The Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff was raided by other teams this offseason, losing six assistant coaches to other jobs and a seventh, Aaron Kromer, to a mutual parting of ways. None of those losses were bigger than Brandon Staley’s departure, however, after he helped the Rams field the No. 1 defense in the NFL last season.
But he’s already been replaced by Raheem Morris, who was the defensive coordinator and interim coach of the Falcons last season. Barber has head coaching experience from his time in Tampa Bay, working with players such as Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp.
Barber recently chatted with Stu Jackson of the Rams’ official site and lauded Morris’ ability to adapt and adjust on defense during their time together with the Buccaneers. He said Morris became “ like a chameleon” with the way he adjusted to opposing offenses, which is great news for the Rams.
“I remember our second year when he was a head coach, and he took over defensive coordinator duties,” Barber said. “He really became like a chameleon. He was able to adjust to a lot of different looks that offenses were giving us. He can have a big playbook, but he also knows how to keep things simple. … It should be interesting, man. He can’t be any more excited to work with 99 (Aaron Donald) and Jalen Ramsey. I mean, you can do almost anything with some of the talent that he has. So I’m looking forward to seeing what it evolves into.”
In every interview Morris has had since becoming the Rams’ defensive coordinator, he’s talked about how excited he is to work with Donald and Ramsey – two cornerstones of the team. He called both players “potential gold jacket guys” and just doesn’t want to “mess them up” from what they’ve been doing lately.
Morris and Sean McVay worked together in Tampa Bay under Jon Gruden and though they went their separate ways after that, they’ve reunited in Los Angeles as two of the most important coaches on the Rams’ staff. McVay has gotten better at adapting to what opponents throw at him, and with Morris appearing to succeed in that area, too, the Rams should be in good shape next season.
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