Rams insider theorizes why L.A. moved on from Aubrey Pleasant
The Rams made the surprising move to part ways with one of their top assistants this offseason.
One of the more surprising revelations from the Los Angeles Rams' 2026 coaching staff announcement was the absence of assistant head coach and passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant. While Pleasant had interviewed for multiple defensive coordinator positions elsewhere, he didn't land any of those jobs and also parted ways with the Rams . Head coach Sean McVay said the decision wasn't easy, but didn't offer any reason why Pleasant wasn't retained other than that it "felt like it was going to be in the best interest of both parties to move on.
" Well, The Athletic's Nate Atkins thinks he knows what happened. In his weekly mailbag, Atkins explained that he believes the decision had less to do with Pleasant and more to do with two of the other big assistant changes for 2026: Jimmy Lake and Kliff Kingsbury. Lake was promoted to pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach, while Kingsbury was hired to be the team's assistant head coach.
Atkins surmised that McVay wanted to hire Kingsbury to a more senior role than the vacant passing game coordinator position following Nate Scheelhaase's promotion to offensive coordinator. The only other potential opening was assistant head coach — which was one half of Pleasant's current role. Additionally, Atkins wrote that the Rams "have been big believers in Jimmy Lake since they added him as a senior defensive assistant" since they hired him in 2025.
Atkins added that the Rams "couldn’t keep him in a role like senior defensive assistant for much longer," which meant he needed to be promoted ... to the other half of Pleasant's position. And so Pleasant’s departure was mostly circumstantial.