LA Rams: Five worst moves of the 2021 offseason

Losing DC Brandon Staley to Los Angeles Chargers

While the LA Rams were forbidden to outright deny the opportunity of first-year defensive coordinator Brandon Staley from interviewing for a head coaching position, they certainly had every opportunity to sweeten his deal to remain with the Rams organization.

The team had the chance to offer the ‘Assistant head coach’ title and the salary increase that comes with it, to Staley. The team seemed to be paralyzed at the moment that other NFL teams showed interest. But even in the surrender to his departure, the team allowed cornerback coach Aubrey Pleasant and linebacker coach Joe Barry to move on as well. While we will never know what their promotion will have brought to the Rams defense, some assert it would have been better for the Rams to stick with a positional coach for continuity’s sake.

We know that the LA Rams went outside of the organization to fill the defensive coordinator role for the second consecutive year. That likely triggered both Pleasant and Barry to seek opportunities elsewhere. So who did the Rams sign up? The team added one of Sean McVay’s former colleagues, Raheem Morris, to lead this defense.

While I like the energy that Raheem Morris brings to the position and the concept of having a man with wide-ranging experience at multiple defensive coverage strategies, I’m a bit dismayed that his stint with the Falcons was less effective than hoped for.  The Rams are certainly doing their part to ensure that Morris succeeds.  Still, the Rams are coming off the top-ranked defense in the NFL. What truly equates to success in 2021? Will the fans be happy to settle for a Top-Five NFL-ranked defense? Will the organization?