LA Rams News: Team fills nearly half of vacant coaching positions

The LA Rams are acting quickly to fill vacant coaching roles now. So quickly that as of February 21, 2021, the team’s home page has yet to be updated. But we know that the LA Rams plan to hire Stanford University’s Run Game coordinator/offensive line coach Kevin Carberry to a similar role on the Rams coaching staff.  So what of the other coaching hires? So far, it appears that the LA Rams are about halfway there.

For the latest news about the Rams, you’ll need to access the LA Rams Mobile App.  With that in your arsenal, you can stumble upon the news that may not be immediately reported.  For instance, the team app lists the following coaches who have not yet been reported. Who are they? What will they bring to the Rams coaching staff, and to their respective positions?  Let’s take a look at each:

Marcus Dixon – The LA Rams Assistant defensive line coach was a former player for the New York Jets from 2010 to 2012. During his career, he played in 22 games and started four for the Jets. While their paths have not linked directly, Dixon served for four years as the Defensive Ends Coach/Director of Player Development/Recruiting Coordinator for Hampton University.

Dixon has followed LA Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson and has recently endorsed The Meaning of Dawgwork article, a sports psychology article about the mentality required to achieve and sustain dominance as a defensive lineman.

Dwayne Stukes – The LA Rams Assistant Special Teams coach played as a defensive back for the University of Virginia in 1997-1999. He signed on as an undrafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons in 2000 and spent the next three years on the Falcons, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Stukes’s coaching career includes work with defensive backs, special teams, and defense. It was likely his coaching with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 and 2020 that connected him to LA Rams ST Coordinator Joe DeCamillis. Of course, Stukes also worked extensively with Raheem Morris and Joe DeCamillis, two coaches he cites as having a significant influence on his own coaching career in this video interview when he coached for the New York Giants.  His role could mean a new role for the LA Rams Assistant Special teams coach Tory Woodbury.

Chris O’Hara – The LA Rams Assistant offensive line coach has connections with both OC Kevin O’Connell due to working on the Washington Football coaching staff in 2017, and with ST Coordinator Joe DeCamillas as their careers overlapped in 2020 on the coaching staff of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

O’Hara was a non-player football coaching assistant who has worked his way through the coaching ranks as associate and assistant.  Now he will join newly-hired offensive line coach Kevin Carberry to prepare for a very busy offseason and get ready for the 2021 NFL season.

While these pending hires fill several roles, the LA Rams may still be seeking to fill their assistant quarterback coach, Passing game coordinator, cornerbacks coach, and linebackers coach positions. While these roles remain open, this wave of positional coaching hires makes a good dent in the team’s vacancies. Other hires should be expected soon, as the Rams will undoubtedly wish to do so quickly to prepare for the start of the 2021 NFL season and the 2021 NFL Draft.