In his first three years with the Rams, Sean McVay lost multiple coaches – not because he fired them, but because they accepted opportunities elsewhere, with two becoming head coaches. This offseason, though, McVay has been the one making changes.
The Rams moved on from Wade Phillips and Skip Peete, hired a new offensive coordinator and have a new special teams coordinator for the first time since 2011. McVay brought in Brandon Staley to lead the defense, Kevin O’Connell to coordinate the offense and John Bonamego to replace John Fassel on special teams.
It’s a new regime under McVay, which will certainly change things not only on the field, but also in the lead-up to the season. GM Les Snead acknowledged the fact that these coaching changes are going to impact the Rams’ approach to the draft and free agency.
“It definitely does change (our approach), probably more on defense than offense, in that, OK, let’s really sit down with the two new coordinators, but because Brandon’s philosophy is going to be slightly different than Wade’s,” Snead said at the combine, via TheRams.com. “Which positions are most important? What type of players do you need playing those positions? Do we have them? If we don’t, can we get by? So those are very, very important and will be fruitful meetings before free agency starts and the draft.”
Snead wouldn’t get into the specifics of which positions are the biggest priorities, but it’s easy to surmise which spots the Rams will be looking closest at. All you have to do is glance at their pending free agents, with the top guys playing inside linebacker, outside linebacker, defensive end and left tackle – all positions with very little starting-caliber talent behind the pending free agents.
The Rams are expected to add reinforcements on the offensive line and in the linebacker corps, assuming Cory Littleton and Dante Fowler leave. Even if Andrew Whitworth re-signs with the Rams, Los Angeles will need a future replacement at left tackle.
As for the defense, in particular, Staley’s past work as an outside linebackers coach could lead the Rams to pay more attention to that position – either by re-signing Fowler or adding an edge rusher or two in the draft. He values versatility more than Phillips did, too, which should change the front office’s view on defensive linemen and defensive backs.
The draft is more than a month away, but free agency starts in less than two weeks. At that point, we should get a sense of where the Rams will be focusing their attention.
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