8 potential candidates to replace Brandon Staley as Rams defensive coordinator – Rams Wire

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Pleasant would make a ton of sense as the Rams’ next defensive coordinator. He just finished his fourth season as the Rams’ cornerbacks coach, working under both Staley and Wade Phillips. The Rams have had one of the best cornerback units in the league in recent years, led by players such as Jalen Ramsey, Darious Williams, Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Trumaine Johnson and Troy Hill.

Ramsey raved about Pleasant throughout the season and on Sunday, Ramsey credited the Rams’ cornerbacks coach for helping him put together the best season of his career on the field.

Staley had nothing but great things to say about Pleasant, too, calling him an elite coach and endorsing him for even head-coaching opportunities in the NFL.

“As I mentioned last week, Aubrey Pleasant is one of the elite coaches in the league,” Staley said recently. “Aubrey, all you’ve got to do is ask Jalen Ramsey, ask Darious Williams, ask Troy Hill about their relationship with Aubrey. He’s a tireless worker. He’s a really talented communicator. He can see the game in all levels of the defense. Sometimes as a secondary guy, okay, do you just know the back end. He knows how the front and the back tie in together.”

If the Rams want a coach who can keep up the high level of play at cornerback and keep a relatively similar scheme to the one Staley ran, Pleasant should be their top guy.