One of the bittersweet elements of Sean McVay’s success with the Los Angeles Rams is how often his coaching assistants leave for bigger jobs. Matt LaFleur, Raheem Morris, Kevin O’Connell, Zac Taylor, Liam Coen and Brandon Staley have all become head coaches in recent years after spending time on McVay’s staff, and most of them have been successful.
So, amid another impressive season in L.A., there have been rumblings of another key assistant who could find himself a head coach of another team: Defensive coordinator Chris Shula.
The 39-year-old has been with the Rams since McVay became head coach in 2017, and Shula has been the teams’ defensive coordinator since 2024, when he took over for Raheem Morris. Shula is currently coaching the best defense in the NFL, which has allowed a league-low 16.3 points per game this year.
Despite speculation that other teams may covet his abilities, Shula told reporters Wednesday that he isn’t thinking too much about that possibility. He didn’t, however, completely rule out the possibility of interviewing and/or taking a job if the right one opened up.
“I think that’s the goal of any coach that wants to be in the league, you want to take yourself to the highest profession,” he said Wednesday. “That doesn’t mean you’re going to walk away for any single opportunity. I love it here, my family loves it here, we’ve been here 9-10 years, coaching with my best friends, we obviously have a great group of players and a great staff. So for the right opportunity we’ll see. But like I said, not really thinking too much about that.”
Shula added that he had prepared materials for potential interviews last year. He interviewed for the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator position before McVay promoted him with the Rams.
This is what most have come to expect from McVay’s staff. His teams are successful because of the coaches around him, and therefore, other teams want a piece of that for their organizations. Whether or not those job opportunities manifest for Shula, and if he wants to take that route, remains to be seen. But with six weeks left in the regular season, teams that need new head coaches will begin their search.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams DC Chris Shula ‘not really thinking’ about potential HC jobs yet
Reporting by Tyler Greenawalt, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
