Rams' Raheem Morris Calls Leonard Floyd "a Special Player"
When the hiring spree of head coaches began last January and the Rams lost defensive coordinator Brandon Staley to the Chargers for a head coaching gig, coach Sean McVay pivoted to Raheem Morris to call the shots on defense for Los Angeles.
Morris, a former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and interim head coach of the Atlanta Falcons — knows a thing or two about defense — with coaching experience of over 20 years. While Morris has come across a surplus of high-caliber defenders, he believes linebacker Leonard Floyd is a "special player."
"Leonard is a special player, man. You get around him (Floyd) more and more every day, he comes off as a quiet person — he is not," Morris said. "He is to himself, but when he's to himself, he's about his business."
Floyd is coming off a career year in his first season as a member of the Rams, where he totaled 10.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hits and 55 tackles. As a result, the Rams re-signed Floyd this offseason to a four-year, $64 million contract, where he will remain alongside All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald, to create havoc along the defensive front.
As Floyd and other defenders look to learn Morris' defensive system, the new defensive coordinator relies on Floyd to get the most out of his teammates — specifically the younger guys of the bunch.
"When you ask him to go above and beyond like today — I asked him to push the young guys and really coach those guys and lean into them and he did.," Morris said. "And you have the ability to do those things and you bring them out, you know you’re going to get the best from them every single day."
Morris takes over a Rams defense that ranked No.1 in the NFL last season. While the Rams lost two key figures in the secondary by the way of free agency this offseason, the team has a mix of young talent — paired with All-Pro veterans — which in theory gives them an opportunity to remain among the league's best defense.
