Dick Vermeil regrets leaving Rams

[Selassie I]

I think there's more to the story,but at this point it doesn't matter.

My thoughts exactly.

Dick is a VERY classy man.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I remember back in the day that there were conspiracy theories about Vermeil being forced out in favor of Martz. Hopefully this can put those to rest.

And honestly... maybe if Vermeil had had some extra time, rode out the front office dysfunction, and maybe left with an actual GM making decisions rather than the coach trying to GM (which, by far, was Martz's weak point, although he didn't have full GM powers, and left defensive decisions in the hands of his DCs), maybe Martz would have been a lot better off.

He totally was pushed out. The front office did not want the GSOT offense broken up and they knew Martz was going to get snatched up. Then in ensuing years as offensive players become free agents they leave too. They felt they had a dynasty if they could hold onto Martz. They wanted to keep Martz at all costs. So, they told Vermeil he was out. He didn't decide he wanted to retire and then get back to it in one year on his own.

Too bad. They should have kept Vermeil and Saunders and left Martz walk. Saunders did good things with Martz offense. Plus maybe he doesnt ditch Kurt.

 

[iBruce]

Interesting. Could easily see Gruden coming back and coaching.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I always felt like Vermeil was run off because the front office didn't want to take a chance on Losing Martz! I don't believe Martz would have left, and the Rams would have become a DYNASTY had he coached behind Vermeil for another year! But that's hindsight and to me 'Hindsight' is staring at some ones ass!!

 

[ChrisW]

He could have stayed, but would the success really have stayed with him? I mean the offense was unique to Martz and we hadn't seen anything quite like it, before...so if he stays and Martz leaves for a head coaching gig somewhere else, do we keep going to the playoffs?

 

[Ozoneranger]

If I remember correctly, Martz was THE hot commodity in the NFL after 34. The Rams were desperate to keep him and offered the head coaches position once Vermiel retired. He accepted, of course. I think this arrangement didn't sit well with DV. And I agree, the prospect of cutting aging vets weighed heavily on his mind. If nothing else, Vermiel was sentimental about his players.

Martz ended up blowing up the defense- a year too late. But he did a remarkable job rebuilding it on the fly. And he was lucky, too. Player evaluation was not his strong suite, as we discovered.

Hindsight being 20/20, Vermiel should have stuck it out for a couple more years before handing the reigns to Martz- He certainly would have drafted better, which may have rubbed off on Martz, who really needed (and indeed asked for) a true football GM at the top. DV could have been that guy.

Oh, what could have been.

 

[classicpony]

he was a hell of a HC, he really cares about his people & players.Everyone want to work for him.

 

[Boffo97]

He totally was pushed out. The front office did not want the GSOT offense broken up and they knew Martz was going to get snatched up. Then in ensuing years as offensive players become free agents they leave too. They felt they had a dynasty if they could hold onto Martz. They wanted to keep Martz at all costs. So, they told Vermeil he was out. He didn't decide he wanted to retire and then get back to it in one year on his own.

Too bad. They should have kept Vermeil and Saunders and left Martz walk. Saunders did good things with Martz offense. Plus maybe he doesnt ditch Kurt.

But if that was even remotely true, he would have absolutely no reason to say this now. He'd have nothing HE did to personally regret.

Martz was staying on the promise he'd be the next coach... not necessarily that it'd be the next year.

 

[Prime Time]

he was a hell of a HC, he really cares about his people & players.Everyone want to work for him.

But not everyone wanted to work with him. I have great respect for what Mike Martz did with the Rams and would do a cartwheel if Fisher hired him to replace Shotty. That being said, he was notorious for not getting along with fellow coaches and front office staff. His stints with the Lions, Bears, and 49ers are examples of this.

How is it that a man with a winning record as head coach was never hired again for that position? With all of the mediocre coaches, college coaches, and coordinators hired for that position every season(see Linehan and Spags), why was Martz never given another shot unless it was because of his negative reputation?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

But if that was even remotely true, he would have absolutely no reason to say this now. He'd have nothing HE did to personally regret.

Martz was staying on the promise he'd be the next coach... not necessarily that it'd be the next year.

I don't live in the land of make believe dude.

And Vermeil would never air that dirty laundry. He wont disparage any of his career or the organizations he worked for.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Boffo, remember that this was the Zygmunt era. That was as dysfunctional an organization as you could get. And teams were hot on Martz tail. He would have surely been gone that off season. JZ knew, Shaw knew it and they both knew that Martz offense and assemblage of players had more to do wit the SB win than Vermeil did. The writing was on the wall. Just because people(Vermeil) are not vindictive and lash out about it doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

 

[Boffo97]

I don't live in the land of make believe dude.

And Vermeil would never air that dirty laundry. He wont disparage any of his career or the organizations he worked for.

Vermeil wouldn't air the dirty laundry, I can believe. I don't believe he would come out and say he has regrets if there was no personal decision for him to regret. He'd just keep quiet.

Let me ask you this: Is there anything that can happen or be said that would convince you that you're wrong about this?

 

[simonblaze]

No doubt in my mind the Rams would've had another ring if Vermeil stayed another 2 or 3 years.

 

[RamBill]

Former NFL Head Coach Dick Vermeil joined Mike Keith & Howard Balzer to look back on his victory in Super Bowl 34 with the Rams and his regretful decision to retire after that game. He also shared his thoughts on Jon Gruden returning to the sidelines.

Listen to DV Talk Super Bowl + More

 

[CodeMonkey]

Vermeil was always known for being powerfully emotional...perhaps to a fault. We all wish that he would've taken more time to reconsider his decision. They were glorious times but it was all too short. He said he couldn't bring himself to cut any of his players. And I get that. I do. But at the same time...come on Dick! Come on coach! Tough decisions for sure but really...just leave all that hanging? I hold that against him in a way.

But on the other hand, that's a part of our history and who knows how it would have shaken out differently. And it really doesn't matter because there isn't anything that any of us can do about it at this point so why cry?

 

[MrMotes]

Vermeil said he foolishly left the Rams because he wanted to spend time with his family

Nothing more foolish than spending time with the family when you can be doing something football related...

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Vermeil wouldn't air the dirty laundry, I can believe. I don't believe he would come out and say he has regrets if there was no personal decision for him to regret. He'd just keep quiet.

Let me ask you this: Is there anything that can happen or be said that would convince you that you're wrong about this?

Nothing. Even if Vermeil said it himself I wouldn't believe it. It was so obvious and teams were already rumored to be chomping at the bit to interview Martz for Headcoaching jobs. Then Dick conveniently steps down only to resurface a year later. They probably threatened to fire him or he resigns. Either way Martz was a surefire goner and somehow it all worked out. It wouldn't have just been Martz either. Once Marshall, Torry, Ike all became free agents they would have had a hard lean toward Martz's team.

Zyggie and Shaw were too smart for their own good.

 

[Boffo97]

Nothing. Even if Vermeil said it himself I wouldn't believe it. It was so obvious and teams were already rumored to be chomping at the bit to interview Martz for Headcoaching jobs. Then Dick conveniently steps down only to resurface a year later. They probably threatened to fire him or he resigns. Either way Martz was a surefire goner and somehow it all worked out. It wouldn't have just been Martz either. Once Marshall, Torry, Ike all became free agents they would have had a hard lean toward Martz's team.

Zyggie and Shaw were too smart for their own good.

Well, I suppose we find ourselves at an impasse then. To you and others, it's obvious that Vermeil was forced out. To me and others, it's obvious that he wasn't.

Have a good one.

 

[moklerman]

Hard not to read between the lines and think that Vermeil was encouraged to retire. Martz had his pick of available head coaching jobs that offseason and Vermeil was just a year removed from an almost team mutiny. It's easy to see how the front office might think that the overnight success had more to do with Martz coming in than with Vermeil and it's very easy to think that the front office feared losing Martz.

Now, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea that Vermeil made an emotional decision but I have serious doubts about him deciding to hang it up again so soon after finally coming out of retirement and more importantly, so very soon after finally accomplishing what he'd spent so many years trying to do. When you add to that the fact that he obviously didn't really want to quit once he had time to think about it, it all adds up to him leaving the Rams under questionable circumstances.

 

[Boffo97]

Now, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea that Vermeil made an emotional decision but I have serious doubts about him deciding to hang it up again so soon after finally coming out of retirement and more importantly, so very soon after finally accomplishing what he'd spent so many years trying to do.

There have been a lot of people who retire after winning a Super Bowl in order to "go out on top", specially since he was 63 at the time. It just seems way too conspiracy theory-ish to me... which is pretty much the same reason I don't buy that Georgia murdered Carroll Rosenbloom either (at the risk of opening another can of worms.)