The Los Angeles Rams made two familiar additions to the coaching staff for head coach Sean McVay. The first is Brian Allen, who was L.A.’s starting center during their Super Bowl run in 2021. He was brought in as an assistant offensive line coach. Meanwhile, Rams fan favorite Robert Woods — who played with L.A. from 2017-21 — was hired as an assistant wide receivers coach.
The news of both hirings was exciting for fans, who remember the 2021 team fondly and have a strong connection with both players. Woods, in particular, was an emotional leader for the Rams during his tenure and was the quintessential L.A. player.
However, McVay made sure to clarify that these are not simply fan favorite hires, and that both former players have specific skillsets to bring to the coaching staff, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“I love those guys. We’re not doing favors,” McVay said. “It’s because I believe that they’re going to be really good coaches too. So it means a lot, and I don’t take it for granted, but that’s why you get into this is for the relationship, so very fortunate that those guys are coming back, and they’re going to provide tremendous value for us.”
McVay is not the type of coach to do something that doesn’t directly benefit the team. If he decided to bring in Allen and Woods, it’s because he believes they will be of service toward the Rams’ goal of winning a championship. The two are highly intelligent football minds, and they showed it during their time with the Rams.
So while it will be a great story for Rams fans to see two of their 2021 champions back on the sidelines in some capacity, it’s much more than that. It’s a move McVay made to help towards the 2026 Rams’ hopes to bring another championship back to L.A.
Sean McVay explains parting ways with Aubrey Pleasant
The Rams recently announced their coaching staff for 2026 with former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury among the new hires. One name that was missing from the coaching staff was Aubrey Pleasant.
Pleasant has been with the Rams for seven of the nine years since the franchise hired McVay as their head coach in 2017. For the last two years, he has served as the Rams’ passing game coordinator and assistant head coach and he and McVay are very close dating back to their days in Washington and then when the latter got the job in L.A.
McVay recently spoke on the decision to part ways with Pleasant, saying that he felt it was in the best interest of both the Rams and him to part ways.
