowing down as the trade deadline nears.
Read more: NFL Week 7 picks: Rams defeat Jaguars in London; Chargers lose
Snead hired Gladstone in 2016 as a senior assistant and Gladstone quickly climbed through the organization as something of a personnel and scouting savant.
“You just appreciated how he thought,” Snead said. “Historically, we’ve done that here in L.A. a little bit with someone that’s ‘OK, wait a minute, they’re bright, they have passion for football, they might not have, let’s call it, professional experience, but lets bring them in, find them a seat on the bus and see where it goes from there.”
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McVay and Snead are happy to see their former assistants succeed every day — except when they are playing against the Rams.
“It’s always cool to see people take a little bit of the foundation that we worked together to engineer here,” Snead said, “but you can always see people … go somewhere else and they add their DNA or their independence away from how we’ve done it here and have given them a little bit more freedom to innovate in a different direction.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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