The Los Angeles Rams wasted no time filling a key role on Sean McVay’s coaching staff as they hired Bubba Ventrone to be their new special teams coordinator. Kyle Hoke was also brought in to be the team’s assistant special teams coach.
Ventrone most recently served as the Cleveland Browns’ special teams coordinator and assistant head coach for the last three years.
He also had a previous five-year stint as the Indianapolis Colts’ special teams coordinator from 2018-2022 and got his start in coaching as an assistant special teams coach with the New England Patriots from 2015-18.
McVay is excited about the hiring of Ventrone and said he will bring a wealth of knowledge to the Rams, via Wyatt Miller of TheRams.com:
“There is an energy, there is a toughness mentally and physically that he provides,” McVay said of Ventrone. “There is a style of play philosophically with how he believes in coaching, what his units have looked like, where he foundationally learned what he knows about this game. There is a lot of guys that he’s kind of come from that have had really a ton of success as (special) teams coordinators.”
McVay had been interested in hiring Ventrone for a while and believes he is a perfect fit on his coaching staff:
“He’s the guy I’ve had my eye on for a while,” McVay said of Ventrone. “… Very aligned philosophically. He’s got a great energy, a great edge. He’s a great communicator. You talk to people when you do the vetting and the background and what he does in regards to just being able to uplift and elevate people he’s around in situations he’s a part of.”
Ventrone is taking over a Rams special teams coordinator role that was held by Chase Blackburn and Ben Kotwica this past season. Blackburn lost his job after the team’s disastrous loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16, and Kotwica was let go at the end of the 2025 season.
The Rams’ special teams unit was nothing short of a disaster and it cost them multiple games throughout the year, so Ventrone will have his work cut out for him.
It is worth noting that the Rams’ special teams ranked 31st in 2025 and the only team worse than them was the Browns, so there are some question marks when it comes to the hiring of Ventrone.
However, Ventrone’s special teams units in Indianapolis previously ranked among the league’s best, and he also got to work closely with legendary head coach Bill Belichick during his time in New England.
Rams’ Puka Nacua finishes third in 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year voting
The annual NFL Honors were held last week in San Francisco, which saw Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford take home the MVP Award.
Puka Nacua was also a finalist for 2025 Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year honors, which went to Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Smith-Njigba won the award with 272 points and 14 first-place votes. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey finished second with 223 points and 12 first-place votes, while Nacua placed third after receiving 170 points and eight first-place votes.
Nacua led the NFL with 129 catches, and finished second with 1,715 receiving yards while recording 105 rushing yards and scoring 11 total touchdowns. It was a historic season for the 24-year-old, who also received his second-career Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections.
