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

In LA Rams News, the team has lost another positional coach. This time it’s assistant offensive line coach Andy Dickerson, who has agreed to join Shane Waldron as the latest addition to the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff. The LA Rams are now in the process of replacing a virtual six-pack of coaches and executives who have left the organization. And they’ve already filled two key roles.

Yes, the team has already replaced two, but they seem to be only a drop in the bucket. The Rams repurposed ST coordinator John Bonamego to make room for new ST coordinator Joe DeCamillis. And the Rams did not waste any time in filling the vacant defensive coordinator role left by Brandon Staley. as they hired new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

In 2020, the LA Rams reworked all three coordinators. But the team’s positional coaches remained virtually intact.  In fact, the Rams were only faced with replacing running back coach Skip Peete, which they did with the hiring of new running back coach Thomas Brown.  The team refilled the loss of outbound assistant ST coach Matt Daniels by promoting Tory Woodbury to assistant special teams coach.

The Rams have gone from OC Kevin O’Connell, DC Brandon Staley, and ST John Bonamego from a year ago to OC Kevin O’Connell, DC Raheem Morris, and ST Joe DeCamillis.  And now, the organization has six more vacancies to fill or address.  So where should we start? Well, the front office vacancies are the easiest to discuss.

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.

Offense under construction

The LA Rams lost assistant QB coach Liam Coen to the University of Kentucky, where he will be their new offensive coordinator.  He had passed on a similar opportunity with Boston College in 2018, but has decided now is the time to cast his career in a new pond. The University of Kentucky has poached one from the LA Rams’ organization. (6)

Pass game coordinator Shane Waldron has been the LA Rams tight end and quarterback coach in the past. Now he has agreed to sign on with the division rival Seattle Seahawks as their offensive coordinator.  But that was not the end of it.

True to form for this offseason, assistant offensive line coach Andy Dickerson will join Shane Waldron in signing on with the Seahawks. He will be the Seahawks’ run-game coordinator. And now, the Seattle Seahawks have poached two from the LA Rams’ organization. (8)

That’s a pretty deep and wide swath in the heart of the Rams coaching and personnel staff. Not only will the Rams need to fill 3 offensive positional coach positions,  two defensive positional coaches, but the Rams will also be filling two critical roles in the front office.  It’s clear that the Rams are tearing down their offense, and are seeking to rebuild it for 2021.

The Rams are up to something, that’s certain. But they are nearing a point of no-return now. With new position coaches, the Rams will be refamiliarizing coaches and players. VIrtual training camp sessions will be as much about introductions as the installation of new plays or schemes. And we’ve seen how difficult it can be for that to happen under the shroud of COVID-19 restrictions.