Are LA Rams new coordinators: 3 wise men or 3 blind mice?

Bret Stuter

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

The LA Rams have hired on three new coordinators at the close of a disappointing 2019 season. Will history prove them to be three wise men or three blind mice?

The LA Rams made coaching changes at the end of 2019. Some deliberately, some responding to coaching defections. From a fan’s perspective, placing three new coordinators in charge of a significantly and historically competitive NFL team can go either way. Did the Rams truly proactively nip the problems in the bud at the first sign of decline, or did coaching insiders see what’s coming, and get off the ship before it sank? In short, are the Rams adding three wise men or three blind mice to their ranks?

Each NFL team faces challenges each year. Injuries eventually even out across all 32 teams. Close games that seemed to fall the opponents’ way begin to fall in the opposite direction. The NFL is designed to rejuvenate the hopes of each NFL team whose season fell below the .500 mark. Conversely, the same NFL structure shakes the faith of teams whose success has become second nature.

Eventually, good players want to be paid very well. Success for many teams will only continue over many years if the team’s success is based upon a fundamental system that can be replicated by new coaches and players each season. Success happens when the team’s head coach has a clear vision for what and who his team must be to succeed. Finally, the team’s success happens when the organization’s front office consistently delivers the right players to the team year after year.

Are the Rams, therefore, a team built for prolonged success or just a flash in the pan team whose best days are now in the rearview mirror?

From the pessimistic side

The Rams are painted into a corner now. Having gone all-in for a 2019 playoff run which came up short, the Rams have squandered their NFL Draft 1st round pick yet again. The team’s running game, the bread-and-butter of the offense, is in steep decline. And when the Rams tried to ad hoc a pass-centric offense, Jared Goff‘s accuracy plummeted.

But perhaps the worst part of this is the realization that the Rams were so eager to fly to the 2019 Super Bowl that they failed to put in parachutes if the plane broke down along the way. Five players on the Rams consume more than half of the team’s total salary cap allocation in 2019. The Rams stand to lose 18 players from the 53 -man roster of last season.

Three of the team’s leaders: quarterback Jared Goff, running back Todd Gurley, and wide receiver Brandin Cooks, all experienced deeply disappointing seasons in 2019. And while many point to the offensive line as the entire problem, the Ram exhausted practically all the team’s resources already, leaving nothing left to address the short-comings on that line.

Cut losses and underperforming players

Close or not, these Rams have serious challenges this season. The veteran coaching staff saw the storm brewing on the horizon and bailed before the team was tossed about in the transition of 2020. Either the team bites the bullet, cuts players not performing to such lofty contracts, and resets for 2021 or 2022, or the team tries to duct tape the shell of a team together from the strongest parts.

Coaches who confront so many problems and sign onboard anyway are three blind mice. They simply do not see the challenges which await them. A better coaching title? One more year’s salary at the expense of a new team? Perhaps simply one more year to remain in a career they are passionate towards?

After all, professional sports are all about competitiveness. Was this round of coaching hires merely just one more competition for the three new coordinators? Were these hires simply filling in the holes in the coaching staff?

Los Angeles Rams GM Les Snead — (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

NFL design creates problems for good teams

The Rams were on a roll even into 2019 until repeated injuries at the same positions crippled the Rams’ chances to return to the playoffs. Even still, the Rams had drafted wisely by adding both OT Bobby Evans and OT David Edwards in the 2019 Draft. But early in the season, both were promoted to starting roles for the team, forcing the front office to add players from the practice squads of other NFL teams.

From the optimistic side

The Rams took a chance in 2019 which may not have paid off immediately, but the team is in great shape for 2019. The Rams offensive line, while inexpensive, improved dramatically over the course of the season. Despite shaky debuts, the team will welcome back Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen to compete for playing time in 2020.

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The team traded for guard Austin Corbett in 2019, who returns to train with the Rams this year. Both Bobby Evans and David Edwards earned valuable experience last season and will be even more ready this season.

The Rams have been very successful in the NFL filling niche needs. The Rams continue to land NFL caliber talent among the ranks of the undrafted free agents. And the Rams continue to coach up players from wide-eyed novice rookies into roll-up-the-sleeves NFL veterans looking to contribute.

Jared Goff’s down season will be addressed this season by the direct coaching of new offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. If O’Connell can help Washington Redskins rookie QB Dwayne Haskins put in a competitive game in 2019, he can ensure Rams QB Goff wins consistently in 2020. And O’Connell will help the team game plan to place Goff into better situations going forward.

NFL Draft Los Angeles Rams — (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)

Lock and reload

The Rams outgoing free agents all seek big paydays. But the best value in free agency occurs with undervalued players, which we have begun to identify for the team already. Behind this year’s free agents lie 2019 free agents who have healed and are ready to return to the NFL this season. And behind the Rams’ veteran free agents stand backups waiting for their chance to start.

Even if the Rams whiff in the free agency market this year, the team has backups on the roster at virtually every critical position. And the team can replenish the ranks thanks to a very deep 2020 NFL Draft. But the Rams will not whiff in free agency. With a little bit of patience, the team can sign tomorrow’s stars or undervalued veterans at a great value.

The Rams are not painted into a salary cap corner in the least bit. The Rams can free up to $80 million to spend in free agency this offseason in five steps. Once the team frees up enough cap space, the Rams can address five steps to ensure the team remains very competitive in 2020. Ways to improve the Rams are general knowledge now, so why would you expect the Rams organization is not aware and already acting to do so?

Rams declined over time

While the Rams seemed to have made significant changes this off-season, it was more about a wake-up call for head coach Sean McVay than the sudden consensus of any Rams coach who could get off would get off this offseason. The Rams’ special teams play had declined significantly over the past two seasons. The Rams’ defense, despite boasting All-Pro Aaron Donald, hasn’t reached the NFL’s top ten for several years.

As long as the offense scored so many points, no changes, innovations, or fixes happened. The team rolled along, banking on the belief that the team’s offense would always outscore the opponent. In 2019, that didn’t happen. Healthy players suddenly fell repeatedly to injuries. The team ended the season with just one of the five starting offensive linemen still playing. The team’s defense shed cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, lost safety John Johnson to a season-ending injury, and the pass defense actually improved.

John Fassel’s special teams had stopped being special for two seasons. The Rams defense never really was all that special. In 2019, the Rams were shaken by a cold splash of reality. Rather than fear the inevitable decline, head coach Sean McVay sprang back to life.

The coaching changes may have occurred in one sweep, but these were cumulative changes that the team likely should have considered addressing after the Super Bowl loss. Seven coaching positions: running backs coach, Director of Strength and Conditioning, assistant special teams coach, defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, assistant offensive coach/quarterbacks coach vacancies all happened in 2020. With new staff, the team hopes to turn the corner.

Turning the corner

The Rams hired an offensive coordinator named Kevin O’Connell to help quarterback Jared Goff and to infuse more game plan customization on a week-to-week basis. He has accumulated years of ideas and experience which he meticulously writes down in notebooks. He has incredible attention to detail, a key strength to help head coach Sean McVay with the offense this year.

The team added defensive coordinator Brandon Staley to add more opponent game planning, designing the defense to stop that week’s opponent, all the while disguising what the defense plans to do. The team added special teams coordinator John Bonamego to elevate the special team play from the bottom third of the NFL to among the top five.

Like the David Bowie song lyrics, “Ch Ch Ch Changes, turn and face the strange”. These coaches’ careers are on the line now, they have gone “all in” with the Rams fortunes. And they are the insider lot, while we speculate from the bleachers. Whether you feel pessimistic or optimistic, you can believe the new coaches are very bullish for the LA Rams this year.

Fans see approximately 50 percent of the roster, while coaches must have deep knowledge about the entire team roster. You can bet Kevin O’Connell, Brandon Staley, and John Bonamego are already fully versed in the Rams’ roster and have already begun weighing into the front office who the team must re-sign and who the team cannot afford going forward. In the end, perhaps the new coaching hires are indeed the wise men. And for those of you who do not see it, perhaps you are one of the blind mice.

Bret Stuter

Bret Stuter is the site expert for Ramblin Fan who has covered the Los Angeles Rams for 5 years. Swept up into loving professional sports from a family that listened to games on the radio, he is at home cheering for HC Sean McVay and the Rams. Articles have been featured on B/R, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Sporting News, and Washington Post. Bret loves to fish, and watch games at sports bars over pizza.