Rams Losing a Second Assistant Coach to College Ranks: Report

Getty Ra'Shaad Samples and Jake Peetz before their 2022 season opener with the Rams on September 8, 2022.

The Los Angeles Rams are losing a second member of the 2022 coaching staff.

After losing offensive assistant Jake Peetz to the University of Nebraska, the Rams and head coach Sean McVay will now have another member of the offensive side move on to the college realm — where he began his coaching trajectory.

‘A Big Win’

First reported at 9 a.m. Eastern by Matt Zenith of On3.com, Rams running back coach Ra’Shaad Samples is joining the coaching staff at Arizona State.

“Arizona State is set to hire LA Rams running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples as wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator, sources tell On3. A return to the college level for Samples, one of the top rising stars in the coaching world,” Zenith wrote.

Zenith added the significance of this hire made by the Sun Devils, who are now operating with Kenny Dillingham as head coach.

“It’s a big win for new ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham. Before being hired by the Rams in March, Samples was widely viewed as one of the top rising stars and recruiters in college coaching,” said Zenith.

Samples came to the Rams as a surging young coaching name largely for his work in helping turn around Southern Methodist University alongside Sonny Dykes. Samples also served as recruiting coordinator for the Mustangs.

He even came close to coaching in the 2022 College Football Playoffs — as he was set to join the staff of one of the four representatives as noted by Zenith.

“The 27-year old had been set to be the running backs coach and assistant coach under Sonny Dykes at TCU prior to accepting the job with the Rams. Samples previously spent three seasons under Dykes at SMU, including as a combination of running backs coach and assistant head coach last year,” said Zenith.

By heading to Tempe, Samples will soon vacate his position as running backs coach of the Rams. He also held this title: The youngest position coach in the NFL.

Dillingham continues to build his staff at ASU. The former Oregon offensive coordinator recently hired former Football Championship Subdivision coaches Charlie Ragle from Idaho State (assistant coach/recruiting coordinator) and Beau Baldwin from Cal Poly (offensive coordinator) — the latter once coaching a young Cooper Kupp at Eastern Washington.

And, per Pete Thamel of ESPN, Samples is expected to “have large role with the offense, including bringing Rams concepts into the scheme” that he learned from McVay. While Samples coached up the backfield in L.A. and at SMU, he’s no stranger to the wideout position. He was a four-star recruit by 247Sports composite rankings in the 2013 class and signed with Oklahoma State.

Meanwhile, Samples is anticipated to put his recruiting stamp down in his home state of Texas per Devils Digest on Rivals.

Could Another Past Ram Move on?

Though he’s no longer on the coaching staff, Ejiro Evero continues to see his name mentioned as a possibility for the 2023 head coaching cycle.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network has alsready called the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator “among the young NFL coaches to watch” for this upcoming cycle.

Despite the Broncos’ disappointing results in 2022, Evero has the Broncos third in fewest yards allowed and has produced a unit that’s surrendered 21 points or more just three times this season. There was even the November 26 report from ESPN NFL insiders Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler that Evero would be considered a head coaching candidate should the Broncos move on from first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett.