LA Rams News: 7 defections place 2021 season success at risk

Lion lying in the bushes

Brad Holmes and Ray Agnew have since moved on to spearhead the Detroit Lions’ front office as General Manager and Assistant  General Manager.  Since arriving, they have successfully recruited cornerback coach Aubrey Pleasant to hire on as the Lions’ secondary coach.  The Lions have successfully poached three from the LA Rams’ organization.  (3)

When DC Brandon Staley signed on as the new head coach of the LA Chargers, he tried to recruit O’Connell to join him there as the offensive coordinator, but the Rams nixed that. But he did recruit LB coach Joe Barry to join him as the Chargers pass defense game coordinator.  The Chargers have successfully poached two from the LA Rams’ organization. (5)

Let’s pause here and absorb the challenges caused. The Rams have relied upon or even depended upon the ability of the positional coaches at linebacker and cornerback to coach up very raw but talented prospects into NFL starters. The Rams are enjoying the benefit of the Pleasant’s work with Troy Hill and Darious Williams.

And the Rams are working with their linebacking corps, which is every bit the ‘work in process’ right now. While the group of Micah Kiser, Kenny Young, and Troy Reeder were better than expected, the group flashed brilliance but was inconsistent.  For the Rams defense to sustain its spot as a top defense in the NFL, the linebacker will need to improve dramatically.