Chris Shula walked into the Rams’ defensive coordinator job in 2024 and immediately had to do more with less than almost anyone around the league. He took over a young, inexpensive unit, kept it afloat, and helped push Los Angeles into the playoffs in each of his seasons in charge.
That success came with a catch. Last season’s defense was battered by injuries, and when special teams issues piled on, the Rams missed out on Super Bowl LX.
So the front office went shopping. This time, it didn’t just patch holes - it loaded up. And that changes everything for Shula.
The Rams have added two elite cornerbacks from the Chiefs’ secondary in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, giving Shula a pair of defenders who bring top-level coverage and help against the run because of their tackling. They also brought in Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, to supercharge the pass rush. He brings the kind of disruptive force offenses have to account for on every snap.
That’s the good news. The harder part is what comes next.
Shula now has to make all of it fit without losing what already worked. The Rams still return a defensive front and safety group that were strong on their own, and there’s also the challenge of keeping young players developing while folding in all this new talent.
Garrett changes the math, but he doesn’t erase the need for creativity. Opponents will eventually find ways to blunt his impact to some degree, which means Shula has to keep the scheme unpredictable and disguised.
That’s the real test: can he turn a defense full of new pieces into something greater than the sum of its parts?
It’s a make-or-break season for him. If he gets it right, another team will almost certainly come calling for him to become its head coach. If he doesn’t, the Rams will be left sorting out what to do with a coordinator who didn’t meet the bar after being handed a much stronger roster.
The expectations have gone way up. So has the talent. Now Shula has to prove he can assemble it.
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