LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams have fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The move marks the first in-season coaching change that Rams head coach Sean McVay has made in his nine seasons in Los Angeles.
Rams assistant special teams coach Ben Kotwica will take over and become the lead special teams coach, a source told Schefter.
The Rams, 11-4 and second place in the NFC West, lost to the Seahawks on Thursday night in a game that included a Seattle punt return for a touchdown and a missed 48-yard field goal by Los Angeles kicker Harrison Mevis.
The Seahawks (12-3) overtook the Rams for first place in the division and the top overall record in the NFC thanks to the 38-37 overtime victory.
Though the Rams have lost only four games this season, three have involved special teams miscues. In the Rams’ first loss of the season, 33-26 to the Eagles, Los Angeles had its final two offensive possessions end with blocked kicks.
In the Rams’ Week 10 victory over the Saints, kicker Joshua Karty missed an extra point and a 39-yard field goal attempt. After the game, McVay said the Rams’ special teams issues “can’t continue like this.”
Los Angeles replaced long-snapper Alex Ward with Jake McQuaide and Karty with Mevis, who had not missed a kick until Thursday night in Seattle.
Blackburn, 42, was in his third season as the Rams’ special teams coordinator. A former linebacker for the Giants and Panthers, he also has worked as an assistant with Carolina and Tennessee.
