Sean McVay shows he's taking more control with hiring of Brandon Staley

[Riverumbbq]

Cameron DaSilva
7 hours ago


When Sean McVay first became the Rams head coach in 2017, he made the wise decision to hire a proven defensive mind with Wade Phillips. Their 39-year age gap was the biggest in the NFL, but it showed McVay’s awareness and maturity.
Having been on the job for three years now, McVay is displaying another level of maturity with his latest hire. He’s replacing Phillips at defensive coordinator with 37-year-old Brandon Staley, an unexpected move, but one that does come with some risk.

Going from the safety of having a legend like Phillips to an unproven coach like Staley is a decision that shows McVay is taking more control of his staff, and ultimately, the team. Phillips had a firm grip of the defense and while he didn’t have the freedom to do whatever he chose on that side of the ball, McVay essentially handed him the keys and let him run the defense he always has.

Now with Staley taking over, McVay can put his fingers on the defense more than he could with Phillips. Staley has never been a defensive coordinator. He’s only been an NFL coach since 2017, only working as an outside linebackers coach.
Yes, he’s learned under Vic Fangio for the last three years, but Staley’s resume isn’t one that screams “defensive coordinator.” What this hire likely suggests is McVay having a bigger say in what defensive scheme the Rams run, how aggressive they are and how their approach will change from week to week.
That wasn’t the case with Phillips. The last three years, the Rams rarely varied their coverage or strategy from the norm on a weekly basis. They played a lot of zone coverage with Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters at cornerback, but when Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill took over, it became a more man-heavy scheme.

Opposing coaches know Phillips’ scheme, considering he’s been running essentially the same 3-4, one-gap front for most of his career. But with Staley driving the bus on defense and McVay riding shotgun instead of sitting in the fourth row, the hope is that there will be an added level of unpredictability.
McVay is taking a chance with this move after letting Phillips control the defense for the last three years, but it shows he’s going to have more say on that side of the ball.

Sean McVay shows he's taking more control with hiring of Brandon Staley

Sean McVay is taking a risk by replacing Wade Phillips with Brandon Staley.

theramswire.usatoday.com

 

[jap]

Our magical Leprechaun wants more control of the game flow.

 

[I like Rams]

So 3 seasons ago Stanley became a coach in the NFL and 3 seasons ago McVay became a head coach who sat on the coolers while Wade took over on D. Hopefully this works out in McVay's favor.

 

[kurtfaulk]

So 3 seasons ago Stanley became a coach in the NFL and 3 seasons ago McVay became a head coach who sat on the coolers while Wade took over on D. Hopefully this works out in McVay's favor.

Has wade stayed anywhere longer than 3 years?

.

 

[dang]

9-7 is unacceptable for a team as talented as the Rams. The running game sucked. Goff's turnovers were devastating. The defense getting absolutely cleat-chested numerous times was unnerving. The Rams being more finesse than power - gaining a "soft" reputation is embarrassing. Special teams taking a step back just added salt to the wound.

Time to take a chance and toughen things up. The 49ers have build a formidable team. The Cards showed some serious signs of improving. The Seahawks will be tough as long as they have Wilson/Carroll.

Lets figure out a viable solution to the succession of Whit (maybe keep him one more year) at OT. Lets add a stud OC. Lets add a run stuffing ILB. Lets add someone to complement AD on the DL. Tough choices on dropping some vets that are not playing up to their salary (Brock, GZ, Weddle, Matthews) is coming. We need to spend the $$$ on other needs.

 

[I like Rams]

Has wade stayed anywhere longer than 3 years?

.

Dont think you understood my reply, bc it had nothing to do with Wade himself, but rather how new Stanley is to coaching and McVay is to handling more defensive duties.

 

[PhillyRam]

So 3 seasons ago Stanley became a coach in the NFL and 3 seasons ago McVay became a head coach who sat on the coolers while Wade took over on D. Hopefully this works out in McVay's favor.

Who is "Stanley"?

 

[ReekofRams]

The whole article by DaSilva is nothing more than his opinion that he shaped into an article using a few useless facts to convince his readers he’s right. But no sources was used and no quotes were even used. His hypothesis may or may not be correct, but I shall wait until there is actually something that gives me fuel to debate or discuss with.

 

[I like Rams]

Who is "Stanley"?

Some guy autocorrect has a crush on I'm guessing.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Dont think you understood my reply, bc it had nothing to do with Wade himself, but rather how new Stanley is to coaching and McVay is to handling more defensive duties.

that's what mcvay wanted, a young dc with new ideas who he can help develop defensive gameplans with during the season. he also hired a oc to free time for himself to do that. it seems mcvay wants his stamp on the whole gameplan for the team.

.

 

[jetplt67]

Who is "Stanley"?

Isn't that Mr. Roper's first name?

 

[I like Rams]

that's what mcvay wanted, a young dc with new ideas who he can help develop defensive gameplans with during the season. he also hired a oc to free time for himself to do that. it seems mcvay wants his stamp on the whole gameplan for the team.

.

I dont want to come off like I dont like the hire, I do. It's just ballsy. If Staley underperforms, we dont have the comfort of relying on someone else in the organization to take over. Kind of like when Fisher hired Walton as our DC when William's was suspended. Walton didnt work out so Fisher took over midway through the season. But this is what Mcvay does. He likes to give people opportunities to further their career. He did it this preseason when he gave the play calling duties to Waldron, so he gets the experience in case he gets scooped up next season. I'm just hoping it's the right move.

 

[leoram]

The whole article by DaSilva is nothing more than his opinion...no sources was used and no quotes were even used.

Sure he did. He basically plagiarized what I wrote two days ago, lol.

Sean McVay is betting on himself and he better be every bit the genius we all hope he is. For three years he surrounded himself with the most experienced, accomplished coaches available to him. Our coach wisely took the humble approach and checked both his ego and penchant for micro-management to build a team of leaders who effectively won far more games than they lost...together.

Nevertheless, although he couldn’t publicly admit it, McVay is terrible at one thing. He sucks at hiding his emotions the moment someone helplessly makes mistakes he wouldn’t make himself. Ultimately, wins and losses are his responsibility and that is not lost on him. Deferring to someone else’s judgement is healthy as long as that judgement is sound. Bones had relative autonomy with the ST unit, but Sean could hide neither his surprise nor his displeasure with the failed fake in the last game. While he felt his failure to overcome the obstacles to offensive success in the Super Bowl and throughout 2019, it was a different feeling not being able to openly meddle with the defense against the Bucs, Ravens, and Cowboys. So he took a couple weeks to decide, and firmly took the reigns himself.

This, of course, is an enormous gamble. Coach will diplomatically continue to praise the exploits of every member of the organization and absorb every failure as his own. But as is the case in all things...actions speak louder than words. If the intent was to hand ultimate control of a unit to someone else, one would hire an alpha with a deep, obvious resume. If one implicitly trusts another to develop their current body of work, they will be retained at all costs. There is a different dynamic in store for the Rams in 2020. Instead of the head coach meting suggestions to his assistants and accepting their decisions, Sean McVay looks for all the world today as a coach that wants things done in the manner he approves. He has assumed far greater control of the entire scope of the game day operation. Preparation will always be a collaborative effort, but no plan will be set without the head coach’s personal stamp of approval.

This will make the next season extremely unpredictable, not only to us fans, but more importantly, to opposing teams. An assessment of the new coaches will reveal a premium of mental agility and flexibility. There will be a familiarity with the concepts of the past but a focus on the solutions for the future. There will be no doubt going forward of what Sean McVay wants from his team. It will be clear in what they actually do in the next decade.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Who is "Stanley"?

There's only one Stanley in my book.

 

[fearsomefour]

Who is "Stanley"?

Our new DC, Flat Stanley.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

that's what mcvay wanted, a young dc with new ideas who he can help develop defensive gameplans with during the season. he also hired a oc to free time for himself to do that. it seems mcvay wants his stamp on the whole gameplan for the team.

It's time. He needs to become the Head Coach and not just the OC. It's tough to do both.

I dont want to come off like I dont like the hire, I do. It's just ballsy. If Staley underperforms, we dont have the comfort of relying on someone else in the organization to take over. Kind of like when Fisher hired Walton as our DC when William's was suspended. Walton didnt work out so Fisher took over midway through the season. But this is what Mcvay does. He likes to give people opportunities to further their career. He did it this preseason when he gave the play calling duties to Waldron, so he gets the experience in case he gets scooped up next season. I'm just hoping it's the right move.

hopefully Staley is good, and then since he's relatively inexperienced the Rams can hang onto him.. It's not likely be will be a DC one of two years and get hired as a head coach right away.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

Who is "Stanley"?

He's Eminem's #1 fan

 

[TexasRam]

He's Eminem's #1 fan

And P.S. They should be together too.

 

[snackdaddy]

Who is "Stanley"?

 

[snackdaddy]

I dont want to come off like I dont like the hire, I do. It's just ballsy. If Staley underperforms, we dont have the comfort of relying on someone else in the organization to take over. Kind of like when Fisher hired Walton as our DC when William's was suspended. Walton didnt work out so Fisher took over midway through the season. But this is what Mcvay does. He likes to give people opportunities to further their career. He did it this preseason when he gave the play calling duties to Waldron, so he gets the experience in case he gets scooped up next season. I'm just hoping it's the right move.

I've heard McVay wants the defensive game plan to react more to what opposing offenses are doing. Wade had his scheme and didn't deviate from it. McVay wants it to be more flexible and able to adjust during games.

Its obvious he feels he's ready to oversee the whole operation like the older veteran coaches do. I just hope he doesn't put too much on his plate and gets overwhelmed. It could work though. He's a smart guy with a photographic memory when it comes to all the plays they ran.