LaFleur became available primarily for his perceived inability to develop a young quarterback, but your opinion of him likely comes down to your opinion of Zach Wilson’s talent level. LaFleur’s offense often produced with the Jets while playing Mike White and Joe Flacco at quarterback, two safer decision-makers. Justin Herbert doesn’t need to be developed the same way someone like Wilson does, and the success with other Jets QBs suggests that LaFleur’s scheme was not the broken aspect of New York’s offense.
LaFleur is also straight off the Shanahan tree, an offensive coaching tree that the Chargers are likely to pull from given Brandon Staley’s familiarity with its proponents. LaFleur has been an assistant for Kyle Shanahan at three different spots, rising from an offensive intern in Cleveland to offensive assistant in Atlanta to pass game coordinator in San Francisco before following former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to New York.
Under LaFleur’s guidance, the Jets produced 70 big plays, defined as a rush of 10+ yards or reception of 20+ yards, a figure towards the bottom of the league. However, it was still well above the Chargers, who had only 59, the third lowest in the NFL. Staley has said that generating more explosives will be a point of emphasis for the offense going forward.
Staley has also said that marrying the pass and run game will be important in finding their next offensive coordinator, and the Jets in 2022 were able to do that despite injuries on the offensive line and to standout rookie running back Breece Hall throughout the season. Of New York’s 70 big plays, 37 came on the ground, with 33 through the air. Only ten teams were more balanced than the Jets in that sense.
LaFleur also frequently used bootlegs during his time with the Jets, primarily to cut the field in half for his inexperienced quarterbacks and simplify things. But those bootlegs also worked because of the mobility of QBs like White and Wilson, which Justin Herbert also brings to the table. 2022 showed that Herbert is more than capable of getting on the move to make plays. Bootlegs for Herbert are not about simplifying things but more about utilizing Herbert’s mobility to get him in rhythm early in games.
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