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Chase Blackburn fired: Why LA Rams got rid of special teams coordinator; Sean McVay next?
The Los Angeles Rams have fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn
The Los Angeles Rams have fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn, ESPN reported on Sunday, citing sources. This comes after the Rams' special teams cost them three of their four losses this season, including Thursday night's defeat in Seattle.
The Rams have yet to make an official statement. Blackburn was in his third season with the team as the special teams coordinator. He oversaw one of the NFL’s most effective special teams groups in 2024, highlighted by the emergence of rookies Joshua Karty at kicker and wide receiver Jordan Whittington, both of whom earned spots on the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team.
The unit finished the season with four blocked kicks, matching the highest total in the league. Linebacker Michael Hoecht was responsible for three of those blocks, leading the NFL and equaling the franchise single-season mark previously set by Nolan Cromwell in 1987 and Pat Thomas in 1978.
What led to the firing?
A pivotal special-teams breakdown in Thursday night’s loss appears to have accelerated a change the Rams had been weighing. Seattle receiver Rashid Shaheed ignited a stunning fourth-quarter rally with a 58-yard punt return touchdown, capping a 16-point comeback. After the game, Shaheed said the Seahawks had identified a vulnerability in Los Angeles’ coverage unit.
“We’ve been focused on that left return all week,” Shaheed said. “We knew they had kind of a weak point with their special teams.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay later addressed the play when asked what he saw on the decisive return. He pointed to execution rather than scheme.
“I saw a flat, low kick that was not at all intended for what we wanted,” McVay said. “You give a guy like that an opportunity, that’s where the momentum flipped.”
Blackburn, 42, has extensive experience both on the field and on the sideline. He spent a decade in the NFL as a player, winning two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, before transitioning into coaching with the Panthers in 2016. He joined the Rams’ staff in 2023.
