- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
- Messages
- 20,922
- Name
- Peter
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20161226/rams-john-fassel-reflects-on-career-with-rams
Rams’ John Fassel reflects on career with Rams
By Rich Hammond, rhammond@scng.com, @Rich_Hammond on Twitter
Scott Varley — Staff Photographer
THOUSAND OAKS >> Roots don’t exist in the NFL. It’s a transitory life, one that players and coaches accept without asking for empathy, but that doesn’t make it any easier around this time of year.
The end is near for the Rams. Not just in terms of this season, which mercifully will conclude Sunday at the Coliseum against Arizona. It’s possibly the end of a long journey for interim coach John Fassel, many of his colleagues and, likely, many players who might wear the Rams’ colors for the final time.
“Maybe because it was Christmas,” Fassel said Monday afternoon, “and I finally got to see my kids — it’s been a long time — I was just thinking back, not only to this past year but the last four years in St. Louis, where there’s been a lot of great times, a lot of great memories built, a lot of fellowship built, a lot of great relationships built. It’s going to change.”
The true aftermath of the firing of Jeff Fisher will begin next week, when the search for his permanent replacement begins. The Rams’ assistant coaches, who have continued on for the past two weeks, have no reasonable expectation that they will be retained, and major roster turnover also could take place.
The Rams have nine pending unrestricted free agents, most notably cornerback Trumaine Johnson, receiver Kenny Britt and safety T.J. McDonald, but the new coach — and perhaps a new general manager — might decide to overhaul the roster and make other changes.
It all started to hit Fassel over the weekend. He’s been with the Rams since 2012, when Fisher took over, and he has made the entire five-season, two-state journey with eight other assistant coaches and several players.
Asked if he felt any nostalgia over the probable end of the run, Fassel started to answer and then, as his voice caught, he backed away for 20 seconds and took a sip of water before he continued.
“You know, my second daughter was born in St. Louis,” Fassel said. “A lot of coaches have had kids born, and a lot of coaches on our staff still have their families back in St. Louis. They didn’t move out here with them. So a lot of coaches miss their families. We’ve had a lot of players have first-borns this year. There’s probably been six or seven players that have had kids since March, when we moved out here.
“It takes a long time to build relationships with coaches and players. I’ve been able to do that over five years, and it’s hard to think of that just being done.”
Fassel will be fine. A respected special-teams coach before Fisher’s firing, he will land somewhere else in the NFL if the Rams don’t retain him. And Fassel has at least one more task with the Rams.
The Rams (4-11) have lost 10 of their last 11 games, and while Fassel admitted that team morale has declined in recent weeks, he doesn’t believe the team will quit this week in his final game as head coach.
“Maybe I’m naive,” Fassel said. “I don’t think anybody on our coaching staff or anyone in the locker room is looking at it like, ‘Let’s just get out of here and hope we survive this last game.’ That’s not the feeling I get, even though, no doubt about it, it’s been a struggle over the last three months. I just have faith in our coaches and players that we’ll rally one more time. Whether it’s good enough, we’ll see.”
Rams’ John Fassel reflects on career with Rams
By Rich Hammond, rhammond@scng.com, @Rich_Hammond on Twitter
Scott Varley — Staff Photographer
THOUSAND OAKS >> Roots don’t exist in the NFL. It’s a transitory life, one that players and coaches accept without asking for empathy, but that doesn’t make it any easier around this time of year.
The end is near for the Rams. Not just in terms of this season, which mercifully will conclude Sunday at the Coliseum against Arizona. It’s possibly the end of a long journey for interim coach John Fassel, many of his colleagues and, likely, many players who might wear the Rams’ colors for the final time.
“Maybe because it was Christmas,” Fassel said Monday afternoon, “and I finally got to see my kids — it’s been a long time — I was just thinking back, not only to this past year but the last four years in St. Louis, where there’s been a lot of great times, a lot of great memories built, a lot of fellowship built, a lot of great relationships built. It’s going to change.”
The true aftermath of the firing of Jeff Fisher will begin next week, when the search for his permanent replacement begins. The Rams’ assistant coaches, who have continued on for the past two weeks, have no reasonable expectation that they will be retained, and major roster turnover also could take place.
The Rams have nine pending unrestricted free agents, most notably cornerback Trumaine Johnson, receiver Kenny Britt and safety T.J. McDonald, but the new coach — and perhaps a new general manager — might decide to overhaul the roster and make other changes.
It all started to hit Fassel over the weekend. He’s been with the Rams since 2012, when Fisher took over, and he has made the entire five-season, two-state journey with eight other assistant coaches and several players.
Asked if he felt any nostalgia over the probable end of the run, Fassel started to answer and then, as his voice caught, he backed away for 20 seconds and took a sip of water before he continued.
“You know, my second daughter was born in St. Louis,” Fassel said. “A lot of coaches have had kids born, and a lot of coaches on our staff still have their families back in St. Louis. They didn’t move out here with them. So a lot of coaches miss their families. We’ve had a lot of players have first-borns this year. There’s probably been six or seven players that have had kids since March, when we moved out here.
“It takes a long time to build relationships with coaches and players. I’ve been able to do that over five years, and it’s hard to think of that just being done.”
Fassel will be fine. A respected special-teams coach before Fisher’s firing, he will land somewhere else in the NFL if the Rams don’t retain him. And Fassel has at least one more task with the Rams.
The Rams (4-11) have lost 10 of their last 11 games, and while Fassel admitted that team morale has declined in recent weeks, he doesn’t believe the team will quit this week in his final game as head coach.
“Maybe I’m naive,” Fassel said. “I don’t think anybody on our coaching staff or anyone in the locker room is looking at it like, ‘Let’s just get out of here and hope we survive this last game.’ That’s not the feeling I get, even though, no doubt about it, it’s been a struggle over the last three months. I just have faith in our coaches and players that we’ll rally one more time. Whether it’s good enough, we’ll see.”
