Former Husky Head Coach Jimmy Lake Joins Rams Staff

The controversial coach has found his next landing spot

The Jimmy Lake era is not something Husky fans are going to look back on fondly. Lake's time as Washington's head coach lasted less than two seasons, and his tenure on Montlake as the frontman was nothing short of a disaster.

After taking the 2022 season off, it appears Lake has found another job. While there have been rumors floating around about Lake taking another coaching position for a few weeks, they're finally official. 

The #Rams hired former University of Washington head coach Jimmy Lake to a spot on Sean McVay's staff, per sources.

Lake's title is TBD; he has mostly coached defensive backs, including with the Bucs and Lions from 2006-11 before returning to college.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 16, 2023

UPDATE: Los Angeles officially announced Lake's title on March 9th, and has named him as the "assistant head coach". The duties and salary of an assistant head coach are unclear at the NFL level, but Lake finally got his wish of returning to the NFL.

The Rams didn't retain Jonathan Cooley, who had held the position for the last three seasons, and was hired for the same role on Wednesday by the Carolina Panthers.

This is also great news for Washington's athletic department, which will now save some money from the $9.9 million buyout from his contract after he was fired in November of 2021. While they will still have to pay part of it, whatever his yearly salary is with the Rams will be subtracted from his total buyout. 

Before his time at the college level, Lake spent five years in the NFL working with defensive backs for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions. He also served as Washington's co-defensive coordinator from 2016-2019.

Lake will be working with some familiar faces when he gets to Los Angeles, including at his position. The Rams have three Huskies on their team and two on Lake's side of the ball, offensive lineman Coleman Shelton, defensive tackle Greg Gaines, and safety Taylor Rapp. 

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