As has been a yearly tradition in the Sean McVay era, the Los Angeles Rams‘ coaching staff will be undergoing some turnover this offseason.
After some key departures, McVay has already begun the hiring process of new coaches to add to his staff for the 2023 season.
The biggest change will be at offensive coordinator with the Rams bringing in Mike LaFleur to replace Liam Coen, who decide to go back to the University of Kentucky in the same role.
Other hires the Rams have recently made include Ryan Wendell as offensive line coach and Nick Caley as tight ends coach.
There are still some other positions to fill, although they are currently being addressed, especially the openings in the secondary as the Rams have reportedly made two more hires.
Rams reunite with Pleasant
The most recent hire for the Rams is bringing back a familiar face in Aubrey Pleasant, according to Field Yates of ESPN.
Pleasant served as the Rams’ cornerback coach from 2017-20, working with star defensive backs like Jalen Ramsey, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. He then moved on to be the pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach for the Detroit Lions, which is the role he will have now back in L.A.
After being fired by the Lions in the middle of last season, Pleasant finished up the year as an offensive consultant for the Green Bay Packers. With 10 years of NFL coaching experience under his belt in a variety of positions, Pleasant will be a value asset for the Rams as they look to get back on track in 2023.
Outside of Ramsey, the Rams’ secondary will be very young next season and can use an experienced coach to help them find their way.
Former Washington head coach joining staff as well
Pleasant isn’t the only recent addition to the Rams’ staff as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network also reported that McVay is hiring former University of Washington head coach Jimmy Lake. It remains to be seen what Lake’s exact role will be although he mostly coached defensive backs in the NFL before going down to the college level.
Lake was only the head coach for two seasons at Washington, going 7-6 as Chris Peterson’s successor. He was the center of some controversy in Nov. 2021 when he was suspended for shoving one of his players on the sidelines and then eventually fired a few days later.
He does have a ton of experience both at the NFL and college level coaching defensive backs though and McVay has typically done well finding assistants so deserves some benefit of the doubt for this hire.
