Chris Shula Attempting to Emulate Legendary Grandfather on Path to Redemption

After an embarrassing 37-20 loss in the regular season, Rams DC Chris Shula desires to defeat the Eagles, avenging the defeat

Nov 26, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator Chris Shula against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In 1972, the Miami Dolphins suffered a devastating defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI. Dolphins head coach Don Shula vowed to redeem the defeat, not for himself but for the team and after the wounds healed from the embarrassment, Shula and the Dolphins proceeded to finish the 1973 season undefeated with a victory in Super Bowl VII.

52 years later, Shula's grandson Chris and the Los Angeles Rams have emulated the success of the Dolphins "no name defense" with contributions from young, underrated and somewhat unknown talent. Looking to put the embarrassment of the regular season defeat to the Eagles behind him, Shula commented on the loss saying,

"It was tough. The NFL is a humbling league. You're only a week away from being humbled and that was a humbling night. The game got away from us a little bit in the end. We've had some games like that unfortunately this year and I always say, 'Just stick your face in the fan, make the corrections that we need to do moving forward and let's do it as coaches and players.’ We’ll try and put them in better positions and players need to make the plays that they're supposed to make. That's all you do. Just correct it, move forward and hopefully you play better next week."

Due to Jared Verse's words earlier in the week regarding Eagles' fans, Philadelphia is looking to embarrass the Rams. However redemption is something not lost on the team. After the Cardinals put up 41 points on the team earlier in the year, Shula's defense responded by holding Kyler Murray and company to nine.

In fact, Shula's defense has always responded in the second matchup against an opponent when playing their starters. The 49ers scored 24 points and put up 425 yards of offense during their first game against the Rams. In the second, San Francisco scored six points and were limited to 191 yards and in his finest moment against the Vikings last week, Minnesota could only put up nine points instead of the 20 they put up in the regular season.

Shula's rewrote the trajectory of his coordinator career in his first game against Minnesota but Justin Jefferson did have eight receptions for 115 yards. In the second matchup, Jefferson was held to five catches for 58 yards while the Rams tied an NFL record for forcing nine sacks.

If history is right, Shula is bound for a performance reminiscent of what his granddad used to engineer back in the day.

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