There’s a running joke in the NFL that teams are hiring anyone and everyone who has come in contact with Sean McVay at some point. It stems from the frequency with which the rest of the league comes flocking to the Rams’ coaching staff to hire assistants who have worked under the NFL’s youngest head coach.
First, it was Matt LaFleur and Zac Taylor, then it was Brandon Staley – all of whom went on to head-coaching jobs with other teams. But it goes beyond just head coaches. Teams are scouring McVay’s staff and hiring them as assistants.
This season alone, the Rams have lost five coaches to other teams. Here they are, along with their previous job in L.A. and their new position elsewhere.
- DC Brandon Staley: Hired as Chargers’ head coach
- LBs coach Joe Barry: Hired as Chargers’ defensive passing game coordinator/LBs coach
- CBs coach Aubrey Pleasant: Hired as Lions’ secondary coach
- Passing game coordinator Shane Waldron: Hired as Seahawks’ offensive coordinator
- Assistant QBs coach Liam Coen: Hired as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator
The Rams have only filled one of those voids so far, hiring Raheem Morris to replace Staley as the defensive coordinator. The other positions have yet to be addressed, and though it’s still early in the offseason, it’s not easy having to fill five jobs in a matter of weeks.
It’s the second year in a row they’ve gone through a great deal of turnover, too. Last offseason, they moved on from defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, lost special teams coordinator John Fassel to the Cowboys, let running backs coach Skip Peete go and hired Kevin O’Connell as their offensive coordinator. Staley thrived as Phillips’ replacement, as did Thomas Jones with the running backs, but John Bonamego’s stint as the special teams coordinator lasted only one season; the Rams hired Joe DeCamillis to replace him this offseason.
They survived those changes and went on to finish 10-6, earning a playoff berth and win over the Seahawks in the wild-card round. Given McVay’s ability to identify talent, there’s no reason to believe the Rams can’t overcome these latest losses, too.
It’s just not the situation McVay would prefer to have happen, even as happy as it makes him to see his assistants advance their careers as coaches in the NFL.
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