Aubrey Pleasant enters his seventh season with the Los Angeles Rams and serves as the team's pass game coordinator and assistant head coach.
Last season, Pleasant worked closely with the defensive backs and the unit ranked 12th in completions allowed (254) and tied for 12th in interceptions (13). Under his guidance, CB Ahkello Witherspoon finished the season recording at least one pass defended in four consecutive games, tied for the second-longest active streak and tied for the sixth-longest streak in the NFL last season. It was also the most he recorded over a four-game span in his career. Additionally in Week 7, CB Cobie Durant earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after becoming the sixth player since 2000 to record two passes defended, 1.0 sack, one interception, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble in a game.
The Rams rookie safety duo, Kamren Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough, each recorded four interceptions on the season, tied for the second-most among rookies in the NFL. Kinchens recorded the longest interception returned for a touchdown in franchise history (103 yards). It was also the fourth-longest in NFL history and marked the longest interception returned for a touchdown by a rookie in the Super Bowl era (1967). Prior to Week 18, McCollough's 28.9 passer rating against as the primary defender was first among rookies and sixth in the NFL among defenders with a minimum of 100 coverage snaps.
With the help of Pleasant, S Quentin Lake stepped into a larger role last season and played 100 percent of the team's defensive snaps through the first 17 weeks of the season. He was one of three defenders in the NFL to accomplish the feat last season. Lake also became the 11th defensive back in franchise history to record 100 tackles in a season. His 111 tackles are the fifth-most by a defensive back in franchise history.
Under Pleasant's guidance during the 2023 season, the Rams secondary recorded 10 interceptions, with nine coming from defensive backs. The Rams finished the regular season ranked third in pass breakups and tied for 15th in passes defended. The last time the Rams finished the regular season in the top half of those categories was in 2020 when Pleasant mentored the cornerbacks.
Pleasant also helped former DB Jordan Fuller record single-season career-highs in pass breakups, forced fumbles, and tied his single-season best with three interceptions. Fuller was one of 11 players in the NFL to force six or more turnovers during the regular season. Pleasant also helped Witherspoon lead the league in incompletions against as the primary defender. Witherspoon recorded single-season career-bests in passes defended and pass breakups that season. He also tied his single-season career-high with three interceptions.
Before returning for his second coaching stint with the Rams, Pleasant was the defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator for the Detroit Lions for two seasons (2021-22). He also served an an offensive consultant for the Green Bay Packers during the second half of the 2022 season.
In his first year with the Lions in 2021, Pleasant mentored undrafted rookie CBs A.J. Parker and Jerry Jacobs, who led all NFL undrafted players in snaps played on either offense or defense that season. The young cornerback duo was the only pair of undrafted rookies to play at least 400 snaps on offense or defense and both players saw more than 500 snaps of action in the 2021 campaign.
Additionally, Jacobs and Parker each produced seven passes defended and a forced fumble, becoming the eighth and ninth undrafted rookies in NFL history to produce a season with at least seven passes defensed and a forced fumble. They also became the first set of rookie teammates to accomplish this feat.
Pleasant joined the Detroit Lions coaching staff ahead of the 2021 season to serve as the team's defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator after his first coaching stint with the Rams from 2017-20 as the cornerbacks coach.
In that span, Rams cornerbacks ranked second in the NFL in interceptions (28), led the NFL in interception return yards (496), and led the NFL in interceptions returned for touchdowns (five). Pleasant also guided former DB Jalen Ramsey to a First-Team AP All-Pro nod in 2020 and worked with cornerback Marcus Peters, who earned First-Team AP All-Pro honors in 2019.
Prior to his stint with the Rams, Pleasant spent four seasons with the Washington Commanders from 2013-16. In his first year with the team, he was an offensive assistant and finished his tenure as a defensive quality control coach. Washington won the NFC East his final two seasons and he helped linebacker Ryan Kerrigan earn a Pro Bowl appearance after posting 11.0 sacks.
His first NFL position was as an offensive staff/head coach intern for the Cleveland Browns in 2013.
Prior to arriving in Cleveland, Pleasant spent two seasons at the University of Michigan where he served as a defensive graduate assistant (2011) and the program's assistant defensive backs coach (2012). In 2011, the Michigan defense led the Big Ten in takeaways (29) and tied for first in the FBS with 20 fumble recoveries. The following season, Michigan ranked fifth in the FBS with an average of 169.5 passing yards allowed per game.
Following his collegiate playing career as a safety at Wisconsin from 2005-08, Pleasant coached defensive backs at Grad Blanc (Mich.) High School and was a behavioral specialist/special needs teacher in the Flint Community School District.
A native of Flint, Michigan, Pleasant earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Wisconsin and a master's degree in education from Michigan.
