Rams Coach Chris Shula Reveals What His New Defense Will Look Like

Entering his first offseason as the new defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, Chris Shula revealed what his new scheme will look like.

The Los Angeles Rams are going to have a new-look defense in 2024, with Chris Shula taking over for Raheem Morris as defensive coordinator.

Morris, who led the Rams defense for three seasons from 2021-2023, recently accepted the head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons, paving the way for Shula's ascension into the role. 

And while Shula does plan to introduce some new concepts into his own defense, he also intends to keep things relatively the same going forward into the 2024 season. 

Clutch Points

"I think we’ll use a lot of the same structures," Shula said. "The same three-four structure and some of the same core beliefs, but it’s all about the players. We’re going to do whatever the players can execute at a high level where they can go out and play fast and play confident and whatever the offense gives us, we’ll be able to have answers to and they can go be the best versions of themselves.”

Speaking of the players, the Rams deployed almost an entirely new-look starting unit on the defensive side of the ball last season, leading to a very inconsistent year. 

And with 36 impending free agents, including some key players on the defensive side, there is a chance that the same issue could be present in 2024. 

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That said, Shula plans to keep things simple, and make things as easy for the players as possible, whether they are new to the roster or not. 

“To me, it’s a simple game,” Shula said. “It’s relentless pursuit of the ball, it’s getting off blocks, it’s tackling, and it’s taking the ball away and defense hasn’t changed over that over the course of time. That’s what this defense is going to be about.