This is not the case despite Sean McVay’s declaration that he intended to have the same coaching staff in place until 2024.
Five of the six coaches that the Rams lost to the Atlanta Falcons were part of their 2023 coaching staff. Why did the young, inexperienced Rams coaches K.J. Black and Nick Jones accompany Raheem Morris to Atlanta is still an open subject. What’s being developed?
Let’s investigate the possible causes of this.
Zac Robinson, the Rams’ coordinator for the passing game and quarterback coach, was promoted to the Falcons. Since K.J. Black has been an assistant to the quarterbacks for the previous two years, one would have thought that he may have slipped into one of those jobs. Black joined the Rams through the Bill Walsh coaching fellowship program. But Black and Robinson joined the Falcons in the same capacity, which was a lateral move that Sean McVay had the option to stop but chose not to. Why then did Black depart?
Black is a young, talented coach who was a quarterback for Prairie View A&M, among other colleges. In Los Angeles, he collaborated closely with Zac Robinson and supported quarterbacks such as Carson Wentz, John Wolford, Matthew Stafford, Bryce Perkins, and Baker Mayfield. He is seen in the photo for those individuals. Therefore, because of their stronger coaching connection, even if he enjoyed working with McVay, he could have felt more like to Robinson and choose to follow Robinson instead.
Perhaps Black intended to just keep working with Robinson if a promotion wasn’t in the cards because there wasn’t going to be a simple route to take over Robinson’s post given the possibility of Jake Peetz coming to the team. Though, I really doubt that Black would have turned down the position in favor of a smaller one if he had been offered the coaching position with Robinson. An further factor might have been McVay’s desire to assemble a coaching staff with a greater degree of expertise.
It’s important to note that Chris Shula, who was promoted by the Rams to defensive coordinator, has just as much coaching experience as Sean McVay. The 55-year-old Giff Smith, who has been in the league since 2010, was then signed by McVay. It’s possible that McVay wanted to go a more experienced route. While this wouldn’t have required him to cut Black loose, it may have made him more willing to accept if Black made a lateral move, particularly if it was to accompany Raheem Morris and support him.
Regarding Nick Jones, I find that this makes more sense than Black. Black could have been prevented from getting promoted for a year or two, but Jones was truly stopped since, as of this past year, the offensive line was led by Ryan Wendell, Mike Munchak, and Zak Kromer. To make matters worse, Jones began his coaching fellowship while working for the Atlanta Falcons. Jones would have wanted to follow him since he was on the same staff that Morris, the interim head coach, coached.
Not to add, Jones is a native of Georgia. After all, Jones attended Georgia, played football there, and served as a graduate assistant there. It therefore seems logical that Jones would follow Morris, with whom he had already collaborated in 2020.
It is possible that McVay may replace the two coaches in the off-season with more hires, but it is also possible that seasoned coaches like Frank Reich, Jon Gruden, Jay Gruden, and Greg Olson will take over as Robinson’s passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. I believe the Rams would go in that way if they chose not to elevate Peetz. In the event that not, I could see them bringing in JT O’Sullivan, Byron Leftwich, Dan Orlovsky, or Brian Johnson.
If you follow the Sean McVay-led Los Angeles Rams, one thing is certain: the coaching turnover, whether it comes to large positions like coordinator or little ones like assistant coach, always provides for an exciting and engaging time of year. We will soon learn the identity McVay is seeking in the coaching staff for 2024.
