The Los Angeles Rams exceeded expectations in nearly every phase during the 2023 NFL season. And when that happens, what follows is a large portion of that coaching staff gets poached and hired elsewhere. Assistant special teams coach Jeremy Springer is the latest to get that treatment as he heads across the country to the New England Patriots.
Springer spent the last two seasons as the special teams assistant for the Rams. He was a college coach at four different universities — Texas A&M, UTEP, Marshall and Arizona — after playing linebacker at UTEP during his college career. He is considered another potential rising star in the coaching world as part of the Sean McVay coaching tree.
The Patriots are entering a new era of their own, parting ways with legendary head coach Bill Belichick and hiring Jerod Mayo to take his place. Mayo is putting together his first ever coaching staff and liked what he saw from the Rams special teams assistant, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:
The #Patriots are hiring #Rams assistant special teams coach Jeremy Springer as their new special teams coach under Jerod Mayo, source said. A rising young coach and another Sean McVay disciple.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 31, 2024
The Rams have now lost a large chunk of the 2023 coaching staff to new heights this offseason. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris was hired as the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and he brought assistant head coach Jimmy Lake and pass-game coordinator Zac Robinson with him.
The question becomes will the Rams need to replace any more coaches before the offseason is up. There remain some league-wide vacancies and some Rams coaches have been rumored to fill those positions. But that is part of the culture that McVay has built atop the Rams organization.
Rams interviewing several defensive coordinator candidates
McVay is used to losing several members of his staff every offseason and will once again search for qualified candidates to replace them. Finding a suitable defensive coordinator will be quite the challenge and McVay could be looking for a more seasoned option as the team reportedly met with former Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera for the role.
Aside from Rivera, Los Angeles could also look to hire from within as they will reportedly meet with Aubrey Pleasant and Chris Shula.
Pleasant and Shula are intriguing candidates because of their familiarity with McVay and the system, though an outside hire like Aden Durde or Dennard Wilson could bring some valuable insight considering how well the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens’ defensive units looked in the 2023 season.
McVay hasn’t been afraid to take swings on people for his coordinator roles, so it’ll be interesting to see which direction they go in.
