By almost all measures, the Los Angeles Rams were an elite team this season. Teams don’t just reach the NFC Conference Championship by accident.
However, if there was one clear weakness on the Rams, it was their special teams unit. The Rams may have been a game away from their third Super Bowl appearance under coach Sean McVay, but they canned their special teams coordinator, Chase Blackburn, after their Week 16 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Now, as the Rams find a more permanent replacement for Blackburn, they’ve shown an interest in a proven ST coordinator recognized as one of the best in the business.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Rams have requested to interview Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator Ray ‘Bubba’ Ventrone. The Browns just hired Todd Monken as their head coach, and although Ventrone is still under contract in Cleveland, he’s expected to find a new role elsewhere.
PFF has Bubba Ventrone’s Special Teams Ranked:
— JAKE OLIVER ELLENBOGEN (@JKBOGEN) January 28, 2026
2025: 2nd
2024: 4th
2023: 12th
2022: 6th
2021: 4th
2020: 1st
2019: 21st
2018: 5th
Ventrone, 43, spent the past three seasons doubling as the assistant head coach/special teams coordinator in Cleveland. Now he could go from a team that made the playoffs just once in his three-year tenure to one that hasn’t missed the postseason since 2022.
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