Breaking News: Spagnuolo, Devaney both fired.

[lostsoul]

Polian was just let go per ESPN.

[svh01]

No more Steve Loney as OL coach is a plus too. McD I was rather ambivalent about, but oh well. Once Norv Turner gets sacked in SD, wouldn't mind seeing him as new OC for the Rams. We may not have a new regime in place in time for that, though.

I think he could be a great fit at OC, but I hope that we don't look at him as a HC candidate!

[shower beers]

Rams have Dahl on the OL and that's it. Brown lost his job to career journeyman Wragge and didn't look good at all at LG. Saffold played very poorly before getting injured. Smith was twice benched for Adam Goldberg before getting injured. Bell was his usual mediocre self at G and is UFA finally. Rams' OL is one of the worst performing yet most expensive in football right now.

Almost all of Devaney's failings can be directly traced to the OL, from draft picks and huge contracts of Smith and Saffold to even bigger UFA contracts given to busts Brown and Bell. He remade the entire OL and what is left is Harvey Dahl, some humongous contracts, and a lot of holes, questions and cap-hits.

I also don't see two great DL. We have a stellar DE in Long and a guy with really good upside in Quinn who has a ways to go to be a starter at this point. That's not great. The DT's and OLB's are just as bad as pre-Devaney/Spags and add up the worst rushing defense in the NFL.

Agree with you that our o-line isn't where it should be, given the resources we put into it. I would consider the output a failure, as it was easily the biggest priority of the staff. But to say Dahl is the only retainable member of the line seems a bit foolish. It was only a year ago that we were praising the Saffold pick, and while he certainly regressed this year, it isn't unreasonable to think he can return to his prior form. He's only two seasons into a long career. I would consider the line above average and salvageable in the right environment. I'm not sure if Jason Brown will be included in that unit next year. It seemed very strange, the situation that unfolded with him.

Regarding the Defensive Ends, it's hard to fail to see that these guys are going to be good together. Long had 13 sacks, and Quinn is certainly on his way to being a great player. Multiple blocked punts and 5 sacks as a rotational player coming from a year off of football not a good enough rookie campaign for you? That's more sacks than Mr. Long's rookie year who started all 16 games. Quinn had 1 official start this year. Seeing the way he exploded into the backfield this year was exciting to watch. We haven't had someone with such raw skill and athleticism in a while.

The Dts and OLBs I didn't mention, and for good reason. They failed, plain and simple. I wouldn't be surprised if Robbins is out of the league next year. Both OLB pickups were a big miss, in my opinion.

We need to remember what we did before this year. There are dozens of reasons why this season was lost, and consider a huge failure. But it's not the only way we can play. We were a good team a year ago, and we still are. That said, we still have a long way to go, but let's not declare everyone on the team a bust just yet.

[Goldenfleece]

More news:

SoftliSTL Tony Softli



League and Ram sources say it was a clean sweep at Rams Park including the assistant coaches and strength coach as well.

But the question on everyone's mind is: What about the equipment manager?

[bradwill]

Polian was just let go per ESPN.

Bill Polian has an amazing track record with the Bills, Panthers and the Colts(up to the disaster this year). Stan could do a lot worse than this guy running football operations.

[denverram]

Not sure how I feel about this. I like Spags but he was not getting it done. The O-line is a disaster. Interior D-line is a disaster as well. In football, if my big fat guys beat your big fat guys I win. If your big fat guys beat my big fat guys I lose. Skill guys are only a factor if they have the ball in a position to use there skill. The biggest failure of this organization for years has been the trenches.

That being said I watched Josh McDaniels destroy team in Denver with his arrogance and "my way or the highway" approach. I almost cried when he was hired. As much as I liked Spags, J McD was a mistake. His offense has no plan just calling random plays. Not using Steven Jackson against Seattle and in Goal line inside the 2 situations is just stupid. 1st down Steven Jackson, 2nd down Steven Jackson, 3rd down Steven Jackson, then Kick a field goal. Now I am a better offensive coordinator than Josh.

Good Riddance to Josh, I hope he gets a job in San Fran.

[GROUND DOG 39]

Can anyone tell me what is happening with Josh McDaniels.?

[bradwill]

Can anyone tell me what is happening with Josh McDaniels.?

According to Softli, all assistant coaches including the Lack of Strength Coach were also fired at the same time. I'd like further confirmation because I haven't seen that anywhere else yet.

[GROUND DOG 39]

According to Softli, all assistant coaches including the Lack of Strength Coach were also fired at the same time. I'd like further confirmation because I haven't seen that anywhere else yet.

Just read about something about him. McD is still under contract to the Rams, at this moment in time anyway.? Interesting stuff.

[BIG-BLUE]

As most believed here I too was convinced that DeSpags was the right combo for the Rams to get back to a competitive franchise. It's a real shame it didn't work out as planned & I wish Spags & Devaney nothing but the best. Moving forward I'm very happy that we cleaned house so the new regime starts fresh & hopefully stabilizes this franchise for years to come, who ever that might be.

[Sammy Ocho Bradford]

I feel bad for Spags, because I don't think the debacle THIS season was his fault.

The roster at its best is mediocre with talent, and lacks depth. We been pointing at depth issues for years, as a result they were decimiated with injuries and incapable of covering adequately.

As for the GM?

I liked the Bradford draft, but the recent draft raised question marks for me with the selections. We had a QB who appeared to be ahead of schedule, yet we decided to surround him with project skill players in the later rounds. In addition to the fact we should have looked for other needs. With what we see the elite organizations doing in recent years, the draft strategy did not seem good imo.

Free Agency? They overestimated how good they were, but thankfully they went for one and done contracts.

The draft is up for debate of course, we'll know in a couple seasons as I hope they all pan out.

[RockinRam]

I would only keep McDaniels if:

1) He is compatible with the new HC.

2) We hire a QB coach.

3) We get the necessary talent that this offensive scheme needs to succeed.

[Fettmaster]

I would only keep McDaniels if:

1) He is compatible with the new HC.

2) We hire a QB coach.

3) We get the necessary talent that this offensive scheme needs to succeed.

4) Nobody listens to his personnel requests. Nobody!

[THOLTFAN81]

Jeff Fisher as HC
Bill Polian as GM


...Wait this is the Rams were talking about? Want to talk about an A list front office... And theres rumors that Greg Williams is going where Fisher goes because his contract is up at the end of the season, and him and Fish are old chums.

[Sammy Ocho Bradford]

Jeff Fisher as HC
Bill Polian as GM


...Wait this is the Rams were talking about? Want to talk about an A list front office... And theres rumors that Greg Williams is going where Fisher goes because his contract is up at the end of the season, and him and Fish are old chums.

I believe they were the the HC and DC duo that lead the titans to their Superbowl, Williams has been successful at all his coordinator stops as well, Redskins + Saints. His lone short coming was in Buffalo, but after all their failures in the last decade, I'd pin it on a poor organization.