INGLEWOOD, CA – AUGUST 29: Los Angeles Rams outside linebackers coach Chris Shula during the Los Angeles Rams scrimmage on Aug 29, 2020, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Chris Shula, the grandson of Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, will be the Los Angeles Rams' new defensive coordinator, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team had not yet announced the promotion for Sean McVay's longtime assistant and college teammate.
Chris Shula replaces Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who was hired as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach.
Chris Shula and Sean McVay played together at Miami of Ohio, and Shula has been an assistant to McVay since the head coach's first year with the Rams in 2017. Shula even lived in McVay's house when the two first moved to the West Coast.
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The 37-year-old Shula has coached Los Angeles' linebackers in various capacities for all but one of his seven seasons with the team. He added the title of pass game coordinator in 2022 while coaching the defensive backs, and he became the Rams' pass rush coordinator last season while coaching the linebackers again.
Shula is the fourth defensive coordinator hired by McVay, following Wade Phillips, Brandon Staley and Morris, who spent the past three seasons running Los Angeles' defense.
Shula is the son of former Cincinnati Bengals coach Dave Shula. His grandfather, who died in 2020, became the winningest head coach in NFL history during his tenures with the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins.
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McVay interviewed several candidates for the vacancy left by Morris, but elected to promote the longest-tenured member of his coaching staff during yet another offseason of heavy turnover among his assistants.
The Rams must make several additional hires after losing at least five assistants, including quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson — who will be Morris' offensive coordinator in Atlanta — and respected defensive line coach Eric Henderson, who moved on to USC.
Shula takes over a defense that performed much better than almost anyone expected this season after losing Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner, Leonard Floyd and nearly all of its starting secondary to the Rams' cost-cutting measures after their disastrous Super Bowl title defense season in 2022.
Los Angeles was 20th in the league in yards allowed this season, ranking 12th against the run, while the team won 10 regular-season games and made the playoffs for the fifth time under McVay. Aaron Donald earned his ninth All-Pro selection, while rookie nose tackle Kobie Turner and edge rusher Byron Young were surprising standouts.
