Rams' Aubrey Pleasant Will Be HC vs. Chargers; Sean McVay to Spend Time in TV Booth

Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach and defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant will serve as the team's head coach on Saturday as they take on the Los Angeles Chargers, per The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue.

The move comes because head coach Sean McVay wants to give Pleasant experience in the role while he spends time in the broadcast booth on Saturday.

Pleasant was promoted to assistant head coach this offseason after spending 2023 as the defensive backs coach. He was a defensive backs and passing game coordinator for the Detroit Lions from 2021 to 2022 and an offensive consultant for the Green Bay Packers in 2022.

When Pleasant joined the Rams staff in 2023, it marked the start of his second tenure with the team as he was a cornerbacks coach from 2017 to 2022.

Pleasant has served various roles around the league since 2013 and could be due for his first head coaching role soon, so Saturday will be a good chance to gain some experience before the next coaching carousel.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, McVay spoke highly of Pleasant, saying he "earned" the opportunity to lead the team on Saturday.

"He's earned this right and it's more of just going through some of the mechanics," McVay said. "Meeting with the officials, handling some of the different things as it relates to timeouts, being able to communicate with both sides. Again, these games we approach very differently, but I think to be able to get those reps for the leadership role that he plays for our team, but also to be able to get those chances. I remember when I got opportunities when I was in Washington. Those were really cool things that I look back on and I really appreciate in hindsight. Maybe I didn't realize how beneficial and valuable they were. Like I've mentioned to you guys, he's earned the right of assistant head coach because of the influence and the positive effect that he has on everyone in this building. I think it's a great, earned opportunity and he'll do an excellent job. That certainly isn't exclusive to whatever the result is. It's more of the management and the way that you just handle everything from the players to the coaches and it'll be cool to see."

The Rams will take on the Chargers in their second of three preseason games after sneaking past the Dallas Cowboys 13-12 on a last-second touchdown last week. Though Los Angeles got the win, it wasn't exactly pretty as second-year quarterback Stetson Bennet threw four interceptions.

The Rams will look to clean things up this week as they continue preparing for the 2024 campaign.