Wade Phillips Won't Return as Rams' Defensive Coordinator for 2020 Season

The Los Angeles Rams will not retain defensive coordinator Wade Phillips for the 2020 season, he announced on Twitter:

Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times and Lindsey Thiry of ESPN first reported the news.

Phillips joined the Rams in 2017 after Sean McVay first became head coach, but the 72-year-old will be replaced after three seasons with the team.

The 2019 season was disappointing for Los Angeles, as it finished 9-7 without a playoff berth one year after going 13-3 and advancing to the Super Bowl.

Despite the struggles, the defense actually improved over the past year, ranking 13th in yards allowed and 17th in points allowed after finishing 19th and 20th in 2018, respectively. The pass defense (12th in the NFL) had its best ranking in Phillips' three seasons.

Still, inconsistency was a problem. The squad allowed at least 40 points in three different games.

Phillips is one of the most experienced coaches in the entire league, serving different roles in the NFL since 1976. He has been a head coach for parts of 12 seasons and a defensive coordinator for parts of 28 different seasons.

If he wants another job at this level, there will likely be other opportunities for him.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles will try to bounce back in 2020 by finding someone who can improve a defense that has elite building blocks in Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey.