Los Angeles Rams banking on turning back the clock with latest gamble to fix worst unit on the team
The Los Angeles Rams have hired former Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone in the same capacity.
The Los Angeles Rams have had a dismal time trying to fix their woeful special teams over the last few seasons. They’ve consistently ranked at the bottom of the league in virtually every special teams category ever since coach “Bones” Fassel left, and it came to a head this season.
Every single one of the Rams’ losses in 2025 could be directly attributed to their costly special teams, including their gaffe in the NFC Championship game that ultimately led to them missing out on a chance to play for a Super Bowl.
The Rams have taken a step to fix their special teams by hiring former Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone to take the same role with the Rams. Whether this is a step forward or step backwards…is up for debate.
Who is Bubba Ventrone?
A former New England Patriot and Cleveland Brown, Ventrone bounced around the league as a special teamer, but settled down in Cleveland, where he was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2010 and was a two-time Special Teams captain for the Browns. Following his time in Cleveland, he ended his career with the San Francisco 49ers, where he was also named a Special Teams captain for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
He started his coaching career with the Patriots, working under Bill Belichick as an assistant special teams coach. Following a three year stint with the Patriots, Ventrone took the special teams coordinator job with the Indianapolis Colts under temporary head coach coach Josh McDaniels in 2018. Ventrone elected to stay on the staff when McDaniels ultimately backed out of the job, and he worked under Frank Reich for five seasons.
Following the hire of Shane Steichen in Indianapolis, Ventrone went to the Cleveland Browns, where he has served as special teams coordinator since 2023. Now with Kevin Stefanski on his way out, Ventrone will make his way back to California with the Rams.
A tale of two cities for Bubba Ventrone
His tenure in the NFL has been a mixed bag. With the Browns, the unit was, quite frankly, a disaster. A to Z Sports Cleveland Browns & Ohio State writer Brandon Little had plenty to say on the dismal seasons the Browns had under Ventrone.
“The Browns’ special teams in 2025 were the second-worst unit on the team behind a historically bad offense. It takes one look at the 27-20 loss to the New York Jets to show how bad the Browns were on that side of the ball. Cleveland allowed just 169 total yards that game but still gave up 27 points due to a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown and a 74-yard punt return for a score. Ventrone was the second special teams coach that Kevin Stefanski had in Cleveland. In the former Browns player’s first season with the team in 2023 as a coach, the unit was solid and Dustin Hopkins was a Pro Bowler. The Browns took steps back each of the next two seasons as a group on special teams. Cleveland K Andre Szmyt didn’t get to kick a whole lot due to the offense’s struggles, but he excelled making 24-of-27 kicks. You won’t find a whole lot of good beyond that. Execution, missed tackles, and players being in bad position were a common theme for the Browns’ special teams in 2025. Ventrone is a very respectable coach that players buy in for, but the time seemed right for both sides to go in a different direction.”
With the Indianapolis Colts, however, Ventrone had a stellar career. The Colts always ranked at or near the top of the league in terms of special teams prowess, and he made waves with fans after his appearance on Hard Knocks, where his passion and acumen as a STC made headlines. In fact, when Frank Reich was hired, there was significant push inside the building for Ventrone to replace him as head coach of the team. Many viewed him as the top internal candidate before the team hired Shane Steichen.
What are the Rams getting with Bubba Ventrone?
So which version of Ventrone are the Rams getting? It’s tough to really say. However, the more I’ve spoken to people around the league, the more I feel like the Rams are banking on “the Browns being the Browns”, and their team-building strategy being more at fault for their special teams woes than Ventrone.
Teams who are analytics-driven, like the Browns and the Green Bay Packers, typically tend to view special teams as a way to let the young backups play instead of another phase of the game, so they rarely draft players or keep players around specifically for special teams. The Colts, on the other hand, have a deeper priority on special teams, which is why they drafted or signed players like Ashton Dulin, Zaire Franklin, E.J. Speed, Matthew Adams, Dallis Flowers, and JoJo Domann under Ventrone.
The Rams are closer to the Colts’ side than the Browns side of this specific aisle. They’ve invested in players like Jarquez Hunter, Ronnie Rivers, Jordan Whittington, Jaylen McCollough, Shaun Dolac, Jake Hummel, Jason Taylor II, Christian Rozeboom, and Ben Skowronek over the years. Additionally, in Cleveland, Ventrone had to split duties as special teams coordinator and the assistant head coach for Kevin Stefanski (essentially the No. 2 on gamedays), something he won’t be doing with the Rams.
While this is no guarantee that the Rams will become anything like the Colts’ special teams units were. However, it does offer some reason for optimism after some dreadful seasons in Cleveland. I was initially skeptical of the hire, but now I’m leaning more into cautiously optimistic. The moves they make in the offseason to support Ventrone will be key.