After a disappointing 9-7 season in which they missed the postseason, the Los Angeles Rams are making wholesale changes to their coaching staff this offseason.
The biggest decision was letting go of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. He came to the Rams when Sean McVay took over as head coach to give him an older, more experienced counterpart, but the defense was inconsistent the entire 2019 season, which led to the change.
McVay reportedly interviewed a number of candidates for the position. While it looked as if he might stay in-house, it appears that is not the case as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is reporting that the Rams are hiring former Denver Broncos outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley to be their defensive coordinator:
Brandon Staley flew out yesterday and spent the day with #Rams coach Sean McVay. They still need to work out the deal, but Brandon Staley should be the new DC https://t.co/QFLedCUVtQ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2020
The 33-year-old McVay is targeting younger coaches for his new staff. Staley is just 34 years of age, and has spent the last three seasons coaching under Vic Fangio. The first two seasons were with the Chicago Bears, where Fangio was the defensive coordinator. He then took Staley with him when he got the heading coaching job with the Broncos.
Fangio is one of the best defensive kinds in the sport, so learning under him can only have prepared Staley to make this leap.
Staley is a former quarterback at the University of Dayton and has previous coaching experience at Hutchinson Community College, James Madison and John Carroll before winding up with the Bears.
The Rams also will reportedly be hiring 34-year-old Kevin O’Connell to be their offensive coordinator, continuing the youth movement. He coached with McVay on the Washington Redskins staff before the latter came to L.A.
