Every NFL Team's Biggest Mistake of the Past Decade

[Riverumbbq]

She died in 2008, so she almost slipped out of getting my vote as biggest Rams mistake of the last decade.

 

[den-the-coach]

I'm in the same boat as @1maGoh @DR RAM & @UKram Jeff Fisher started with nothing and was able to bring talent to the Rams, his inability to hire a bonafide offensive coordinator led to his undoing. He had his opportunity early and unlike McVay, who hired Wade Phillips and then empowered Phillips to bring in one of his guys in DL Coach Bill Johnson, which also paved the way for another quality assistant coach.

One thing Fisher did not factor in was that if you hire a good OC, not only can that Coordinator bring in another quality assistant, but you can also land other quality assistants who desire to learn under a high profile Coordinator. CB Coach Aubrey Pleasant is an excellent example, could have stayed in Washington with even a better title as "Secondary Coach." but chose to come to Los Angeles because of the opportunity to learn under Wade.

Fisher's first staff on offense had some experience with the likes of Schottenheimer, Ray Sherman as WR Coach & Paul Boudreau as the OL Coach, but overall, it lacked someone with vision and the ability to take advantage of a now pass driven league. Maybe going with Hue Jackson over Schotty would have made it different, but hiring Cignetti to follow Schotty, then firing Cignetti and going with Rob Boras just continue to compound the mistakes.

At the time Jeff Fisher was the right hire the Rams needed to hire someone who had been an NFL Head Coach with the colossal failures of Milquetoast Linehan and Napoleon Spagnuolo, the Rams second choice was Greg Schiano, so I don't think Fisher was their biggest mistake, it was other factors, but Fisher is responsible for some of the talent McVay could build off of, just like Tommy Prothro was responsible for some of the talent back in the 70's for Chuck Knox.

 

[bubbaramfan]

I agree with Karate61. Drafting Bradford over Suh turned out to cost the Rams dearly. Bradford was the last #1 to get that huge salary that he never earned. Due constantly being in and out of the lineup for years the Rams couldn't depend on him as their starter for years to come.

Suh on the other hand, almost never missed a snap in his 8 years. Had the Rams drafted Suh, they would have had a pro-bowl DT, and the next yaear after drafting him, they could have gotten their franchise QB and us Ram Fans might not have had to suffer multiple losing seasons.

Of course its all conjecture.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.:headexplosion:

 

[Soul Surfer]

I would say Fishers failure to build a real offensive line.
But that kind of is on Fisher.

 

[Soul Surfer]

Yeah no. Wrong answer.

And the right answer is?

 

[Soul Surfer]

.....Fisher.

The GRob pick pales by comparison, IMO.

That IS on Fisher.
So was Quick.

 

[den-the-coach]

That IS on Fisher.
So was Quick.

Yep, if the Rams went Jake Matthews & Alshon Jeffery over GROB & Quick would have been different. As posted previously, I understood the Robinson pick, he was some athlete, but the selection of a small college WR, who again struggled to learn plays hurt them.

 

[den-the-coach]

She died in 2008, so she almost slipped out of getting my vote as biggest Rams mistake of the last decade.

Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through.
An' just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.
Georgia, Georgia, a song of you,
Comes as sweet and clear as moonlight through the pines.
Other arms reach out to me;
Other eyes smile tenderly.
Still in peaceful dreams I see,
The road leads back to you.
Georgia, Georgia, no peace I find.
Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.

 

[Rams43]

I'm in the same boat as @1maGoh @DR RAM & @UKram Jeff Fisher started with nothing and was able to bring talent to the Rams, his inability to hire a bonafide offensive coordinator led to his undoing. He had his opportunity early and unlike McVay, who hired Wade Phillips and then empowered Phillips to bring in one of his guys in DL Coach Bill Johnson, which also paved the way for another quality assistant coach.

One thing Fisher did not factor in was that if you hire a good OC, not only can that Coordinator bring in another quality assistant, but you can also land other quality assistants who desire to learn under a high profile Coordinator. CB Coach Aubrey Pleasant is an excellent example, could have stayed in Washington with even a better title as "Secondary Coach." but chose to come to Los Angeles because of the opportunity to learn under Wade.

Fisher's first staff on offense had some experience with the likes of Schottenheimer, Ray Sherman as WR Coach & Paul Boudreau as the OL Coach, but overall, it lacked someone with vision and the ability to take advantage of a now pass driven league. Maybe going with Hue Jackson over Schotty would have made it different, but hiring Cignetti to follow Schotty, then firing Cignetti and going with Rob Boras just continue to compound the mistakes.

At the time Jeff Fisher was the right hire the Rams needed to hire someone who had been an NFL Head Coach with the colossal failures of Milquetoast Linehan and Napoleon Spagnuolo, the Rams second choice was Greg Schiano, so I don't think Fisher was their biggest mistake, it was other factors, but Fisher is responsible for some of the talent McVay could build off of, just like Tommy Prothro was responsible for some of the talent back in the 70's for Chuck Knox.

I don’t think it was just that Fisher never hired a competent OC, den.

I honestly think that Fisher would have put a straitjacket on any quality OC that he might hire. He was not gonna allow the type of O thinking that was necessary in today’s NFL. He was truly a dinosaur.

Then again, it might have been a chicken or egg thing. Meaning that no imaginative OC candidate wanted to coach for Fisher due to the known limitations that would be in place.

The best thing I can say about Fisher as Ram HC was that he quickly raised the Rams to mediocrity at 7-9. Unfortunately, that was his ceiling. To this day I doubt that Fisher understands O.

What S&M did in their first year blows the door off of the endless Fisher excuses.

 

[551staaa]

Fisher gave us a lot of talent. Just couldn't effectively use it.

Biggest mistake in the past decade? Toss up between Jason Smith and Greg Robinson.

 

[TexasRam]

I don’t think it was just that Fisher never hired a competent OC, den.

I honestly think that Fisher would have put a straitjacket on any quality OC that he might hire. He was not gonna allow the type of O thinking that was necessary in today’s NFL. He was truly a dinosaur.

Then again, it might have been a chicken or egg thing. Meaning that no imaginative OC candidate wanted to coach for Fisher due to the known limitations that would be in place.

The best thing I can say about Fisher as Ram HC was that he quickly raised the Rams to mediocrity at 7-9. Unfortunately, that was his ceiling. To this day I doubt that Fisher understands O.

What S&M did in their first year blows the door off of the endless Fisher excuses.

I agree with this.

The common denominator in Fishers OC failures was Fisher.

Fisher required his brand of football. Low risk offense and win with defense and special teams. It was a recipe for keeping games close and staying around .500 and a chance for the playoffs, but had no chance for greatness.

Fishers 7-9 Bullcrap was more enjoyable than Linehan or Spags bottom feeder bullcrap. We could always punk the Seahawks and pull off some fun special teams plays along with some nasty defense.

Fisher was mediocre not bad. He’s the poster child for Darwin. Evolve or
be eaten.

 

[551staaa]

I will give Fisher credit for restocking the roster with NFL caliber players. Spags' last year was pretty pathetic. Sure, there were some personnel failures under Fisher, but there were some major successes (last year's DPOY AND OPOY).

While I think the Rams should have let Fisher go earlier than they did, I also think, from the team's business perspective, they kept him in place because there aren't many coaches out there with experience in guiding a team through a relocation. Once they had made the move, he was expendable.

There's also the darker, more conspiracy-driven idea that the last thing management wanted in the last couple of years in St. Louis was an exciting, competitive team that would draw fans to the dome on game days.

Jeff Fisher was a guy in an unenviable situation. Well, other than the 7 million a year, an unenviable situation.

So, what was their biggest mistake in the last ten years? GRob, Quick, loyalty to players and coaches for too long... There's too many correct answers. I'll go with E. -All of the above.

Yours truly,
Mr. Milquetoast

 

[Soul Surfer]

Come on now.
Fisher gets blamed for the failures.
Snead gets credit for anything that was done correctly.

 

[Dodgersrf]

The hiring of Fisher actually made our team somewhat relevant. He made the Rams a better, tougher team. There were weeks when Fisher was being praised for his fearlessness and coaching.

The biggest mistake wasn't hiring Fisher, but the biggest mistake was made by Fisher. Not going after a legit OC held us back. It possibly even doomed Fisher for good, as far as ever being a HC again in the NFL.

 

[Mojo Ram]

And the right answer is?

Hiring a greenhorn like Linehan to stabilize a talented but aging roster, then hiring Spags to stabilize a bad roster. Both were complete failures. Fisher DID stabilize a team that was a laughing stock and historically awful. Fisher's Rams ultimately failed but were competitive.

 

[Prime Time]

the biggest mistake was made by Fisher. Not going after a legit OC held us back

The question no one has yet answered is why would he do that? It was career suicide to hire inept coaches in important positions. Did he not know they were inept when he hired or promoted them? Did he not notice their poor judgment during games? If he did notice then why didn't he fire them? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[dieterbrock]

Hard to say any of the moves were the worst because all of them lead to the Rams being what they are today.
I'm good with what we have now

 

[Dodgersrf]

The question no one has yet answered is why would he do that? It was career suicide to hire inept coaches in important positions. Did he not know they were inept when he hired or promoted them? Did he not notice their poor judgment during games? If he did notice then why didn't he fire them? Inquiring minds want to know.

He did fire Cignetti, but stayed with Boris the following year. Boris clearly wasn't ready to be an OC.
I would have to think, that he posted some or all of the blame on the o line. I know most of us were very down the the o line before last season.
Fisher blew it by not bringing in a proven OC. If I remember correctly, Fisher having the ability to pay his coaches well, was a huge reason he came to the Rams. I realize that everyone starts somewhere, but Fisher appeared to have opportunities to bring in a proven OC.
Paul Bodreau is another coach that has me scratching my head. How many lives did that guy have?

 

[iamme33]

Yeah no. Wrong answer.

didn't mind the fisher hire but I think after 3 years with no improvement he should have been gone. on the other hand if he was gone after 3 no mcvay so I guess it all worked out

 

[RamnSD]

Biggest pair of mistakes: Jason Smith and Greg Robinson.