How does one replace a God? That’s the question new Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula is faced with every day. That Aaron Donald-sized hole is perhaps the biggest hindrance to the Rams being favorites in the NFC, and with good reason. Aaron Donald commanded double and triple teams regularly and freed the rest of the Rams’ defenders to shine. He kept coordinators and players up at night so his absence is a welcome reprieve to the rest of the league.
Shula and the Rams’ front office of course know how to answer that question, YOU DON’T! Replacing Donald is an impossible task and it’s a fool’s errand to try whether it was trading for a star or trading up in the draft for the best defensive player they could. Shula’s ascension in the wake of Raheem Morris’s well-deserved departure to the Atlanta Falcons is a unique opportunity and one that feels like the culmination of his long-tenured time as a Rams’ assistant as well as his relationship with Sean McVay.
When Coach Rah left there was speculation that the Rams could pursue another Wade Phillips-style veteran hire, be it Vic Fangio, Mike Vrabel, Mike Zimmer, or in the most H.F.S induced of dreams, Bill Belichick. Instead, they turned inward and McVay promoted Shula to the confusion of many, not because he’s got a bad track record or reputation but because he’s essentially an unknown quantity to everyone outside the Rams’ organization.
Chris Shula’s Long Road To The Rams DC
Chris Shula’s hiring on the outside looks like a case where McVay was promoting a buddy. After all, they played together at Miami (Ohio), McVay at wide receiver, and Shula at linebacker.
In addition to that, they are also both NFL legacy kids. Shula’s grandfather, Don Shula, is the winningest coach of all time. His father Dave was the coach of the Bengals and of course, his uncle Mike was a famous footnote/trivia question as he was the Alabama coach before Nick Saban.
Chris joined the family business in 2010 as an assistant linebackers coach at his alma mater. He served as a graduate assistant at Indiana from 2011-2013, and John Carroll’s defensive coordinator in 2014. He moved up to the pros as the Chargers’ defensive quality coach from 2015 to 2017 before his old college roommate Sean was hired across town.
Under McVay, Shula worked in a variety of roles. He started as an assistant linebackers coach, then moved to outside linebackers, pass game coordinator/defensive backs, and pass rush/linebackers. He worked under Wade Phillips, Brandon Staley, and Raheem Morris which means he’s entrenched in every evolution of the Rams’ defense and is perfectly suited to take them to their post-Donald era.
Shula’s Unique Challenge
Shula is so trusted to carry the torch that the Rams presented him with a unique challenge. He’s not quite working in a cave with a box of scraps, but he’s not gifted with much veteran help on the field, instead being tasked with molding the next generation of Rams’ defensive stars.
Last year the Rams were left for dead in a ditch by many a pundit in part because there weren’t any obvious STARS on defense beyond Donald, especially once Jalen Ramsey’s talents were sent to South Beach. To the shock of everyone, the Rams struck absolute GOLD in last year’s draft.
Kobie Turner became an instant star up front. He arguably should’ve won Defensive Rookie of the Year registering 9 sacks and 45 tackles. “The Conductor” quickly made a name for himself up front alongside Donald and is now a captain on the defense. The other big defensive find in last year’s draft was outside linebacker Byron Young who notched 8 sacks 61 tackles, two forced fumbles, and one recovery.
The two of them are joined by the touted rookie tandem of Jared Verse and Braden Fiske. Both have turned heads Exorcist style in camp and that front which also includes Bobby Brown IV (in a prove-it year) gives the Rams a young exciting pass rush. None of them can be Aaron Donald, but collectively they can build something special and unique unto them.
Now, the one aspect of the defense that is understandably causing angst amongst fans is the trading of inside linebacker and team captain Ernest Jones for a 2026 pick swap and a doorstop. It isn’t clear why Jones fell out of favor or why the Rams front office handled everything publicly, but that leaves the starting linebacking corps of Christian Rozeboom and (GULP) Troy Reeder. There’s no clearer sign that the Rams don’t prioritize inside linebackers than those two being starters.
Reeder in particular is a figure that continually haunts and vexes fans because he hasn’t met a tackle he couldn’t miss. The Rams’ defense faces the possibility of being absolutely gashed by tough running teams and even if UDFA rookie Omar Speights emerges as the guy worthy of dethroning Jones as reports seemed to suggest, then maybe, JUST MAYBE, the trade retroactively makes sense. Until then, Les Snead’s philosophy of “make the inevitable immediate” might come back to bite them.
To mitigate the lack of actual linebackers upfront, the Rams decided to massively overhaul their secondary. The unique twist in Shula’s defense is that they’re not leaning on corners this year but are instead going to rely heavily on their safeties. Yes, they upgraded at corner bringing in Tre White from Buffalo and bringing back Darious Williams* to pair with ascending corner Cobie Durant, but their real upgrade was at safety.
*Since the writing of this article, Darious Williams has been placed on IR
Not only did Quentin Lake play his way into getting the STAR role formerly held by Ramsey (that’s high praise), but he’s the captain now. Sure, Ernest Jones would say that being a captain doesn’t guarantee longevity in LA but it’s significant. The former sixth-round pick out of UCLA has quietly emerged as a major factor but the Rams upgraded elsewhere.
They stole Kam Curl who existed in complete anonymity in Washington but was an excellent safety. He’s quick, can cover the field, and is an excellent tackler. Curl and Lake will also have veteran John Johnson and rookie steal Kam Kinchens. Their versatility at safety is meant to mask the deficiency at linebacker and as long as the corners can hold coverage the young pass rush will have time to wreak havoc. That’s a tall order and again leaves the Rams defense lacking in size upfront which could lead to moments where even the most ardent “FIRE RAHEEM” contingent will be wistful for Rah.
Last year, the Rams were doubted because of a lack of stars on both sides. This year the offense is slated to be capital F.U.N. while having to compensate for an anonymous defense. The Rams continuously surprise people and the pieces are there to do so once again. It’s easy to overlook this unit because Chris Shula is viewed as the NFL’s next nepo-baby, there’s no actual star player on defense, and Aaron Donald’s absence casts a gargantuan shadow. Still, 2023 proved the peril of underestimating the Rams’ youth movement and Chris Shula could be the next great branch off the McVay coaching tree.
