One of the biggest switch-ups Sean McVay made to his coaching staff this season was to promote defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake to defensive pass game coordinator following the departure of Aubrey Pleasant. The move was supplemented by the additions of Trent McDuffie, whom Lake coached at the University of Washington, and free agent Jaylen Watson.

Lake has a loving toughness about him that gets the best out of his players. McDuffie commented on that during his first press conference, and now defensive coordinator Chris Shula spoke about that coaching style recently by diving into how it has impacted their revamped secondary.

“He's awesome," stated Shula. "One of the best people, best coaches I've been around. A great friend of mine and you see it with those guys and how they're playing. I think he's tough on the guys, but he has a great relationship with them. He shows that he can make them better. Those players will do anything for him.

"Obviously, his relationship goes back with Trent from high school, I think, when he started recruiting him. I think he's starting to build that same rapport with 'J-Wat', with Josh [Wallace], with [Emmanuel] Forbes. You see those guys getting better and better. He's an awesome coach, and we're really lucky to have him.”

The Rams have been high on Lake since he first joined the team in 2023, and then again when he re-joined in 2025. Considering the difference-makers Watson and McDuffie have been, along with the rapid rise of Wallace at the outside cornerback position, the move to promote Lake appears to be paying off.

With Shula expected to be a head coaching candidate, Lake could be in position to join Shula's first staff, or become the Rams' defensive coordinator in the event Shula gets a job. It's not a bad position to be in, and a familiar one, as Lake left the Rams to be Raheem Morris' defensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024.