LA Rams compelled to inteview 5 top candidates for ST coach

LA Rams need a new special teams coach. Here are 5 top candidates Rams are compelled to interview as quickly as possible

Everyone expected the LA Rams to make changes this off-season. But few had guessed the growing number of openings in the coaching staff this quickly.  Now that the Rams have allowed Special Teams coach John Fassel to defect to the Dallas Cowboys without any resistance, everyone is wondering when coaching changes will stop.

The Rams have likely ended their parting of ways with coaches. But the second wave of poaching from the Rams coaching staff for promotions elsewhere is in full swing. That is how the Dallas Cowboys and new head coach Mike McCarthy were able to pry Fassel away from the Rams. Now the Rams must backfill the coaching staff.  But who?

Well, the pool of special teams coaches grows with each new head coach change. When a new head coach is hired, they have the option to meet with the coaching staff under contract and determine whether that coach’s future will remain with the team. More often than not, the new head coach opts to hire “his” guys.

So who is available? Let’s look at the field of candidates

University of Washington Special teams coordinator Bob Gregory

With the departure of University of Washington head coach Chris Petersen, the Pac-12 leading coaching staff instantly became “harvestable” talents for other football programs. One of the first sources of new NFL talent is the NCAA and promoting some of their successful coaches.

The Pac-12 is the NCAA west coast conference, with both USC and UCLA as members of the 12 football team community.  While the Pac-12 has not competed for the NCAA championship for a number of years, the conference continues to churn out NFL quality players.  The LA Rams have several former Washington Huskies on the roster: defensive tackle Greg Gaines, center Coleman Shelton, and safety Taylor Rapp.  Those players all contributed to the Huskies special teams at one point.

Special teams coordinator  Bob Gregory runs the Washington Huskies special teams, and has done so  for the past four seasons.  Gregory has a long history of coaching, currently serving as the teams linebackers coach (six seasons) and as assistant head coach.

While Gregory is not nearly as young as either Brandon Staley or Kevin O’Connell, he is a fresh face to the NFL.  He also is a default authority on Pac-12 NFL Draft prospects.  The energy amidst the LA Rams coaches right now is future focused. Gregory would propel the Rams in that direction.

Former Washington Redskins special teams coach Nate Kaczor

We know the connection between head coach Sean McVay and his former Washington Redskins is alive and well. So it’s not a huge leap to associate their former special teams coach Nate Kaczor with the LA Rams opening.

Kaczor coached for the Redskins special teams for just one season, but had a very successful campaign.  He coached Redskins punter Tress Way into the Pro Bowl for 2019.  Prior to that, he coached for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccanneers, and Tennessee Titans. At virtually each assignment, Kaczor has coached punters to excel at the “coffin corner”, where the punter kicks the ball within their opponents 20 yard line.

Kaczor also coached 17 years in college at various positional coaching roles.

EDITOR NOTE:  The Washington Redskins have retained Kaczor as special teams coach for 2020.

Former Cleveland Browns special teams coach Mike Priefer

The Cleveland Browns were the last team in the NFL to decide upon their head coach. As such, they are the last team to fill their coaching staff.  Which means the LA Rams must act quickly, as the Browns are already showing signs of retaining Priefer as their special teams coach.  This is just hours after the Browns have decided to hire Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach.

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Priefer is a veteran special teams coach, and is very good at what he does. Hired by the Browns in January 2019, he has kept the special teams play special, despite the disappointment of the team overall.

Since he joined the NFL in 2002, Priefer has coached punter Chris Hanson, kicker Blair Walsh, returner Cordarrelle Patterson, and special teams David Tyree to the Pro Bowl.  It was during Priefer’s time with the Minnesota Vikings that they scored 14 touchdowns on special teams, even blocking two punts and running the ball back for touchdowns in the same game.

Priefer does not fit the youth movement currently underway at the LA Rams, but he is a special teams savant. If the LA Rams have any interest, they need to interview Priefer quickly. He won’t be available for long.

New England Patriots special teams assistant coach Cameron Achord

The New England Patriots fielded one of the highest ranked special teams in 2019.  Their special teams coach, Joe Judge, was hired as the New York Giants head coach earlier this year.  It seems very logical that the special team assistant coach Cameron Achord, who worked hand in hand with Judge this past  season, would be a solid candidate based on that association alone.

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But Achord has more to offer than a solid network with the New England Patriots. Achord played free safety at Bellhaven University from 2006-2010. He joined the University of Mississippi coaching staff in 2010, working his way up to multiple coordinator roles with Southwest Mississippi Community College.

Achord definitely fits the Rams youth movement, and as such will be worth the interview.  Despite just one season as a Patriots coach, he brings inside information as to the inner working at New England.

The Patriots are heavily invested in data analytics, and apply it in their preparation for games and for game time situations. Achord could join an LA Rams coaching staff eager to apply analytics in the same fashion.

LA Rams assistant special teams coach Matt Daniels

Ready or not, LA Rams assistant special teams coach Matt Daniels may find that it’s his time to step up into the special teams coordinator role.  And why not? What he lacks in terms of many years of experience, he more than makes up for in quality of working with former Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel.

The Rams special teams faltered a bit in 2019. But that is more related to the turnstile of roster moves of filling injured player vacancies by calling up practice squad players throughout the year.  Few special teams excel with new contributors on the roster each week.

What Daniels did acquire is the technique to emerge as a standout special teams coordinator. He has the right pedigree having worked with Fassel.  Beyond this, he has tremendous familiarity with McVay, Les Snead, the players, and the supporting cast. As such, his learning curve will be far shorter than other candidates.

The Rams acted very quickly to hire both offensive and defensive coordinators.  However, they failed to follow up with quick hires for either the special team or running back coaching positions.  Now the team is losing out on solid candidates.  It’s never a bad idea to promote from within the organization, so my thought is that Matt Daniels is the leading candidate for the job.  However, there isn’t much to go on in terms of news on the Rams progress.  Call it a hunch.