LA Rams News: Chargers’ Staley poaches LB Coach Barry

The dust hasn’t settled just yet in the LA Rams coaching carousel. Yes, the Rams lost their one-year wonder defensive coordinator Brandon Staley to the Los Angeles Chargers as their new head coach. And yes, the Rams denied permission for offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell to interview for a lateral move to the Chargers as their offensive coordinator. But the hits keep on coming, as the Chargers have now hired Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Coach Joe Barry to join Staley’s staff.

Barry joined the Rams in 2017, following head coach Sean McVay to the LA Rams from the Washington Football team. He immediately started to work on adding depth to the team’s linebacking corps. Barry is a pragmatist. He works with what he has, and that oftentimes has translated into table scraps in terms of paying free agents or draft picks for talented rookies.

Barry was a gifted linebacker whisperer. He could take overlooked linebacking talent, work with them for several years, and deliver an NFL-ready linebacker to the Rams. That gift cannot be overemphasized. It has allowed the LA Rams to ignore the linebacker position for the past four years, allowing the team to bring in talent at other positions.