Sean McVay may be the youngest coach in the history of the league, but his first reported move in his new capacity as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams showed the savvy of a long-time veteran. McVay and the Rams have secured the services of none other than Wade Phillips to be their defensive coordinator, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Wade Phillips has agreed to terms to become Rams defensive coordinator, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 13, 2017
Phillips has long been known as one of the NFL's best assistant coaches and has spent the last two years coaching up one of the best defenses in the league in the Denver Broncos. His aggressive 3-4 system is a change from what the Rams had under former coach Jeff Fisher, but he can undoubtedly be counted on to consistently put players like Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn, and Alec Ogletree in position to succeed.
The Rams have plenty of top-level defensive talent for Phillips to work with, even after losing several contributors over the last few years. With Phillips on board, it's reasonable to expect that talent to coalesce into even more than the sum of its parts. For a team largely devoid of similar offensive talent, making sure the defense plays at a high level is a good way to start the climb back toward .500 football and better.
