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Monday Wrap-Up: Fisher Makes Coordinator Change
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Monday-Wrap-Up-Fisher-Makes-Coordinator-Change/78c8f669-834d-4846-9eef-5eff6849fb9f
The Rams’ struggles on offense have been well documented, and they have induced head coach Jeff Fisher to make a change at coordinator. The club has parted ways with Frank Cignetti and assistant head coach/offense Rob Boras will assume the duties of coordinator.
“Today, I made a very difficult decision but one that we’re going to stand behind and that’s relieving Frank Cignetti of his offensive coordinator duties,” Fisher said.
“All of the blame is not to fall on his shoulders, but it’s the way this business works. Players contributed, coaches contributed, everybody contributed -- but we have to move in a different direction,” Fisher continued. “The lack of production is obvious. We’ve been talking about it for weeks and we need more production. Our rankings are there for you. You see where we are. You know, 18 touchdowns in 12 weeks just doesn’t give you a chance to win a lot of games. In seven of our 12 games, we’ve scored 13 points or less. We’re going to move in a different direction under the guidance of Rob.”
Though Fisher said in his Monday press conference he had been contemplating the move for some time, that did not make the decision to go through with it any easier.
“I’ve become a very good friend of Frank’s over the years and I’m very fond of Frank. He’s a great man,” Fisher said. “It was, in my estimation, time to move in a different direction. Our focus is on the future of this offense, the future of this football team.”
Boras will take over a unit that needs a significant lift in production. Boras has been with the team since Fisher’s arrival in 2012, serving as the tight ends coach before this past offseason when he was promoted to assistant head coach/offense. Part of the reason for that change came from the way Boras impressed Fisher with his ideas for the unit.
“There’s some different thoughts -- stimulate the staff, a little more creativity,” Fisher said. “But, it’s [the] run game. We’re lacking the run game efficiency right now and it all starts right there. Rob, wherever he’s been, he’s been very successful with respect to the run. So, that’s where it’s going to start.”
Fisher said Boras’ enthusiasm and attention to detail also make him suited for the position.
“Rob’s a hands-on, very enthusiastic, detailed guy. He gets the big picture,” Fisher said.
According to the head coach, one of the reasons why Boras was not chosen as coordinator in February was his lack of experience with play calling. But Fisher is convinced that will not be a problem come Sunday.
“He’s not done a lot of play calling before and that was really the difference and the reason I went with Frank, but we can take care of that. I have no concern about that,” Fisher said. “He’ll be more than prepared to call this game by the time Sunday comes along.”
Given Boras’ experience, Fisher said he’s expecting Boras to bring a renewed commitment to the run game that should increase production as a whole.
“What I’m anticipating is it’s play selection, it’s calls, it’s adjustments and things like that. It’s commitment to [the run] as far as the play calling is concerned,” Fisher said. “Expanding on some things that we need to do and then hopefully pushing things down the field as a result of it, because that’s what we haven’t been able to do.”
Fisher also said he’s looking for Boras to bring a different sense of accountability to the offensive unit.
“He’s a perfectionist and that’s what we need. We’re not in a position to have a wide receiver false start or a tight end false start on first-and-10 and go into first-and-15 because we can’t overcome that right now. So, those things are unacceptable,” Fisher said. “He’s going to bring and demand accountability to the offensive players with an expectation of them going above and beyond what they’ve already done.”
With Boras moving up, Fisher said offensive assistant Kenan Smith will take over coaching the tight ends.
“Kenan’s been working really close with Rob,” Fisher said. “We made that move during the OTAs. So, he’s got a good feel. He’ll handle that. Tight ends, it’s a smart group, sharp group. They’ve been well-coached. They know how to prepare, so Kenan will do a good job there.”
Any time a coaching change is made midseason, there is only so much that can be done. But Fisher said the Rams need a shift to get what they are seeing in practice over to the game.
“This is what’s in my estimation, which is in the best interest of this football team moving forward for the future,” Fisher said. “We’ve got good players. We’ve got to use them. We’ve got players that are hurt. We’ve got to get them back. We need direction moving forward offensively. And we’ve got to get better quarterback play. We’ve got to get better play out of all of the position groups.”
INJURY UPDATES
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins and tight end Lance Kendricks are both in the concussion protocol after sustaining a concussion during Sunday’s game. Fisher had good news on both, saying that they are each doing well and may be ahead of schedule.
Cornerback Trumaine Johnson has missed the last two games with a thigh injury, but Fisher said the club is hopeful he will be back this week.
Safety T.J. McDonald’s shoulder was also banged up on Sunday, and Fisher said the Rams are doing more tests with him.
With the myriad injuries to the unit, Fisher left the door open to the possibility of St. Louis adding some secondary depth with a few roster moves.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Fisher said defensive end Robert Quinn is making progress. Kicker Zach Hocker has an MRI scheduled for the injury he suffered pregame on Sunday. And Fisher is optimistic kicker Greg Zuerlein may be able to take some kicks this week with the possibility that he’s active against the Lions.
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Monday-Wrap-Up-Fisher-Makes-Coordinator-Change/78c8f669-834d-4846-9eef-5eff6849fb9f
The Rams’ struggles on offense have been well documented, and they have induced head coach Jeff Fisher to make a change at coordinator. The club has parted ways with Frank Cignetti and assistant head coach/offense Rob Boras will assume the duties of coordinator.
“Today, I made a very difficult decision but one that we’re going to stand behind and that’s relieving Frank Cignetti of his offensive coordinator duties,” Fisher said.
“All of the blame is not to fall on his shoulders, but it’s the way this business works. Players contributed, coaches contributed, everybody contributed -- but we have to move in a different direction,” Fisher continued. “The lack of production is obvious. We’ve been talking about it for weeks and we need more production. Our rankings are there for you. You see where we are. You know, 18 touchdowns in 12 weeks just doesn’t give you a chance to win a lot of games. In seven of our 12 games, we’ve scored 13 points or less. We’re going to move in a different direction under the guidance of Rob.”
Though Fisher said in his Monday press conference he had been contemplating the move for some time, that did not make the decision to go through with it any easier.
“I’ve become a very good friend of Frank’s over the years and I’m very fond of Frank. He’s a great man,” Fisher said. “It was, in my estimation, time to move in a different direction. Our focus is on the future of this offense, the future of this football team.”
Boras will take over a unit that needs a significant lift in production. Boras has been with the team since Fisher’s arrival in 2012, serving as the tight ends coach before this past offseason when he was promoted to assistant head coach/offense. Part of the reason for that change came from the way Boras impressed Fisher with his ideas for the unit.
“There’s some different thoughts -- stimulate the staff, a little more creativity,” Fisher said. “But, it’s [the] run game. We’re lacking the run game efficiency right now and it all starts right there. Rob, wherever he’s been, he’s been very successful with respect to the run. So, that’s where it’s going to start.”
Fisher said Boras’ enthusiasm and attention to detail also make him suited for the position.
“Rob’s a hands-on, very enthusiastic, detailed guy. He gets the big picture,” Fisher said.
According to the head coach, one of the reasons why Boras was not chosen as coordinator in February was his lack of experience with play calling. But Fisher is convinced that will not be a problem come Sunday.
“He’s not done a lot of play calling before and that was really the difference and the reason I went with Frank, but we can take care of that. I have no concern about that,” Fisher said. “He’ll be more than prepared to call this game by the time Sunday comes along.”
Given Boras’ experience, Fisher said he’s expecting Boras to bring a renewed commitment to the run game that should increase production as a whole.
“What I’m anticipating is it’s play selection, it’s calls, it’s adjustments and things like that. It’s commitment to [the run] as far as the play calling is concerned,” Fisher said. “Expanding on some things that we need to do and then hopefully pushing things down the field as a result of it, because that’s what we haven’t been able to do.”
Fisher also said he’s looking for Boras to bring a different sense of accountability to the offensive unit.
“He’s a perfectionist and that’s what we need. We’re not in a position to have a wide receiver false start or a tight end false start on first-and-10 and go into first-and-15 because we can’t overcome that right now. So, those things are unacceptable,” Fisher said. “He’s going to bring and demand accountability to the offensive players with an expectation of them going above and beyond what they’ve already done.”
With Boras moving up, Fisher said offensive assistant Kenan Smith will take over coaching the tight ends.
“Kenan’s been working really close with Rob,” Fisher said. “We made that move during the OTAs. So, he’s got a good feel. He’ll handle that. Tight ends, it’s a smart group, sharp group. They’ve been well-coached. They know how to prepare, so Kenan will do a good job there.”
Any time a coaching change is made midseason, there is only so much that can be done. But Fisher said the Rams need a shift to get what they are seeing in practice over to the game.
“This is what’s in my estimation, which is in the best interest of this football team moving forward for the future,” Fisher said. “We’ve got good players. We’ve got to use them. We’ve got players that are hurt. We’ve got to get them back. We need direction moving forward offensively. And we’ve got to get better quarterback play. We’ve got to get better play out of all of the position groups.”
INJURY UPDATES
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins and tight end Lance Kendricks are both in the concussion protocol after sustaining a concussion during Sunday’s game. Fisher had good news on both, saying that they are each doing well and may be ahead of schedule.
Cornerback Trumaine Johnson has missed the last two games with a thigh injury, but Fisher said the club is hopeful he will be back this week.
Safety T.J. McDonald’s shoulder was also banged up on Sunday, and Fisher said the Rams are doing more tests with him.
With the myriad injuries to the unit, Fisher left the door open to the possibility of St. Louis adding some secondary depth with a few roster moves.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Fisher said defensive end Robert Quinn is making progress. Kicker Zach Hocker has an MRI scheduled for the injury he suffered pregame on Sunday. And Fisher is optimistic kicker Greg Zuerlein may be able to take some kicks this week with the possibility that he’s active against the Lions.