SoFi With Sophie – claire demoff, ‘26

Win or lose, most football fans have lives outside of the game. But what happens when your life is football?

“Winning certainly makes everything easier,” says Sophie Harlan, Director of Operations with the Los Angeles Rams. “But we have to learn to lose.” In the midst of the Rams’ troubled season, I sat down with Rams executive Sophie Harlan, the brains behind the front office, to talk about what goes into running a (sometimes) successful NFL team.

Harlan has been the Director of Operations at the Rams in 2020, seeing them through their recent Super Bowl victory. Prior to that, she worked as an assistant to the team’s C.O.O and was connected with the team in that capacity when the Rams went to the Super Bowl in 2019.

Previous to joining the Rams, she was director of Recruiting (recruiting athletes, that is) at UC Berkeley. When she got an email from Rams C.O.O. Kevin Demoff seven years ago, she was initially skeptical, thinking he wanted to ask about the Rams’ new quarterback, Jared Goff, a CAL player. “We ended up chatting about life and Los Angeles and the NFL, and although I didn’t really have an interest in working in the NFL, he was so smart and empathetic and I was intrigued to work with him,” Harlan said. “I had the opportunity to come down and interview over dinner and when he offered me the job, I couldn’t say no.” In 2020, when the old Director of Operations left, Harlan presented her ideas for the position in a meeting, and got the job.

Right now, the team is in a slump. However, according to the age-old saying, the show must go on. “Our job is to put the team in the best position to win,” Harlan said. “We cannot control what goes on on the field, but we need to make sure everything is perfect to a T – if a player has issues with the hotel, that could affect their play. We want to get to a point where nothing we do could negatively impact the team’s performance on the field.”

So, what does a professional football team’s Director of Operations actually do? Despite its limited media coverage, it’s an extraordinarily important position. The players play, the coaches coach, and the front office makes trades, but Ops. has to put every aspect of the team, from social media to the weight room, together and create an environment that works for every department of the team. “We take everyone’s priorities, and create a plan that works for them, but mostly for everyone. We’re the first call for fixing things…we have to be part of every part of the organization,” Harlan said.

(Photo provided by Sophie Harlan)

Sophie (far left) beside fellow Rams staff members.

No day is the same in Harlan’s office. When I visited, Harlan and her staff were looking to the next day’s game against the Carolina Panthers, but also to signing day, the day after the game, and all the way ahead to next year’s draft. “We have to create a balance between the present and the future,” Harlan said. However, none of this can be done without good relationships with members of the team.“We support a very diverse group of guys – they come from everywhere. Our goal is for everyone to have someone they feel comfortable talking to – not necessarily me, but just someone. We want our guys to feel like they are being heard,” Harlan said.

So many different tasks makes for a busy week. Harlan walked me through her typical schedule, in particular, the days leading up to the matchup with the Panthers on October 16, 2022.

Monday is always gameday cleanup, whether the game is at home or on the road. While the players watch film from the game, Harlan and her team are busy going through what worked during the game from the perspective of the operational team, and preparing for the week ahead.

Tuesday kicks off with a deputy heads meeting, followed by a production meeting for the upcoming game.

Wednesday is a “look-ahead” day. Essentially, it’s planning and preparation for the Rams’ next upcoming road game, including hotel and travel logistics, and (on this particular day) prep for next February’s NFL combine.

Thursday is an Operations Team meeting, followed by another meeting with Sofi Stadium. “To make sure they don’t forget about us,” Harlan joked, referring to the Chargers’ Monday night game at Sofi the day after Rams vs. Panthers. There’s also a public safety meeting, to go over more gameday logistics from the security perspective.

Friday is an “all-in day” – there is roster prep for the game, hotel prep and, after going over a final checklist for the Panthers game, there is budgeting. “Every day is a budget day,” Harlan explained.

After a Saturday morning check-in, the day was full of last-minute prep for the game ahead. And, if there had been a road game, this would also be a travel day.

Harlan is “officially” on the sidelines during the game, “but I spent most of the time running around, doing everything and anything,” she said with a laugh. And next week? She’ll do it all over again.