Excellent Article on the Rams' Culture

[Angry Ram]

This drivel is coming from the former Cleveland Browns GM for 2013-2014. His drafts were bad in Cleveland and Cleveland is a team IMO that is the poster child for a dysfunctional NFL franchise. I was never a fan of Shaw and I found a few of his observations about Shaw interesting but overall it is just a BS opinion piece by a failed NFL GM.

Cleveland was bad before Michael Lombardi and still is. He's also been with the most successful coaches in NFL history.

Point of this whole article is that the winning culture starts from the top. I don't trust Rams ownership until they show the commitment to building a winning football team rather than branding.

Take Falcons, Eagles, Steelers, Broncos, Giants, Saints, Vikings, Panthers, and yes even Patriot ownership. Even though most won't make the playoffs every single year you can tell their top management is all in on their teams.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I could argue that the premise is right but the argument is specious.

"Kronke learning at the feet of Shaw" line made me laugh out loud.

 

[Mackeyser]

I could've sworn that moving initially made the team a little money, but overall the team lost value......and huge amounts of money by taking the team outta California/Anaheim/LA??? I'm sure Shaw/Georgia's family still own a small portion of the team.....

Frontiere didn't care about team value. She cared about revenue since she lived off of the team's receipts. And Gene Autry was really putting the screws to her, financially. Normally, when a team rents a venue, they get the parking receipts. Nope. Gene didn't give up the parking receipts OR the food/beverage receipts. The Rams got the gate which had to be shared with the other team and that's about it other than merch and TV rights.

Moving to St Louis, the Rams were free to pursue tons of other opportunities to generate revenue.

I don't defend Frontiere for a second (I have a difficult time maintaining my Christian tongue when her name is even mentioned). And at the same time, the move was predictable. SoCal had no use for her and wasn't giving her an inch. What no one wanted to take into account was John Shaw. He just worked the numbers to maximize revenue for his owner.

I think Lombardi gets a number of things right, especially with respect to culture. Fisher seemed like a good hire, but in retrospect, it wasn't. How many players left only to say when they got to a different team that even if a team was struggling, they EXPECTED to win? Other than maybe Cleveland, what other teams in the NFL don't prepare to WIN?

What I really think he gets wrong is that it's clear that he hasn't followed this team since McVay got hired..

McVay is ALL ABOUT creating a mindful culture, everything from "We no Me" to having the John Gooden Pyramid of Success put up to create a functional organization structure.

Lombardi leaves known answers to his final questions out of the article which only tells me that he knows the history of the Rams...kinda...but doesn't know diddly about the team now.

As WE know because we sop up every last bit of Rams content, the culture is already significantly different. Already. It's noticeable and rather stark at times.

There is a commitment to winning as an organization that I haven't seen since Vermeil, but more emotionally stable (and I LOVES me some Vermeil, but even he knows he shouldn't have taken the Martz contract personally and stayed for at least another year or two)

Right now, it seems like the team is gonna have the same attitude towards winning that AD has... which is to say that they expect to win. What did AD post after Fisher was fired? Something like "the losing stops", right? And we've already seen that. Guys who don't fit are gone and quickly. The tenor is about competition in order to set up the expectation of winning.

 

[Ramlock]

If you want an example of why this is BS, look at the Colts. They are run by Jim Irsay, who is a buffoon. The Colts, in the 20 years before Peyton Manning, had 0 10+ win seasons, 5 winning seasons, and only 3 playoff appearances. In the 19 years after Manning was drafted (followed by Andrew Luck), the Colts have 14 winning seasons, 14 10+ win seasons, 14 playoff appearances, and only 3 losing seasons.

Jim Irsay is still Jim Irsay. What changed the culture? Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. Tony Dungy also helped.

What will change the culture here? The right coaches, the right talent, and winning. I disagree with Lombardi's assertion that culture creates winning. Winning often creates culture. The two do go hand-in-hand to some degree, but culture doesn't attach itself to an organization like some inescapable stench. The people in charge create the culture. McVay and co. will have a different culture than Fisher and co. Fisher and co. had a different culture than the people before them.

Each coach has a distinctive culture. If there's something to be learned from years of following the NFL, there isn't a successful or unsuccessful type of culture. It all depends on the people running the team and the talent. Pete Carroll lets the inmates run the asylum. Tom Coughlin was known for being a strict disciplinarian. Both guys have Super Bowl rings.

The Rams have sucked for such a long time because we have made a lot of bad organizational decisions, not because of culture.

Polian had a whole lot to do with that culture while Irsay was off taking opiates and Polian came from the Bills winning culture of the late '80's.

I wouldn't hold the Colts up as the proof of bullshit.....

John Shaw's imprint remains on this team and we are yet to see if Demoff rises above to be more than Kroenke's mouthpiece and money maker.

 

[Prime Time]

Best line...

Right now, McVay is like Axl Rose stepping off the bus in the “Welcome to the Jungle” video

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1tj2zJ2Wvg


This article states that culture creates winning but some coaches were failures with different franchises before they moved on and became successful, Belichick being a primary example.

Most college coaches who migrate to the NFL are failures. Did they change cultures when they came to the NFL? Not likely. Chip Kelly is the latest example.

http://www.csnphilly.com/philadelphia-eagles/how-culture-beats-scheme-became-eagles-motto

“Culture will beat scheme every day,” Eagles coach Chip Kelly remarked

Well that didn't work out for too long. Kelly's idea of "culture" was to micromanage players down to the food they were eating, how much they slept, and the music they listened to.

The best culture is created by continually winning. It is infectious. And how does a team continually win? By installing a system and drafting and signing players that fit within that system, not freak athletes with "potential.". By hiring coaches that are more interested in winning than in being pals with their players. By not overpaying players and by cutting players before they start going downhill.

Most importantly, firing a head coach and GM every 3 years and having the players you signed for the last system finding themselves having to adapt to a new head coach with a new system, again, is sure to end in failure. When a coach turns out be a bad fit, like Jeff Fisher, then get rid of him and try again. It happens. But if it happens too often, like with the Rams, then there's a problem with the decision makers. Crap rolls downhill.

Like in any business, the culture begins at the top and then spreads to the rest of the employees. I worked as a machinist for company for over 5 years. The first three years were good, then several supervisors were canned and replaced by incompetent micromanagers. The work environment suffered. The last year there were rumors that the company was for sale, which eventually happened, and the quality and quantity of the work steadily went downhill.

NFL teams are no different. People work better in a stable, successful culture/system. They prefer to be led by those who have vision and know how to implement it. Let us hope that Sean McVay has that winning vision, the ability to lead men, and the perseverance and guts to pick himself up during the tough times. Enthusiasm is a good quality to have but it's not enough to be successful in the NFL.

 

[Mackeyser]

Uhhhh.... thanks for sharing?

 

[Angry Ram]

What I really think he gets wrong is that it's clear that he hasn't followed this team since McVay got hired..

McVay is ALL ABOUT creating a mindful culture, everything from "We no Me" to having the John Gooden Pyramid of Success put up to create a functional organization structure.

Well so did Steve Spagnoulo, coming off team that he helped scheme to beat the then undefeated Patriots. He tried to implement a new culture, what with the whole four pillars thing. But oh no, people coughJimThomascough got butthurt over trivial things like pictures being taken down.

Jeff Fisher did the same thing. He was supposed to bring this "blood in the lip", physical type of play. And to a certain extent, he did just that. Injuries to his QB and never consistency at that spot led to his downfall more than anything IMO.

I don't really remember the Scott Linehan stuff. I was in high school and still in the armchair GM mentality. Blah he sucks, fire his ass now! That sort of thing.

I have nothing against Sean McVay, hope he succeeds. I don't doubt him for a second he can't creating a winning culture within the team. But with Stan and friends? Everything I've seen from them so far is from a branding and marketing standpoint. The new stadium is that in a nutshell. Why can't that complex JUST be a huge Ram-world? Instead, it's the multi-event complex for concerts and other events. The new Vikings stadium FEELS like you really are in enemy territory. The new Falcons stadium FEELS like you'll be in a nest with raptors. As much as people hate them, the Patriots have an awesome atmosphere with their Patriots place and all the 1770s era vibe. The Rams new place will feel like a huge advertising campaign.

What happens if the team goes through tough times again? Back to the blame game? Yeesh.

 

[Mackeyser]

Well so did Steve Spagnoulo, coming off team that he helped scheme to beat the then undefeated Patriots. He tried to implement a new culture, what with the whole four pillars thing. But oh no, people coughJimThomascough got butthurt over trivial things like pictures being taken down.

Jeff Fisher did the same thing. He was supposed to bring this "blood in the lip", physical type of play. And to a certain extent, he did just that. Injuries to his QB and never consistency at that spot led to his downfall more than anything IMO.

I don't really remember the Scott Linehan stuff. I was in high school and still in the armchair GM mentality. Blah he sucks, fire his ass now! That sort of thing.

I have nothing against Sean McVay, hope he succeeds. I don't doubt him for a second he can't creating a winning culture within the team. But with Stan and friends? Everything I've seen from them so far is from a branding and marketing standpoint. The new stadium is that in a nutshell. Why can't that complex JUST be a huge Ram-world? Instead, it's the multi-event complex for concerts and other events. The new Vikings stadium FEELS like you really are in enemy territory. The new Falcons stadium FEELS like you'll be in a nest with raptors. As much as people hate them, the Patriots have an awesome atmosphere with their Patriots place and all the 1770s era vibe. The Rams new place will feel like a huge advertising campaign.

What happens if the team goes through tough times again? Back to the blame game? Yeesh.

Well, I'm creating a distinction.

Spags and to an extent Fisher, made it about "their" vision rather than creating a common vision and enlisting the entire team into that vision.

I've built teams and the difference between McVay and everyone going back to Vermeil is STARK.

NO guarantees in life, but every single step taken thus far only further validates the initial impression that McVay is a coaching prodigy who gets it even at this early age.

 

[Faceplant]

If you want an example of why this is BS, look at the Colts. They are run by Jim Irsay, who is a buffoon. The Colts, in the 20 years before Peyton Manning, had 0 10+ win seasons, 5 winning seasons, and only 3 playoff appearances. In the 19 years after Manning was drafted (followed by Andrew Luck), the Colts have 14 winning seasons, 14 10+ win seasons, 14 playoff appearances, and only 3 losing seasons.

Jim Irsay is still Jim Irsay. What changed the culture? Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. Tony Dungy also helped.

What will change the culture here? The right coaches, the right talent, and winning. I disagree with Lombardi's assertion that culture creates winning. Winning often creates culture. The two do go hand-in-hand to some degree, but culture doesn't attach itself to an organization like some inescapable stench. The people in charge create the culture. McVay and co. will have a different culture than Fisher and co. Fisher and co. had a different culture than the people before them.

Each coach has a distinctive culture. If there's something to be learned from years of following the NFL, there isn't a successful or unsuccessful type of culture. It all depends on the people running the team and the talent. Pete Carroll lets the inmates run the asylum. Tom Coughlin was known for being a strict disciplinarian. Both guys have Super Bowl rings.

The Rams have sucked for such a long time because we have made a lot of bad organizational decisions, not because of culture.

Agree to a point, but I cannot discount how much the ownership and FO "culture" has affected this team over the last 35 or so years. Wasted talent, Wasted draft picks,etc. It can be a vicious cycle that starts at the top. The Browns, Lions and few others have toiled through year after year of misery with plenty of good coaches and talent in place, albeit not necessarily at the same time. Bottom line (for me) is that the NFL is so super hyper competitive, that you almost need the right owner/gm/COACHES and of course players to make a consistent run. Pittsburgh, Green Bay (CEO) and the Putriots are the gold standard. There is a reason why, IMO, and it is the culture that starts at the top. Yes, you can say they all have franchise QB, but they had the staff to choose them and the coaches to make them what they are.

 

[Prime Time]

I have no problem with the length of an article but instead with the perplexing inability of many to use paragraphs, which anyone who attended a journalism class should know. Throw in a few bold headlines and pics between paragraphs and now it becomes readable.

Most of the articles I post on here have been edited by yours truly because even I can't stand reading them the way they are.

_love, your official ROD Grammar Nazi

 

[jrry32]

Agree to a point, but I cannot discount how much the ownership and FO "culture" has affected this team over the last 35 or so years. Wasted talent, Wasted draft picks,etc. It can be a vicious cycle that starts at the top. The Browns, Lions and few others have toiled through year after year of misery with plenty of good coaches and talent in place, albeit not necessarily at the same time. Bottom line (for me) is that the NFL is so super hyper competitive, that you almost need the right owner/gm/COACHES and of course players to make a consistent run. Pittsburgh, Green Bay (CEO) and the Putriots are the gold standard. There is a reason why, IMO, and it is the culture that starts at the top. Yes, you can say they all have franchise QB, but they had the staff to choose them and the coaches to make them what they are.

Vince Lombardi left the Packers after 1967. Mike Holmgren joined in 1992. From 1968 to 1991, the Packers made the playoffs only TWICE. The Packers then go from Favre to Rodgers over the next two decades. The only miss the playoffs five times from 1992 to 2016.

How about the Patriots? They hired Bill Parcells in 1993. They joined the NFL in 1971. From 1971 to 1992, the Patriots made the playoffs only FIVE times.

The Steelers are in a league of their own. They run that team better than anyone else does. They just make great decision after great decision with the coaches they hire. Hat's off to them.

Why have the Browns and Lions toiled in losing for so long? Who was their last great QB? Who was their last great coach?

Yes, you can have bad ownership. That bad ownership can make bad decisions. But that's not culture. That's bad organizational decisions. Culture didn't stop us from winning during the 1980s or during the GSOT era. We had coaching and talent. If you have both, you'll have culture.

 

[Ram65]

Shaw was about money. He did great for Georgia. Demoff was about the move back to LA. I don't know about him and creating a culture. I have lost a little confidence and respect for him. He talks a good game so to speak. I assume he had a lot of input in the McVay hiring. McVay is changing the culture in a very positive way. McVay is a football historian. He studied and read the writings of the great coaches. He has listened to his grandfather the former Whinners GM during the Bill Walsh era. Stories are already coming out about the newly acquired leaders helping the young players. He is creating the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a winning football team.

GO RAMS!!!

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Not a fan of this kind of speculative writing. I'm not even sure he has any more than a very loose idea of what he means by "culture."

Having said that, if any coach is going to turn the "culture" around, I think it's McVay. Very impressed thus far; I think the Rams did fantastic in acquiring coaches.

 

[Afro Ram]

Bah. Culture is built through winning plain and simple. For whatever reason and there's hundreds of them apparently, the Rams just have not been a winning team in a very long time. It doesnt matter how it happens, find a way to win and this all goes away. Just win!

 

[Rambitious1]

Just because the last QUARTER CENTURY or so sucked, doesn't mean this staff/team will fail.

FIFY

 

[Angry Ram]

Well, I'm creating a distinction.

Spags and to an extent Fisher, made it about "their" vision rather than creating a common vision and enlisting the entire team into that vision.

I've built teams and the difference between McVay and everyone going back to Vermeil is STARK.

NO guarantees in life, but every single step taken thus far only further validates the initial impression that McVay is a coaching prodigy who gets it even at this early age.

Maybe I'm just naive, but I think every coach wants to make a team in their vision.

I mean, Four Pillars or We not Me, it's all the same sort of thing.


My second sentence was for the TL;DR folks.

 

[dieterbrock]

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

- Mike Tyson

 

[DaveFan'51]

Cleveland was bad before Michael Lombardi and still is. He's also been with the most successful coaches in NFL history.

Please enlighten me, where and just when was Michael Lombardi ever a Coach in the NFL!?!