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By Nick Wagoner/Senior Writer
http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-eve ... 8dd6cfef75
Growing up in the tiny town of Eufaula, Ala., a town with a population just shy of 14,000 people, Les Snead didn’t need much prodding to fall in love with football at an early age.
In fact, by the time Snead reached middle school, he was already enough of a football fanatic that he would skip class and head home to watch the NFL Draft, back long before it became a primetime, weekend-centric event.
On Tuesday, the Rams named Snead the team’s new general manager. In other words, there is certainly no need for Snead to skip anything to watch the NFL Draft; he’s now going to play a major role in it.
Flanked by Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ executive vice president of football operations/chief operating officer, and head coach Jeff Fisher, Snead said the opportunity to be general manager is the culmination of a long developed dream.
“To go from let’s call it, seventh, eighth grade skipping school to watch the draft, to be sitting in this chair, to be a steward of this organization, to partner with Kevin and Jeff, that’s a personal goal that is I guess one of 32,” Snead said. “So what it means to me from a professional is after spending 16 years in the NFL, with that experience, I’m ready to come start the process with Jeff to begin building this thing back to where it was. So from that standpoint, that’s what it means.”
In hiring Snead, the Rams did more than help a football lifer reach the pinnacle of his profession. They also brought to an end a whirlwind month and a half, in which nearly the entire coaching staff has turned over and an extensive search for a new general manager finally came to a close.
Soon after parting ways with Steve Spagnuolo and Billy Devaney the day after the season ended, Demoff began the search for a coach and general manager. On an initial list of about nine general manager candidates, Snead was one of the first three to interview.
Demoff and Snead have known each other for a while and the pair spent about seven hours together in the initial interview. When the general manager search took a backseat to landing Fisher, Snead went into waiting mode. He spent most of that time continuing to grind tape and prepare for the NFL’s version of the hot stove.
Upon hiring Fisher, the Rams resumed the search and Snead was brought back to interview again, this time with Fisher present. Considering that Snead and Fisher did not know each other previously, that meeting went extremely well.
“The exciting part about our initial visit and the time we spent was that despite the fact that we both come from two different organizations, a lot of the philosophical things were identical and it was a fit, it was a match,” Fisher said. “The way he has assisted and they’ve run their personnel department is very similar to what I was used to. Just really excited about moving forward, about the innovative ideas and where we’re going to take this team. I was very much involved in the process, not only with Les but some of the other candidates.”
That list of candidates was an impressive one as three of the originals on the list accepted general manager jobs while three more received promotions to stay within their organizations.
When the dust finally cleared, the Rams opted for Snead, the guy Demoff and Fisher believed to be the best of a talented lot in no small part because in Snead’s 16 years in the league, he’s seen and done a little bit of everything.
“He’s been a part of everything a general manager is going to see,” Demoff said. “He’s been part of a big draft day trade. He’s been part of an organization that took a player first. He’s traded for a Pro Bowler. They’ve had successful, winning seasons after I don’t want to say turmoil, but certainly they never had back-to-back winning seasons and all the sudden you have four straight winning seasons. And that’s the sign of someone who can come into a franchise like ours that seeks stability and provide it. With Coach Fisher on the coaching side and Les overseeing our personnel department, we are set up for the future and for future success.”
Through his time in Atlanta, Snead was part of a personnel department that did a little bit of everything. That included a big draft day trade in which the Falcons ended up with receiver Julio Jones, a major free agent signing in running back Michael Turner, landing a franchise quarterback in the draft in Matt Ryan, trading for Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham and tight end Tony Gonzalez and even finding strong starters on other practice squads such as the acquisition of now Rams guard Harvey Dahl.
That isn’t to say that Snead hasn’t been a part of some misses, either, but he believes that even those misses have been instrumental in his rise through the ranks.
“I’ve seen a lot,” Snead said. “I’ve witnessed, been a part of, and made some good decisions and some not so good decisions. In all of those experiences, you learn from them and after 17 years I think you build a foundation where you’re ready to start making some right decisions.”
Snead has managed to survive a number of regime changes from his time in Jacksonville through his time in Atlanta. The Falcons went through a variety of head coaching changes as well as general managers.
Still, Snead has managed to find ways to adapt, another quality that endeared him to Demoff and Fisher.
One of the first tasks for Snead upon arrival will be to begin working on the roster and building the team for next year but in that process, he’ll also be evaluating the people doing the evaluating. He’s going to be able to build his own personnel department and will have freedom to make changes if necessary.
“I think there’s a show called ‘Survivor’ and I’ve always said I could go there and win it easily,” Snead said. “Life is about adjusting. I’ve been a part of some (regime changes); fortunately I have because it definitely has shown me what is important during those regime changes, what we have to do right now to be successful over the next couple of months. I think the number one thing is when the new leadership comes in, you adhere to their program and you try to execute what their program asks you to do. I can tell you this, being a leader of a department, anytime we’ve had a regime change I’ve sat everybody down and said, ‘Don’t be loyal to me. Be loyal to the new leaders, that’s who’s been hired, and let’s go out and do the best we can for them.’ And I will say this, anytime you go through that, that’s your best resume for the new leadership, is not really talking or having an interview, but over the course of a couple months showing them what you can do.”
Of course, everyone will get a chance to prove themselves in the next couple of months as the Rams venture into free agency in March and start formulating and stacking a draft board in the next few weeks.
The NFL Scouting Combine is next week and free agency follows on the heels soon after. While Fisher will have input into what types of players he needs to help fill out the roster, Snead will also contribute his thoughts to what is most important.
“From a standpoint of the player, I do think this is a league where you need to have urgency, you need to have passion and instincts from an intangible standpoint,” Snead said. “I think you need to be competitive. I think you need to want to be a part of something bigger, you want to be a teammate. I think in this league though, it’s an explosive league, it’s a league that has space, so I think you have to find guys in a short area that are very, very explosive in that short area.”
In looking at what’s in place in St. Louis already, Snead mentioned the presence of a franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford. He also said he believes there are some good pieces in place at other positions that should help make a turnaround quicker.
That said, Snead isn’t in a hurry to just provide lip service on the team improvement front. Rather, he’s excited to get the chance to go out and do it.
“Here’s what I think,” Snead said. “I think we are not far away at all. Now I will say this, I don’t think I need to sit up here and talk about it. I think we need to start making very sound, very superior decisions and we’ll stack those and I think that will lead to success. I would rather not talk about it, just show you.”
http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-eve ... 8dd6cfef75
Growing up in the tiny town of Eufaula, Ala., a town with a population just shy of 14,000 people, Les Snead didn’t need much prodding to fall in love with football at an early age.
In fact, by the time Snead reached middle school, he was already enough of a football fanatic that he would skip class and head home to watch the NFL Draft, back long before it became a primetime, weekend-centric event.
On Tuesday, the Rams named Snead the team’s new general manager. In other words, there is certainly no need for Snead to skip anything to watch the NFL Draft; he’s now going to play a major role in it.
Flanked by Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ executive vice president of football operations/chief operating officer, and head coach Jeff Fisher, Snead said the opportunity to be general manager is the culmination of a long developed dream.
“To go from let’s call it, seventh, eighth grade skipping school to watch the draft, to be sitting in this chair, to be a steward of this organization, to partner with Kevin and Jeff, that’s a personal goal that is I guess one of 32,” Snead said. “So what it means to me from a professional is after spending 16 years in the NFL, with that experience, I’m ready to come start the process with Jeff to begin building this thing back to where it was. So from that standpoint, that’s what it means.”
In hiring Snead, the Rams did more than help a football lifer reach the pinnacle of his profession. They also brought to an end a whirlwind month and a half, in which nearly the entire coaching staff has turned over and an extensive search for a new general manager finally came to a close.
Soon after parting ways with Steve Spagnuolo and Billy Devaney the day after the season ended, Demoff began the search for a coach and general manager. On an initial list of about nine general manager candidates, Snead was one of the first three to interview.
Demoff and Snead have known each other for a while and the pair spent about seven hours together in the initial interview. When the general manager search took a backseat to landing Fisher, Snead went into waiting mode. He spent most of that time continuing to grind tape and prepare for the NFL’s version of the hot stove.
Upon hiring Fisher, the Rams resumed the search and Snead was brought back to interview again, this time with Fisher present. Considering that Snead and Fisher did not know each other previously, that meeting went extremely well.
“The exciting part about our initial visit and the time we spent was that despite the fact that we both come from two different organizations, a lot of the philosophical things were identical and it was a fit, it was a match,” Fisher said. “The way he has assisted and they’ve run their personnel department is very similar to what I was used to. Just really excited about moving forward, about the innovative ideas and where we’re going to take this team. I was very much involved in the process, not only with Les but some of the other candidates.”
That list of candidates was an impressive one as three of the originals on the list accepted general manager jobs while three more received promotions to stay within their organizations.
When the dust finally cleared, the Rams opted for Snead, the guy Demoff and Fisher believed to be the best of a talented lot in no small part because in Snead’s 16 years in the league, he’s seen and done a little bit of everything.
“He’s been a part of everything a general manager is going to see,” Demoff said. “He’s been part of a big draft day trade. He’s been part of an organization that took a player first. He’s traded for a Pro Bowler. They’ve had successful, winning seasons after I don’t want to say turmoil, but certainly they never had back-to-back winning seasons and all the sudden you have four straight winning seasons. And that’s the sign of someone who can come into a franchise like ours that seeks stability and provide it. With Coach Fisher on the coaching side and Les overseeing our personnel department, we are set up for the future and for future success.”
Through his time in Atlanta, Snead was part of a personnel department that did a little bit of everything. That included a big draft day trade in which the Falcons ended up with receiver Julio Jones, a major free agent signing in running back Michael Turner, landing a franchise quarterback in the draft in Matt Ryan, trading for Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham and tight end Tony Gonzalez and even finding strong starters on other practice squads such as the acquisition of now Rams guard Harvey Dahl.
That isn’t to say that Snead hasn’t been a part of some misses, either, but he believes that even those misses have been instrumental in his rise through the ranks.
“I’ve seen a lot,” Snead said. “I’ve witnessed, been a part of, and made some good decisions and some not so good decisions. In all of those experiences, you learn from them and after 17 years I think you build a foundation where you’re ready to start making some right decisions.”
Snead has managed to survive a number of regime changes from his time in Jacksonville through his time in Atlanta. The Falcons went through a variety of head coaching changes as well as general managers.
Still, Snead has managed to find ways to adapt, another quality that endeared him to Demoff and Fisher.
One of the first tasks for Snead upon arrival will be to begin working on the roster and building the team for next year but in that process, he’ll also be evaluating the people doing the evaluating. He’s going to be able to build his own personnel department and will have freedom to make changes if necessary.
“I think there’s a show called ‘Survivor’ and I’ve always said I could go there and win it easily,” Snead said. “Life is about adjusting. I’ve been a part of some (regime changes); fortunately I have because it definitely has shown me what is important during those regime changes, what we have to do right now to be successful over the next couple of months. I think the number one thing is when the new leadership comes in, you adhere to their program and you try to execute what their program asks you to do. I can tell you this, being a leader of a department, anytime we’ve had a regime change I’ve sat everybody down and said, ‘Don’t be loyal to me. Be loyal to the new leaders, that’s who’s been hired, and let’s go out and do the best we can for them.’ And I will say this, anytime you go through that, that’s your best resume for the new leadership, is not really talking or having an interview, but over the course of a couple months showing them what you can do.”
Of course, everyone will get a chance to prove themselves in the next couple of months as the Rams venture into free agency in March and start formulating and stacking a draft board in the next few weeks.
The NFL Scouting Combine is next week and free agency follows on the heels soon after. While Fisher will have input into what types of players he needs to help fill out the roster, Snead will also contribute his thoughts to what is most important.
“From a standpoint of the player, I do think this is a league where you need to have urgency, you need to have passion and instincts from an intangible standpoint,” Snead said. “I think you need to be competitive. I think you need to want to be a part of something bigger, you want to be a teammate. I think in this league though, it’s an explosive league, it’s a league that has space, so I think you have to find guys in a short area that are very, very explosive in that short area.”
In looking at what’s in place in St. Louis already, Snead mentioned the presence of a franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford. He also said he believes there are some good pieces in place at other positions that should help make a turnaround quicker.
That said, Snead isn’t in a hurry to just provide lip service on the team improvement front. Rather, he’s excited to get the chance to go out and do it.
“Here’s what I think,” Snead said. “I think we are not far away at all. Now I will say this, I don’t think I need to sit up here and talk about it. I think we need to start making very sound, very superior decisions and we’ll stack those and I think that will lead to success. I would rather not talk about it, just show you.”
