When the Cleveland Browns hired Bubba Ventrone as their new special teams coach in 2023, it was a bit of a fun feeling. As a player, he was a special teams ace for Cleveland from 2009 to 2012, and you
just blindly hoped that would translate well to his coaching career here too. Instead, it was quite the opposite — to the point where fans were practically begging for him to be fired numerous times this past season.
When the Browns fired head coach Kevin Stefanski, everyone knew that the odds of Ventrone sticking around were unlikely. And although Stefanski brought his offensive coordinator to Cleveland, he did not do the same with Ventrone. Still, I guess experience of any kind matters to desperate teams, as Aaron Wilson reported this morning that the Los Angeles Rams are hiring Ventrone to be their new special teams coordinator:
Even though the Rams made the NFC Championship, they faced a ton of issues on special teams this season too, and actually fired their special teams coordinator toward the end of the season. Against the Seahawks this past week, a fumble on a punt return contributed to their loss in a tightly contested game, possibly costing them a shot at the Super Bowl.
To be fair to Ventrone, with the way Cleveland’s roster was constructed, he wasn’t exactly given the best group of players with special teams experience. I hope he can turn things around in Los Angeles, but I’m not at all sorry to see him depart. If there was one bright spot from this past season, it was the fact that kicker Andre Szmyt, after a rough first game, actually had an outstanding season the rest of the way.
It is not yet clear who head coach Todd Monken will bring in as the Browns’ next special teams coordinator.
