Rampage
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- Mar 19, 2019
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The Rams had arguably the league’s best defense in 2020, finishing No. 1 in points allowed and yards allowed.
But now the Rams have lost three of the unit’s coaches. Coordinator Brandon Staley has become head coach of the cross-town Chargers, taking assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Barry with him. And cornerbacks coach Aubrey Pleasant is joining the Lions as defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach.
Los Angeles hired former Falcons interim head coach Raheem Morris as defensive coordinator — the Rams’ third in three years after Wade Phillips and Staley. But on Tuesday, General Manager Les Snead said he expects head coach Sean McVay will keep much of the defensive system that produced success in 2020.
“I think Sean has a vision to keep the DNA of the scheme that Brandon implemented, that’s kind of been innovated, created and evolved through Vic Fangio,” Snead said, via Jourdan Rodrigue of TheAthletic.com. “We have coaches who know it and can keep that in-house. Raheem will learn it a little bit, but I know he will bring some derivatives from Tampa, from Seattle, with Dan Quinn in Atlanta. So, this is how all these schemes evolve when everyone starts mixing the ingredients together.”
The Rams have plenty of talent on their defense, led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. But L.A. will have several decisions to make on pending free agents like safety John Johnson, linebacker Leonard Floyd, cornerback Troy Hill, and defensive lineman Morgan Fox.