more about the hires (O’Connell, Staley)…including Hammond article

Rams are finalizing deal to hire Kevin O'Connell (Redskins OC) as offensive coordinator and Brandon Staley (Broncos OLB coach) as defensive coordinator. https://t.co/HfZMHg7GjU

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 11, 2020

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Will be interesting to see what direction Sean McVay goes for his special teams coordinator. As it stands, a pretty young circle of coordinators.

Sean McVay, HC – 34
Kevin O’Connell, OC – 34
Brandon Staley, DC – 37

What you need to know about new Rams coordinators Brandon Staley and Kevin O’Connell

Rich Hammond

https://theathletic.com/1526477/2020/01/11/what-you-need-to-know-about-new-rams-coordinators-brandon-staley-and-kevin-oconnell/?=twittered

The end of a 9-7 season brought a lot of change to the Rams, and that’s not a bad thing.

Coach Sean McVay is not being meek to start 2020, as evidenced by his selection of Brandon Staley as the Rams’ new defensive coordinator and Kevin O’Connell as the new offensive coordinator. The team has not announced either move, but a Rams source confirmed Friday that the hirings are in progress.

So at the same time, McVay made a brash move and also showed some vulnerability. Those are great signs for Rams fans wondering how McVay might respond to his first dose of adversity as a head coach.

Staley is a bold hire. He’s only 37, and as recently as three years ago, he worked as defensive coordinator for the Division III Blue Streaks of John Carroll University. For the past three years, though, Staley has been a protege of Vic Fangio, one of the most respected NFL defensive coordinators of his generation.

McVay is said to have been highly impressed with Staley’s interview this week and is buying early on a young coach who could have a bright future. It’s a big move away from Wade Phillips, who was cut loose this week and has been coaching in the NFL longer than Staley has been alive. McVay could have been timider and promoted an assistant from Phillips’ staff such as Joe Barry or Aubrey Pleasant, but instead he took a big swing. That’s understandable and admirable. Now it just has to work.

In hiring O’Connell, McVay fills a spot that had been vacant since Matt LaFleur departed after the 2017 season. McVay spent two seasons without an offensive coordinator, but it became increasingly clear he needed some help. That’s not a failure. Only two other NFL coaches do not have a full-time offensive coordinator, so now McVay has another voice and pair of eyes to help him. McVay will continue to call offensive plays, but O’Connell certainly can assist with game planning and adjustments.

The genesis of all this is McVay’s desire to reshape his staff to meet his current needs, instead of those of 2017. That shows a lot of introspection and proactive thinking. The Rams went 9-7 this season. They fell far short of expectations but weren’t terrible. They were the only team with a winning record to miss the playoffs.

McVay could have stood pat, not made changes to his staff and argued the Rams were one missed field goal from a 10-win season and a possible playoff spot. The fact he’s in the process of making widespread changes should indicate mediocrity won’t be accepted, and that’s good.

McVay is not the same coach as in 2017, when at age 30 he hired Phillips and handed over the defense. McVay had to learn and grow, and now, after three years on the job, it seems he wants to branch out and take more ownership over other areas of the team, including the defense. It’s encouraging McVay didn’t try to do it all and recognized the need to bolster his offensive staff.

The Rams still must find a new special-teams coordinator (to replace John Fassel, who left this week for the same job with Dallas) and a running backs coach (to replace the fired Skip Peete), but these are the big moves, and they’re accompanied by a lot of questions. Let’s tackle the five biggest ones.

Who are these guys?

This seems like a good place to start because neither coach has a long professional résumé.

Staley is 37 years old and a former quarterback at the University of Dayton who spent a decade coaching in the community college, Division I and Division III ranks until he joined the Chicago Bears in 2017 as the outside linebackers coach under then-defensive coordinator Fangio.

When the Denver Broncos hired Fangio as their head coach last year, Staley followed, again to coach outside linebackers. In 2019, Fangio worked with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb and helped develop undrafted rookie Malik Reed, who took over for Chubb after a season-ending ACL injury.

Denver’s defense ranked 10th in the NFL in 2019, allowing an average of 19.8 points per game. That was an improvement over 2018, when the Broncos ranked 20th (21.8 points per game).

O’Connell, 34, grew up in Carlsbad and started 21 games at quarterback for San Diego State. A third-round pick of New England in 2008, O’Connell spent parts of five seasons with the Patriots, Lions, Jets, Dolphins and Chargers but appeared in only two regular-season games.

After some time as a private quarterbacks coach, O’Connell got hired as Cleveland’s quarterbacks coach in 2015, then moved to San Francisco as an offensive assistant in 2016. Washington coach Jay Gruden — one of McVay’s coaching mentors — hired O’Connell as his quarterbacks coach in 2017, then promoted him to pass-game coordinator in 2018 and to offensive coordinator in 2019.

Gruden was fired in October and Washington scored the fewest points in the NFL this season, but the Redskins had an uneven offense and played rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins for half of the season. O’Connell left Washington after the Redskins hired new coach Ron Rivera two weeks ago.

How will the Rams offense change?

It might change quite a bit, but not necessarily because of O’Connell, who essentially will do the same job as LaFleur in 2017 as a coordinator without play-calling responsibilities. The offense clearly is still McVay’s baby, as it should be. After his great success in 2017 and 2018, McVay deserves an opportunity to show he can bring a top-10 offense back to the Rams after a down season.

McVay’s top offensive deputies the past two seasons — pass-game coordinator Shane Waldron and run-game coordinator Aaron Kromer — also double as position coaches. O’Connell will not, so he could be most valuable in helping McVay make adjustments that seemed slow to develop in 2019 (and late in 2018). But any significant changes to the Rams offense most likely will come from McVay.

How will the Rams defense change?

It’s annoying to answer a question with a question, but the real one might be: Is Staley going to be a true disciple of Fangio or will he go his own way? Fangio, in his 25 years as an NFL coordinator and coach, is known for a base 3-4 package that can shift its looks frequently, depending on the opposing offense and game situation.

Staley won’t necessarily duplicate Fangio’s defense, but he said something revealing last year to reporters in Denver who were curious about his background and the schemes he ran in college.

“A lot of defense that I coordinated,” Staley said, “we mirrored a lot of stuff from San Francisco (Fangio’s previous team), so when I came to Chicago, I felt like I had been coaching for Vic for a long time because I had been watching so much of his stuff. When I interviewed, a lot of the teach tapes we had at John Carroll, there was a ton of 49ers stuff on there. I think I was able to catch his eye a little bit, and it’s worked out great.”

It seems very likely the Rams will stay with a 3-4 front, but it could look quite different. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports recently had an informative string of tweets and indicated McVay wanted a defensive coordinator with a willingness to mix up his personnel looks. The Rams might not necessarily even be a “man” or “zone” team. That’s the kind of unpredictability McVay is seeking.

Will the Rams lose any defensive assistants?

There’s a good chance. Barry, the current linebackers coach (and assistant head coach), was considered an internal candidate to replace Phillips, and he’s also reportedly a candidate to become USC’s defensive coordinator. If the Trojans offer Barry that job, there’s seemingly a good chance he will leave the Rams.

Pleasant, the Rams’ cornerbacks coach, is another one to watch. At 33, Pleasant is considered a rising star and also was thought to be a potential Phillips replacement. Last year, Cincinnati was interested in talking to Pleasant about its coordinator opening, and surely McVay understands (and appreciates, given his recent history) young, eager coaches aren’t going to stick around forever.

Ejiro Evero, the Rams’ safeties coach, also might draw attention from NFL teams and college programs.

Are these good moves?

O’Connell seems to be a clear yes. He has experience as an NFL offensive coordinator and has been around the league for more than a decade, and while O’Connell’s primary task will be to assist McVay, he offers another benefit: He can be another mentor for young quarterback Jared Goff.

The Rams still have Waldron and assistant Zac Robinson, but as a private coach, O’Connell also worked with some of the best college quarterbacks of this decade, including Johnny Manziel, Marcus Mariota and Bryce Petty. Goff had an uneven season — partially attributable to the Rams’ lackluster offensive line and run game — and he needs to improve in 2020. O’Connell will help.

Staley is more difficult to project. He’s taking a huge step up in responsibilities, and he’s replacing a beloved legend in Phillips. He is exactly what McVay sought — smart and adaptable — but he’s going to receive a lot of scrutiny. McVay is betting that Staley is a future coaching star.

The fact McVay chose Staley isn’t a slap at Pleasant (or anyone else). McVay entered the search with a clear idea of what he was looking for, and when Staley aced the interview, he got the job.