New Rams assistant had foresight into what became a key playoff sequence

Multiple defensive penalties resulting in a touchdown? No one other than Dan Shamash ever knew that was possible.

Dan Shamash officially joined Sean McVay’s coaching staff this week as the team’s “game management coordinator and assistant tight ends coach”. A similar role was held by John Streicher last season for the Los Angeles Rams; however, Streicher left to join Mike Vrabel’s staff with the New England Patriots.

You think you’ve never heard of Shamash before. He actually played a key part in informing Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni of the possibility referees could award a touchdown following consecutive defensive penalties at the goal line, which turned out to be a key sequence in this year’s NFC Championship versus the Washington Commanders. This conversation took place back in 2017 when “Smash” and Sirianni were on Anthony Lynn’s Los Angeles Chargers staff together:

Where else has Shamash left his fingerprints in the NFL?

Remember former Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley and how aggressive he was on fourth downs in his first season as the Chargers’ head coach—often drawing ire from fans across the NFL? Well, “Smash” played a role in that decision making process, as he was kept on the staff by Staley following Lynn’s firing in 2021.

The following season Robert Saleh was hired as the HC for the New York Jets and brought Shamash with him. Staley’s aggressiveness fell off significantly in 2022 and 2023 before he was ultimately canned in favor of Jim Harbaugh. Unfortunately, the Jets weren’t even close enough to competitive over Saleh’s tenure for them to win games at the margins with game management.

AJ Schulte of AtoZ Sports wrote an in-depth profile on Shamash, which was a refreshing read considering very little information was available on LA’s last game manager in Streicher:

We all remember how aggressive Staley was in his first year with the Chargers. That year, he attempted the highest fourth-down “go” rate and the fourth-most conversions. Shamash played a key role in coaching the team in those scenarios and working with Staley to decide when and when not to go for it…

What does this mean for the Rams? I think this might be one of the most impactful hires Sean McVay has ever pulled off.

If there has been one complaint of Sean McVay throughout his tenure as the Rams’ head coach, it has been that he has been far, far too passive as a game manager. He’s been unaggressive on fourth downs and the Rams’ situational football has been inconsistent year to year. Virtually every year, McVay has ranked among the worst coaches in getting fourth-down decisions “right”…

A Sean McVay who evolves his game management would truly close any holes that I could poke in his resume as a head coach, and should terrify the rest of the league. That potential has me more excited than any other coach the Rams hired.

While Streicher’s presence did help improve McVay’s gameday decision making—especially in terms of conserving timeouts—there is progress that can be lost with more room for growth.

The Rams have some important questions to answer this offseason, including who will be under center for them. When the regular season finally rolls around, we could look back and say the hire of Dan Shamash was a key in helping LA return to the playoffs for a third-consecutive year.