- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 35,576
- Name
- The Dude
Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... z1mVsIWWFE
[wrapimg=left]http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/b4/bb476f70-57ec-11e1-8e48-0019bb30f31a/4f3bd42fa0478.preview-300.jpg[/wrapimg]It would be a stretch to say Les Snead was born to evaluate, select and acquire professional football players. Then again, it's been on his mind since he was a kid.
"I grew up in a small town in Alabama," Snead said. "I used to skip school back when the draft was held on a weekday, on a Monday. I would skip school to watch the draft."
He'd put together his own mock drafts. It was child's play.
But it isn't a game anymore. It's his job. Snead, 41, a native of Eufaula, Ala., and former Auburn tight end, was formally introduced Tuesday as the Rams' new general manager. It's his job to help resurrect a Rams team handicapped by poor player selection — via the draft or in free agency — for far too long. You don't lose 65 of 80 games over a five-year stretch, miss the playoffs for seven consecutive years, or go eight years without a winning record by accident.
It takes years of neglect, poor decisions and bad luck to be that consistently unsuccessful. Snead, flanked Tuesday by coach Jeff Fisher and executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff in the team auditorium at Rams Park, will try to get it right.
"This is a three-man team now, and we're looking forward to it," Fisher said. "There's no doubt in anybody's mind that this is a partnership, and we're gonna move forward. We're going to make the right decisions; we're going to make the correct decisions in all aspects of this roster."
In the partnership's most common form, Snead will identify and evaluate prospective talent, Demoff will sign it, and Fisher will coach it. But when it comes time to pull the trigger on a free agent, or turn in the card on draft day, where does the buck stop? Who has final say?
"We don't anticipate differences of opinion," Fisher said. "But in the event that there are, we will move on to the next player. It will be a consensus. As we said, it's a partnership."
If the Fisher-Snead-Demoff troika can't agree on whether to take a particular player, they just won't take him. However, Fisher said he doesn't see it ever being that way on draft day. Any arguments or debate will take place well before draft day.
"The work will be done prior to the draft," Fisher said. "The time that we'll be spending collectively together is enormous right now. And I would say a week before we're ready to pick, we will have made all our decisions."
Snead knew of Fisher, but didn't know him personally, before the GM-hiring process in St. Louis. But much of Snead's 17-year career working as a scout or personnel executive in the NFL has been about transition, adjustment, new coaches and new regimes.
One of the things he does best is adjust to change and work well with others. It may sound simple, but anyone familiar with past front office dysfunction at Rams Park dating to the days of Jay Zygmunt and Mike Martz, realizes getting along and working together is often easier said than done. With the Atlanta Falcons, Snead survived and thrived through four head coaches and frequent front-office shakeups, as well as the trauma of seeing a franchise quarterback (Michael Vick) getting hauled off to prison.
"There's a show called 'Survivor,' and I've always said I could go there and win it easily," Snead said. "If you read a book, one of my favorites — Who Moved My Cheese? — life is about change. Life is about adjusting."
He has taken good and bad out of the ups-and-downs in Atlanta as the Rams are the cusp of the critical player procurement process. It starts in full force with next week's NFL scouting combine, followed by free agency, pro days, private workouts — all the way up to the draft April 26-28.
Snead's experience helped attract him to the Rams. With Atlanta, he was part of:
• Last year's bold, blockbuster draft trade in which the Falcons moved up from No. 27 in the first round to No. 6 overall to land Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones.
• The 2009 trade for future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez.
• One of the league's most effective free-agent signings in recent years, getting running back Michael Turner from San Diego.
• The selection of a No. 1 overall pick in 2001 (Vick).
• Unprecedented recent success in franchise history with four straight winning seasons and three playoff berths in the past four years.
"When you sit down and talk to him, you come away saying, 'This is not your average scout in the NFL,' " Demoff said. "Les Snead was the first call we made regarding a general manager, and the last call we made regarding our general manager position."
In a talented Rams candidate field in which three prospects became general managers and three others received promotions, Demoff said, "We got the best guy out of the group."
Now, it's time for Snead to show that Demoff was right in that assessment.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... z1mVsIWWFE
[wrapimg=left]http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/b4/bb476f70-57ec-11e1-8e48-0019bb30f31a/4f3bd42fa0478.preview-300.jpg[/wrapimg]It would be a stretch to say Les Snead was born to evaluate, select and acquire professional football players. Then again, it's been on his mind since he was a kid.
"I grew up in a small town in Alabama," Snead said. "I used to skip school back when the draft was held on a weekday, on a Monday. I would skip school to watch the draft."
He'd put together his own mock drafts. It was child's play.
But it isn't a game anymore. It's his job. Snead, 41, a native of Eufaula, Ala., and former Auburn tight end, was formally introduced Tuesday as the Rams' new general manager. It's his job to help resurrect a Rams team handicapped by poor player selection — via the draft or in free agency — for far too long. You don't lose 65 of 80 games over a five-year stretch, miss the playoffs for seven consecutive years, or go eight years without a winning record by accident.
It takes years of neglect, poor decisions and bad luck to be that consistently unsuccessful. Snead, flanked Tuesday by coach Jeff Fisher and executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff in the team auditorium at Rams Park, will try to get it right.
"This is a three-man team now, and we're looking forward to it," Fisher said. "There's no doubt in anybody's mind that this is a partnership, and we're gonna move forward. We're going to make the right decisions; we're going to make the correct decisions in all aspects of this roster."
In the partnership's most common form, Snead will identify and evaluate prospective talent, Demoff will sign it, and Fisher will coach it. But when it comes time to pull the trigger on a free agent, or turn in the card on draft day, where does the buck stop? Who has final say?
"We don't anticipate differences of opinion," Fisher said. "But in the event that there are, we will move on to the next player. It will be a consensus. As we said, it's a partnership."
If the Fisher-Snead-Demoff troika can't agree on whether to take a particular player, they just won't take him. However, Fisher said he doesn't see it ever being that way on draft day. Any arguments or debate will take place well before draft day.
"The work will be done prior to the draft," Fisher said. "The time that we'll be spending collectively together is enormous right now. And I would say a week before we're ready to pick, we will have made all our decisions."
Snead knew of Fisher, but didn't know him personally, before the GM-hiring process in St. Louis. But much of Snead's 17-year career working as a scout or personnel executive in the NFL has been about transition, adjustment, new coaches and new regimes.
One of the things he does best is adjust to change and work well with others. It may sound simple, but anyone familiar with past front office dysfunction at Rams Park dating to the days of Jay Zygmunt and Mike Martz, realizes getting along and working together is often easier said than done. With the Atlanta Falcons, Snead survived and thrived through four head coaches and frequent front-office shakeups, as well as the trauma of seeing a franchise quarterback (Michael Vick) getting hauled off to prison.
"There's a show called 'Survivor,' and I've always said I could go there and win it easily," Snead said. "If you read a book, one of my favorites — Who Moved My Cheese? — life is about change. Life is about adjusting."
He has taken good and bad out of the ups-and-downs in Atlanta as the Rams are the cusp of the critical player procurement process. It starts in full force with next week's NFL scouting combine, followed by free agency, pro days, private workouts — all the way up to the draft April 26-28.
Snead's experience helped attract him to the Rams. With Atlanta, he was part of:
• Last year's bold, blockbuster draft trade in which the Falcons moved up from No. 27 in the first round to No. 6 overall to land Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones.
• The 2009 trade for future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez.
• One of the league's most effective free-agent signings in recent years, getting running back Michael Turner from San Diego.
• The selection of a No. 1 overall pick in 2001 (Vick).
• Unprecedented recent success in franchise history with four straight winning seasons and three playoff berths in the past four years.
"When you sit down and talk to him, you come away saying, 'This is not your average scout in the NFL,' " Demoff said. "Les Snead was the first call we made regarding a general manager, and the last call we made regarding our general manager position."
In a talented Rams candidate field in which three prospects became general managers and three others received promotions, Demoff said, "We got the best guy out of the group."
Now, it's time for Snead to show that Demoff was right in that assessment.