Report: Rams request interview with LSU assistant for vacant offensive coordinator position

With Kevin O’Connell on his way to Minnesota, the Los Angeles Rams are in the market for a new offensive coordinator. They could reportedly be looking to Baton Rouge for his replacement.

Los Angeles requested to interview LSU passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton for the role, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It’s part of a wide-ranging search by Rams coach Sean McVay to replace O’Connell, who’s becoming the new Vikings head coach.

Hankton spent the last four seasons with Georgia as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach before joining Brian Kelly at LSU this offseason. In 2021, the Bulldogs led the SEC with 9.3 yards per passing attempt while also ranking No. 3 in the league in total passing yards.

The Rams are coming off a 23-20 Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and they’re moving fast to replace O’Connell. Kelly, meanwhile, is getting ready for his first season at LSU after spending 12 years as the head coach at Notre Dame.

Bruce Feldman analyzes Brian Kelly’s first coaching staff at LSU

It’s been a busy few months for Brian Kelly and LSU since his hiring in November. His coaching staff is in place, and The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman broke down the new staff in Baton Rouge on The Paul Finebaum Show.

Kelly made some big hires at LSU this offseason, notably hiring Frank Wilson as associate head coach. Feldman noted that hire and said Wilson can be a great resource for Kelly, who’s never coached in the South before.

“I think it was key for him to get Frank Wilson there,” Feldman told Finebaum. “Frank Wilson is a former LSU assistant. He is really connected in the state, especially in New Orleans. I think that was important given there was a lot of turnover on that staff. Almost everybody’s new. … But I think ultimately for Brian Kelly, it’s going to be important to lean on Frank Wilson and some of the guys who have ties down there.

“Taking a step back from it, obviously people saw the comments he made at the microphone where he’s ‘family’ in the weird accent that he did and they’ve seen some of the dance videos. At the end of the day, Brian Kelly’s a really good coach. You don’t last as long as he did at Notre Dame and win as many games if he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”