Rams fill nearly half of vacant coaching positions

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Rams fill nearly half of vacant coaching positions

The LA Rams are acting quickly to fill vacant coaching roles now. So quickly that as of February 21, 2021, the team’s home page has yet to be updated. But we know that the LA Rams plan to hire Stanford University’s Run Game coordinator/offensive line coach Kevin Carberry to a similar role on the Rams coaching staff. So what of the other coaching hires? So far, it appears that the LA Rams are about halfway there.

For the latest news about the Rams, you’ll need to access the LA Rams Mobile App. With that in your arsenal, you can stumble upon the news that may not be immediately reported. For instance, the team app lists the following coaches who have not yet been reported. Who are they? What will they bring to the Rams coaching staff, and to their respective positions? Let’s take a look at each:

Marcus Dixon – The LA Rams Assistant defensive line coach was a former player for the New York Jets from 2010 to 2012. During his career, he played in 22 games and started four for the Jets. While their paths have not linked directly, Dixon served for four years as the Defensive Ends Coach/Director of Player Development/Recruiting Coordinator for Hampton University.

Dixon has followed LA Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson and has recently endorsed The Meaning of Dawgwork article, a sports psychology article about the mentality required to achieve and sustain dominance as a defensive lineman.

Dwayne Stukes – The LA Rams Assistant Special Teams coach played as a defensive back for the University of Virginia in 1997-1999. He signed on as an undrafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons in 2000 and spent the next three years on the Falcons, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Stukes’s coaching career includes work with defensive backs, special teams, and defense. It was likely his coaching with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 and 2020 that connected him to LA Rams ST Coordinator Joe DeCamillis. Of course, Stukes also worked extensively with Raheem Morris and Joe DeCamillis, two coaches he cites as having a significant influence on his own coaching career in this video interview when he coached for the New York Giants. His role could mean a new role for the LA Rams Assistant Special teams coach Tory Woodbury.

Chris O’Hara – The LA Rams Assistant offensive line coach has connections with both OC Kevin O’Connell due to working on the Washington Football coaching staff in 2017, and with ST Coordinator Joe DeCamillas as their careers overlapped in 2020 on the coaching staff of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

O’Hara was a non-player football coaching assistant who has worked his way through the coaching ranks as associate and assistant. Now he will join newly-hired offensive line coach Kevin Carberry to prepare for a very busy offseason and get ready for the 2021 NFL season.

While these pending hires fill several roles, the LA Rams may still be seeking to fill their assistant quarterback coach, Passing game coordinator, cornerbacks coach, and linebackers coach positions. While these roles remain open, this wave of positional coaching hires makes a good dent in the team’s vacancies. Other hires should be expected soon, as the Rams will undoubtedly wish to do so quickly to prepare for the start of the 2021 NFL season and the 2021 NFL Draft.
 

den-the-coach

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Not crazy about Chris O'Hara....Gruden spoke highly about getting him last year, but he never played even in college, IMO, it's tough to get buy in and I was hoping for a fiery assistant to team with Carberry, however, I guess you always need someone to get the doughnuts.

1614000682793.png



Name: Chris O’Hara

Title: Offensive Quality Control

Experience: 5 years

Bio: This will be O’Hara’s second year with the Redskins after spending his first three seasons as an Offensive Coaching Associate on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ staff. Previously, O’Hara was a student / graduate assistant defensive coach at the University of Miami, and, prior to that, spent his first two years in coaching as a student assistant at Temple. His degree is in sports administration, and his lifelong dream was to go into football coaching.

Fun Fact: O’Hara was a non-football-playing student assistant at Temple under Al Golden. When Golden accepted the Miami job, O’Hara transferred to Miami specifically to keep his spot on the Golden coaching staff.

 

den-the-coach

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JFYI....Dwayne Stukes is former Rams CB Charlie Stukes' son.


1614005561971.png
 

Allen2McVay

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JFYI....Dwayne Stukes is former Rams CB Charlie Stukes' son.


View attachment 43909
That’s great. I was a big Stukes fan as a kid. Nice veteran addition from the Colts.

Not sure but I think the new assistant DL coach (Marcus Dixon) is the young man who was convicted of statutory rape and served time before the accuser recanted. It was a big story at one time.
 

den-the-coach

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That’s great. I was a big Stukes fan as a kid. Nice veteran addition from the Colts.

Not sure but I think the new assistant DL coach (Marcus Dixon) is the young man who was convicted of statutory rape and served time before the accuser recanted. It was a big story at one time.

I liked Stukes too for some reason, guess I remembered him as a Colt, however, in 73 I was seven so it could have been for some other reason, however, you are correct on Dixon.
 

Allen2McVay

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I liked Stukes too for some reason, guess I remembered him as a Colt, however, in 73 I was seven so it could have been for some other reason, however, you are correct on Dixon.
1973 was special for me. I was 13, and the Rams had not made the playoffs the prior three seasons.

After a 6-7-1 year in 1972, the 1973 off-season saw tremendous changes. New head coach ... who is Chuck Knox? They trade my favorite player (Roman Gabriel). They even changed their uniforms ... please don’t get rid of the Horns!

That was the Stone Age, and us Rams’ fans that lived in New York (both of us) did not get much Rams news.

Rams went 12-2 that year, and were loaded with stars ... old and new ones ... and the uniforms looked great.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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Not crazy about Chris O'Hara....Gruden spoke highly about getting him last year, but he never played even in college, IMO, it's tough to get buy in and I was hoping for a fiery assistant to team with Carberry, however, I guess you always need someone to get the doughnuts.

View attachment 43908


Name: Chris O’Hara

Title: Offensive Quality Control

Experience: 5 years

Bio: This will be O’Hara’s second year with the Redskins after spending his first three seasons as an Offensive Coaching Associate on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ staff. Previously, O’Hara was a student / graduate assistant defensive coach at the University of Miami, and, prior to that, spent his first two years in coaching as a student assistant at Temple. His degree is in sports administration, and his lifelong dream was to go into football coaching.

Fun Fact: O’Hara was a non-football-playing student assistant at Temple under Al Golden. When Golden accepted the Miami job, O’Hara transferred to Miami specifically to keep his spot on the Golden coaching staff.


I’m going to guess that not all trainers were football players in college. Teams seem to but into them. So maybe, since he’s been in football as a coaching assistant all the way back to Al Golden’s time in at Rutgers he has enough experience and knowledge that lack of playing is moot. Plus how much does an assistant Oline coach do?

My sons little league coaches all played high school baseball. As a baseball fan all of my life I came to realize that aside from fielding, the coaches didn’t know jack about anything. They couldn’t teach hitting, nor pitching. Their opinion was that you can either pitch/hit or you can’t. Anyway after reading and watching some videos much to their chagrin the team was looking to me for hitting advice. My son went from a middle of the road hitter to the best in the league. I sought out some people with more experience in pitching and learned the basics and he became the best pitcher on the team.

I realize it is just kids, but my point is that knowledge can be a very convincing coaching tool.
 

den-the-coach

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I realize it is just kids, but my point is that knowledge can be a very convincing coaching tool.

I don't disagree, but IMO, playing the game helps. I've dealt with Little League coaches too, that's not on a major level, again just an opinion, but like in the military, you don't have to have been in combat to be the officer in charge of a combat mission, but I guarantee you, the troops know it! Doesn't make you better, but gains buy in from the outset.

Maybe O'Hara is one heck of a coach and it's only Assistant Offensive Line, but I was just hoping for somebody with a different resume for that position, like Scott Peters of the Cleveland Browns for example.


Peters played as both a center and a guard throughout his career.

"It's great to have a former player in that position because it's instant credibility with the players," Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I think his unique experience as a technician and how he comes at it from a different angle, from a Jiu Jitsu angle, really is a unique way to coach the players in terms of hand placement and hip movement."
 

den-the-coach

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Rams went 12-2 that year, and were loaded with stars ... old and new ones ... and the uniforms looked great.

Preach it Brother....Back then I was able to get Ram news two ways, going to a Library to read out of town newspapers the LA Herald back then, the LA Times and so forth, plus the Sporting News as during the offseason they had one paragraph about the Rams, but that was it back then.
 

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Not crazy about Chris O'Hara....Gruden spoke highly about getting him last year, but he never played even in college, IMO, it's tough to get buy in and I was hoping for a fiery assistant to team with Carberry, however, I guess you always need someone to get the doughnuts.

View attachment 43908


Name: Chris O’Hara

Title: Offensive Quality Control

Experience: 5 years

Bio: This will be O’Hara’s second year with the Redskins after spending his first three seasons as an Offensive Coaching Associate on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ staff. Previously, O’Hara was a student / graduate assistant defensive coach at the University of Miami, and, prior to that, spent his first two years in coaching as a student assistant at Temple. His degree is in sports administration, and his lifelong dream was to go into football coaching.

Fun Fact: O’Hara was a non-football-playing student assistant at Temple under Al Golden. When Golden accepted the Miami job, O’Hara transferred to Miami specifically to keep his spot on the Golden coaching staff.


Just reading only to your first post here.

My thoughts on some of the Hires would be this. Zak Kromer has been the O/C quality guy. So maybe that is a switch of position?
I like Zac Robinson & wonder if he gets a better title ?
 

So Ram

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That’s great. I was a big Stukes fan as a kid. Nice veteran addition from the Colts.

Not sure but I think the new assistant DL coach (Marcus Dixon) is the young man who was convicted of statutory rape and served time before the accuser recanted. It was a big story at one time.

hope Mcvay doesn’t invite him to his house for drinks.Reminds me if that Ram strength coach.
 

Allen2McVay

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Preach it Brother ... the Sporting News as during the offseason they had one paragraph about the Rams, but that was it back then.
Got the Sporting News every Wednesday, and looked forward to that one paragraph on the Rams.

Around mid-70s started getting Pro Football Weekly, and thought that was the greatest gift of all time.
 

den-the-coach

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Around mid-70s started getting Pro Football Weekly, and thought that was the greatest gift of all time.

PFW with Draft Guru Joel Buchsbaum, who had a face for radio & a voice for print, but actually was far ahead of the others that came later, he actually made up the draft analogy: Looks Like Tarzan, plays like Jane.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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Just reading only to your first post here.

My thoughts on some of the Hires would be this. Zak Kromer has been the O/C quality guy. So maybe that is a switch of position?
I like Zac Robinson & wonder if he gets a better title ?
Got the Sporting News every Wednesday, and looked forward to that one paragraph on the Rams.

Around mid-70s started getting Pro Football Weekly, and thought that was the greatest gift of all time.

I remember those days. I was a Sporting News addict. In Northeast PA it was all O could find that had any Rams info. I loved the draft coverage too. Then in the mid 80’s I started buying the USAToday for that little paragraph.
I recall the first time I discovered Ramstalk. I was an instant addict. For the first year or two I thought everyone there was so knowledgeable. I was in awe. That wore off though. Then I started hating it. I love the internet and RoD for all of the info that’s available. I feel like I grew up in the Dark Ages.
 

PressureD41

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I have to say for me in Vancouver, I had a smoke/ newspaper store I would stop by every Thursday. Getting the PFW & The Sporting News was my weekly stop. Loved buying them and chilling reading every page! That was my mid 20’s back in the day!
 

iamme33

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Preach it Brother....Back then I was able to get Ram news two ways, going to a Library to read out of town newspapers the LA Herald back then, the LA Times and so forth, plus the Sporting News as during the offseason they had one paragraph about the Rams, but that was it back then.

i remember the rampages. i think it only came out every 2 weeks during the off season. it seemed to have a couple of articles on players and mostly advertisements but we could not wait to get it because it was the only news we got on the rams.