Who's gonna pick the next HC?

[PressureD41]

Demoff was hired as VP of Football Operations in January of 2009, so he was tasked with getting the HC in place while simultaneously trying to flip them out of cap hell. The whole purge and laying of foundation was his doing. He got together with his Father (Marvin) about courting Fisher before he was even invited in to interview. Demoff wined and dined him a few times (I once made a video of the two rolling in Demoff's Mercedes with some Ice Cube background music) before he was invited to Stan's place to talk about whatever it is they spoke about. Then he was hired.

OH please could you post that video :yess:

 

[PressureD41]

Who? Stan just called me and said he'd take whatever recommendation I provided.

He also swore me to secrecy!


Kidding aside, whoever make this decision, it's H-U-G-E!

Screw this one up and that stadium may become the largest paper weight in the history of mankind.

 

[Boston Ram]

Do you believe there is offensive talent on the roster?

Enough to be middle of the pack IMO

 

[FRO]

It needs help but I do think there is some talent. Mainly the OL needs help. Fix that and I think everyone else looks much better than they have.

I would disagree. Britt has been the best offensive player this year hands down. On most good offenses he is a number 2 WR. The line has played horrible. I don't think the WE/TE group is very good. Gurley is an elite talent, but hasn't produced. I like Goff's ability, but outside of one half against the Saints he hasn't shown much either.

I think Goff and Gurley are two building blocks, outside of those two I don't see much of anything on the offensive side of the ball. This offense has been historically bad. To me that means it's not just coaching, it's coaching and talent. Both need major improvements.

 

[FRO]

Enough to be middle of the pack IMO

I disagree. I think the talent is bottom 25% of the league. I don't think it's 32nd with historically bad production, but I don't see a league average offense either.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

I honestly kind of hope Snead stays on but I don't know all of the behind the scene stuff.

The guy seems to be a good talent evaluater and also a good negotiator.

 

[OldSchool]

Demoff needs to hire Marshall Faulk as the spot between him and Snead. The mans football IQ is off the charts and he loves the team. Make him director of football operations. He'll hire the next coach and he'll work with Snead on the draft and free agency to fill out the roster.

 

[SteezyEndo]

Theres a rumor going around that Eric Dickerson decides who coaches this team, and if he doesn't approve of them he won't show up to the games.

 

[ljramsfan]

I have heard that Bill Polian is interested in getting back into the NFL .... any thoughts?

I wouldnt mind him as president and the Demoff leave every thing regarding the GM and coach alone

 

[FRO]

I wouldnt mind him as president and the Demoff leave every thing regarding the GM and coach alone

Demoff needs to be solely the cap guy when it comes to football operations. Maybe let him continue to run the non football operations or just demote him back to cap guy. This organization needs football guys running it. I'm not sure Faulk is the guy to do it. Smart players don't always make great front office guys (see Michael Jordan).

 

[jrry32]

I have heard that Bill Polian is interested in getting back into the NFL .... any thoughts?

No. His last few years in Indy were a disaster. Part of it was him giving his son, Chris, more and more control. Chris was not good at his job.(yay for nepotism)

 

[Rmfnlt]

^^^ THIS in a nutshell. They have to get this right or Stan is going to lose a TON of Jack. And with the Chargers making their return ... this could turn ugly for them if they don't make the right choice.

If I understand the Charger angle (admittedly, haven't paid that much attention)... the Chargers wold be a tenant in the new stadium? Do I have that right?

 

[Boston Ram]

I disagree. I think the talent is bottom 25% of the league. I don't think it's 32nd with historically bad production, but I don't see a league average offense either.

Agree to disagree, but I see a team with a top 10 RB who can score from anywhere....why no screens and why is he not more part of the passing game. 2, 6'3 WRs in which we dont take advantage of their height. Another guy in Austin who can score from anywhere on the field yet averages under 10 yards per catch. #1 overall QB who is not allowed to throw the ball more than 5 yards in the air.

An offensive line that has a 1st round pick, 2 2nds at 3rd and a 4th.

We have lots of room to improve, yes. I agree with you there. But the talent is better than the production and IMO this should be a top 20 offense. Play calling and attitude is what has been holding this team back. Even the players agree, they have been running a middle school offense all year. Although, earlier this year I called it a high school offense.

Give these guys some confidence and let them play, I bet they surprise you.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I was wondering that...

We don't know if Les Snead will survive as GM, but at least he's a football person.

If he doesn't survive, what other football people are in the building? That's an honest question.

Kevin Demoff is NOT a football person and should have zero say in football operations. I think something about this was mentioned on Skip and Shannon, but I haven't gotten on Youtube, yet.

So, if Les Snead isn't part of the decision, who is going to be at the vanguard in selecting the next Rams HC?

Or are the Rams going to pick a GM first? or perhaps hire them in tandem? And if in tandem, how does that work? How would the evaluation of the HC candidates work in that case?

The logistics of this process evades me.

I'm the pattern guy and this process is already starting out to be...problematic. Not saying the end product will be bad. Hopefully, it will be fantastic.

That said, this process can't be done in the same way as Demoff does business development.

It's football. It just isn't the same.

Seems that you are piggybacking off of Lombardi's suggestion. Is it really that hard? I guess if they are looking at some real unknowns and can strike gold but pretty much Harbaugh and Shanahan have to top the list. Demoff knows enough about football to understand that. Otherwise he can ask around. Teams ask around. They ask coaches and GMs and they ask former coaches and GMs. They get a short list and then make the final decision. At the time that Demoff hired Fisher it was a better choice than what was currently available. There was not much out there and Fisher could at least get the team to average and out of the dregs. Plus not many people wanted the job because it looked like a three and out situation that would only hurt their careers. I think Demoff will be just fine in vetting candidates and Lombardi, as usual, is just trying to look smarter than he is.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/12/14/los-angeles-rams-head-coach-job-search-nfl-mailbag

By Peter King

A note of caution as you attempt to divine what direction the Rams are going in their search for a new coach: Don’t be surprised if you’re surprised.

In 2012, the St. Louis Rams had a coach to hire after firing Steve Spagnuolo. The smart money was on Jeff Fisher, and Fisher, who ended up deciding Rams over Dolphins, was a common-sense pick. Fisher ended up coaching the Rams until Monday, when owner Stan Kroenke decided the embarrassment of a 4-9 season—capped by falling behind Atlanta 42-0 in Los Angeles on Sunday, with fans booing for much of the game—merited the firing of Fisher.

But early in the 2012 process, club COO Kevin Demoff, who ran that coaching search and will run this one, flew from St. Louis to Newark, rented a car and drove to central New Jersey to meet surreptitiously with Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. For hours Demoff debriefed Schiano, and he was careful to not fall too much in love with a coach no one had on the NFL radar.

But when he left Schiano that night, Demoff was convinced he had the stuff to be hired as an NFL coach. The Rams did get their number one choice, Fisher, on Jan. 17, 2012. But had Fisher said no, it’s very possible Schiano would have been the Rams’ pick. Turns out the secret didn’t stay secret for long: Tampa Bay, where Demoff had worked for four seasons before the Rams, hired Schiano exactly one week after the Rams got Fisher.

In the first 48 hours of the coach search, the usual suspects have been proffered: Jon Gruden, Jim Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, David Shaw, Josh McDaniels, Kyle Shanahan. To which I say:

• On Gruden: I’m not hiring a coach who’s been out of the game for eight seasons, no matter how close he’s stayed to the game. And his track record of developing quarterbacks when he was in the NFL wasn’t good anyway.

• On Harbaugh: He denied interest in the job on Tuesday. He’s not leaving Michigan after two years, I’m told.

• On Carroll: He denied interest in the job on Tuesday. The lure of L.A. would be sorely tempting to him, certainly. But the Seahawks would have to sign off on a trade within the division for a coach who embodies the personality of their team.

I think, barring a ridiculous trade (the Raiders got two first-round picks and two second-rounders from Tampa for Gruden in 1998), there’s no way Seahawks owner Paul Allen would agree to it. Reminds me of the reaction of GM Ted Thompson in 2008 when Brett Favre wanted to be released so he could play for archrival Minnesota, which was basically, Are you crazy?

• On Shaw: I asked him about a move to the pros last week for a future “The MMQB Podcast with Peter King” episode, and the Stanford coach said, basically, that one day way down the road he may be interested, but not now. He made a great point: College coaches with great jobs go to the NFL, to downtrodden teams, and then get in what he called “the spin cycle” of the pros.

Two years of losing, maybe three, and they’re out … and struggling to find a good job. Schiano, for example, lasted two years in Tampa and was out of major coaching for three years, until he found the defensive coordinator job at Ohio State.

• On McDaniels and Shanahan: Interesting. Very interesting. Both men will be NFL head coaches, and soon, if they want. The Rams should talk to both. The most important thing for the Rams, I believe, is finding a coach who likes Jared Goff and can make him better.

Now, as for the Schiano Surprise Element …

Keep these names in mind for the unsung college guys who just might come out of nowhere: Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, who is popular in the eyes of some in the NFL for his development of Dak Prescott and is well-liked by NFL people who pass through Starkville

… Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst, who had Russell Wilson for his last college season and whom Wilson loved and credits for some of his development. Quiet guy, but a good coach …

Now here’s an interesting name: Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre. He’s been a career defensive coach, but he has two things going for him: He turned around downtrodden programs at San Jose State and now Colorado; and he coached under Bill Parcells in Dallas.

This is a coaching search that I bet will take some odd turns before it’s over.

Finally: There’s the question of whether the Rams will keep GM Les Snead. It’s more likely they won’t, but never say never if a coach they like is a Snead admirer. This GM job, if it opens, will be strongly sought-after, because the owner has bottomless pockets, it’s in L.A., and it’s got one of the best young players in the league in Aaron Donald, and has cap room (roughly $41 million in 2017) to build. And it’s in L.A. Did I mention that?

I wouldn’t put it past a new GM to deal Goff if he and the new coach are lukewarm on him. But that’s a long shot, obviously. The Rams have a lot to do. The good news for them? The one other job that will come open (Jacksonville) and the others that might (Buffalo, San Diego, Indianapolis) aren’t nearly as attractive, and only one, the Colts, has a long-term quarterback.

 

[Lesson]

Seems that you are piggybacking off of Lombardi's suggestion. Is it really that hard? I guess if they are looking at some real unknowns and can strike gold but pretty much Harbaugh and Shanahan have to top the list. Demoff knows enough about football to understand that. Otherwise he can ask around. Teams ask around. They ask coaches and GMs and they ask former coaches and GMs. They get a short list and then make the final decision. At the time that Demoff hired Fisher it was a better choice than what was currently available. There was not much out there and Fisher could at least get the team to average and out of the dregs. Plus not many people wanted the job because it looked like a three and out situation that would only hurt their careers. I think Demoff will be just fine in vetting candidates and Lombardi, as usual, is just trying to look smarter than he is.

I disagree about "not many people wanted the job". At the time, Bradford was a 2nd year QB and the Rams were going to have the 2nd overall pick. Additionally, there was no GM in place, meaning that the HC could potentially have had greater say on personnel to go along with the division still being relatively weak at the time.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I disagree about "not many people wanted the job". At the time, Bradford was a 2nd year QB and the Rams were going to have the 2nd overall pick. Additionally, there was no GM in place, meaning that the HC could potentially have had greater say on personnel to go along with the division still being relatively weak at the time.

I think you are wrong. Do you recall just how crappy the roster was? Many have the mindset that if you can't turn it around in 3 years then your fired. That is how much of the NFL works. It's career suicide if you want to be a head coach. Fisher didn't care. He was a veteran coach. He wanted control of personnel and he liked having the QB in place. It was low risk for him at that point. I don't recall anyone lining up to take over a team that won 5 games over 5 years.

 

[Lesson]

I think you are wrong. Do you recall just how crappy the roster was? Many have the mindset that if you can't turn it around in 3 years then your fired. That is how much of the NFL works. It's career suicide if you want to be a head coach. Fisher didn't care. He was a veteran coach. He wanted control of personnel and he liked having the QB in place. It was low risk for him at that point. I don't recall anyone lining up to take over a team that won 5 games over 5 years.

At the time Fisher took over, the team currently had these players in place who were going into their 5th year or less.

Offense:
Bradford
Amendola
Kendricks
Saffold

Defense:
Laurinaitis
Long
Quinn
Stewart

I didn't say the situation anything about the situation Spags inherited in '09. That situation was much, much, much less desirable. That team had to be gutted and was in cap hell to go along with Bulger being a shell of himself.

Additionally, don't forget Fisher chose the Rams over the Dolphins. Kroenke, in part, is a huge reason why, IMO, he did. Bud Adams was a meddling owner with football operations. Kroenke isn't. To go along with, Bradford was a main reason why he chose the Rams.

Having Goff, Gurley, and Donald in place to go along with having an owner who is hands off will make LA desirable, IMO. This team is more talented than either of the ones Spags or Fisher inherited.

 

[Rmfnlt]

Paul Chryst

If it's a miracle we're looking for, maybe this is our guy!

 

[Merlin]

Say they first interview Norv Turner. And word is they loved his presentation. That will say tons about where the decision makers envision the franchise going.

If they interview Turner, let alone first, my head is going to effin explode. He's old, he's a mediocre head coach at best, and he QUIT. He will not get an interview, and he does not deserve one for this job. Rams doing that tells me we are doomed.