LA Rams brace for defensive positional coaches to be poached

The success of the LA Rams defense in 2020 has the team already conceding that some Rams coaches will be poached in the off-season

The LA Rams defense was the Top-Defense in the NFL in 2020. And of course, the NFL is a copycat league, and the new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is one of the hottest NFL coaching prospects in the NFL.  While that has led some to expect Staley to be hired off, I remain unconvinced.  After all, the field of coaching talent is robust this year. Not only from promotable coordinators but from last year’s head coaches who were let go. And Staley just completed his first season as a defensive coordinator.

But that is not the case for the Rams positional coaches. Many have been in the NFL for years, and have had a front-row seat, if not direct impact, on the Rams defensive transition. As such, their names have and will be mentioned as teams seek new defensive coordinators.

Coach Barry draws Vegas interest

The Las Vegas Raiders are one such team who had parted ways with their defensive coordinator and have jumped quickly into the search for a successor. Of course, they turned to the LA Rams for a replacement and found some potential in Rams linebackers’ coach Joe Barry.

It’s no surprise to find Joe Barry’s name on this list. After all, it was Barry who coached up Raiders’ inside linebacker Cory Littleton into a star for the Rams. In fact, the Rams have avoided investing very much in the inside linebacker position for years, and yet do manage to field enough talent to drive the defense each season.

Rams brace for coach defections

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are currently six NFL openings at the head coaching position. As each head coach position is filled, they will in turn seek to hire a new defensive coordinator. The obvious candidates will include Rams defensive positional coaches.

And even the Rams own defensive coordinator Brandon Staley expects his staff to be hired on elsewhere.

And so it goes in the NFL. Success breeds mimicry. And the system is designed to move talent from a team’s roster and coaching staff to those teams without talented players or coaches.

Will some Rams’ coaches be hired elsewhere?  That’s hard to say with any certainty right now, but the odds are certainly not good for the Rams to escape unscathed. That is the price of success in the NFL.  I would be very disappointed but not surprised in the least if the Rams coaching staff has openings to fill this offseason. Many have earned a promotion. I just hope they stick around long enough to earn an NFL Championship ring before they take it.