Unsung Hero of the Rams: Chris Shula’s Defensive Genius Sparks Dramatic Improvement
The Los Angeles Rams (10-6) have been sensational the past several on the defensive side of the ball, leading to their five-game win streak. One man that deserves much more credit than he has been given is defensive coordinator Chris Shula. The job he has done through this season is unmatched.
In the Rams’ first five games when they started the season 1-4, they were allowing 27.8 points per game and were one of the ten worst defenses in the league overall. Since that point, the Rams are 9-2 with a revamped defense that has allowed just 19.7 points per game in those 11 contests.
Shula is in his first as the defensive coordinator of the team after spending last season as the pass rush coordinator and linebackers coach. He has done an incredible job such a short time and has been able to completely flip the identity and success of his defensive unit in the back half of the year.
“A lot of the things that I’ve said positive about this team are reflective and representative of Chris Shula’s personality, steady, resilient, mentally tough, and never flinches,” Head coach Sean McVay said about his coordinator. “Those are the things that he’s been throughout, but I also think he’s had great agility, great internal confidence to be able to navigate a bunch of different things, great understanding of the belief and the connection that he and I had, and really he to his coaches that he’s working alongside and then also with the players.”
After this past Saturday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals (7-9), the Rams are ranked ninth in the NFL in turnover differential at +7. They have done an impressive job of limiting their own turnovers while forcing five turnovers in their past three games. Truly a special turnaround for Shula’s group.
“This is a connected group and when you go through the different things that we’ve gone through, you can’t help but be connected,” McVay said. “You’re appreciative of the calluses that have been created in the midst of this journey, but there’s been improvement. There’s been growth. There’s been a steady guy at the switch that I’ve been really proud of and I’m not at all surprised, but I don’t take it for granted. He’s [Shula] done an excellent job and he’s only going to continue to get better as he accumulates experience in these leadership roles.”
