Joe DeCamillis explains how and why he left the NFL for the college ranks of coaching
The NFL was all Joe DeCamillis knew. He had never coached at any other level. For more than 30 years, this was his life.
But after being fired by the Los Angeles Rams in early 2023, he had aspirations of doing something different than what he was used to. Could he have stayed in the professional coaching ranks? Yes. However, there was a challenge waiting for him out there that he had never encountered before.
“After the Rams, I had a couple chances to go to some other places,” DeCamillis said. “Really at that time was just feeling like I wanted to get back with somebody that emphasized special teams, that emphasized being good in the kicking game. And it’s not all like that in the NFL. So I wanted to try to go someplace that it was important to.”
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Not long after he was on the market, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian reached out to him. He wanted him to come work for him. The only thing was, DeCamillis had never coached at the college level before.
However, like he said, he wanted to go somewhere that emphasized special teams, and Texas could do that for him. Although, his role wasn’t specifically with special teams in Austin. His role was listed as special assistant to the head coach.
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“I wanted to take a little time and make the right decision. And it just worked out great, really, to be honest with you,” DeCamillis said.
[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Ole Miss men’s basketball game]
Less than a year after leaving the pros for college, DeCamillis finds himself taking on a new challenge. He joins Shane Beamer’s staff as the new special teams coordinator, a role he knows all too well.
If it weren’t for a one-year stay at Texas, there’s no telling whether he would’ve found his way to Columbia. But he’s certainly glad he did.
“I mean, like I said, when I was opening was that experience allowed me to be sitting in here right now,” DeCamillis said. “And just like he said, I had to make a decision in the last couple weeks. And it was an easy decision, real easy decision, to be honest with you. So I couldn’t be more fired up to be here.”
