LA Rams must hire Mike Pettine as LB coach ASAP

Sometimes, things have a way of sorting themselves out after a little time goes by. Of course, that may not always seem obvious, particularly for the LA Rams amidst mass defections by executives and coaches alike this season. One of the more difficult position coaches to replace is that of linebackers coach Joe Barry. After all, Barry followed head coach Sean McVay from Washington to Los Angeles.

Barry has been a true unsung, if not the unspoken hero of the Rams defense. Yes, defensive coordinator Brandon Staley stitched all of the pieces together to form the top-ranked defense in the NFL. But it was Barry who assembled the pieces to be stitched.

Along with other defensive position coaches, Barry worked with the roster assembled by the front office. His defensive quiver of arrows, his blank canvas was mostly comprised of lower-round draft choices and undrafted free agents – not many of the plug-‘n’-play variety. Still, the Rams churned out some of the best defensive players in the NFL.

Barry helped accomplish this by coaching up players such as UFDAs Corey Littleton and Troy Reeder. His departure left a distinct void, a gaping maw.

How can the Rams possibly hope to replace that?

Simply stated, they can’t. Instead, they must set the bar high for all the qualities they seek for their defense and allow the next linebacker coach enough flexibility to chart his own path to success. In other words, they have to let the next guy succeed his own way, on his own terms.