LA Rams promoting Asst HC Aubrey Pleasant to call plays proves new policy works

The LA Rams are a well run business organization. As such, there is always an eye to winning the 'right way,' and not just winning. At times, that means being a front-runner in social issues. In 1946, the team signed HB-DB Kenny Washington and E Woody Strode, both players breaking the color barrier that year in the NFL.

In 1969, former LA Rams quarterback James "Shack" Harris became the first Black QB to start a season-opener in the NFL. He did so while competing for the Buffalo Bills. He would ultimately join the Rams in 1973, and would four seasons for the team. He would even earn Pro Bowl honors in 1974.

While we have managed to make headway, it was not so long ago when race determined which positions a player could choose in the NFL. Now, the NFL has no such barriers for players. Instead, the new frontier has become the coaching and front office staff in the NFL. But take heart, as the league is working hard to rectify the situation

The NFL passed Resolution JC-2A in 2020. While few fans recognize the resolution by its name alone, almost everyone recognizes the effect of the resolution. If either a head coach or general manager of eligible minorities and women is hired, the losing team is compensated with two compensatory Round 3 picks, one in each of the next two successive drafts. If a team loses a coach and an executive to become a head coach and a general manager with new teams, the team will receive three compensatory Round 3 picks, one in each of the next three successive drafts.

When the Detroit Lions hired Brad Holmes to take over as their new GM, the Rams were awarded a compensatory Round 3 draft pick in the 2021 and 2023 NFL Drafts. So too when DC Raheem Morris was hired as the new HC of the Atlanta Falcons, the Rams were awarded a compensatory Round 3 draft pick in the 2024 and 2024 NFL Drafts.

And now, in the 2024 NFL offseason, the Rams are ensuring that Assistant HC Aubrey Pleasant is getting a chance to make the decisions on the sideline and call the game for the LA Rams in their second preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

He has earned this opportunity.

The LA Rams are leading the NFL in the right direction. People should be hired based on their merits. However, opportunities to improve any candidate's portfolio must be given freely and objectively. That takes incentivizing actions. I am pretty certain that compensatory picks do not motivate this team to do what is right.

The Rams are positioning Coach Pleasant into a perfect position to be selected by NFL teams seeking a new successful head coach at the end of the 2024 NFL season.

Having great people caring about other great people is the bottom line for this football team:

*Note: Coach McVay will be in the coach's booth, not the broadcast booth.

The Rams secondary has certainly benefitted from the return of Aubrey Pleasant to the coaching staff. He has an 'attack' mindset that he genetically infuses into his player. In pass coverage, they do not just sit back. Rather, he wants his DBs to make plays on the football, tackle hard, and get a hand in there to break up the play.

Now, he will be expanding his experience to include calling the plays from the sidelines. It may be a small action like this that will elevate Assistant Head Coach Aubrey Pleasant to the ranks of NFL head coach. But to be fair, it's actions like these that attract the top coaching prospects from the NFL and NCAA coaching ranks to the LA Rams in the first place.

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