Friday Notes from Bernie

[Nick]

A couple of things:

* Hiring a strong coaching staff is a priority for Shaw. His HC is going to have to be prepared to bring in good coaches, not lackeys. That's been a big part of the interview process: the subject of staffing. No more Marmies, no more K. Schottenheimers. From what I understand, Linehan is on board with that.

* Linehan has made a series of successful jumps -- was a WR coach at the college level, then a successful OC at Washington, then ran that terrific Louisville offense from 1999-2001....huge jump to the NFL, taking over as Minnesota's OC (2002-2004) and did great l... then off to Miami, where people said there wasn't much talent on offense ... well, he made it better than anyone expected in 2005. Win 9 games with Gus Frerotte? They went from 29th to 14th in yards.

--B

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On Martz:

He's prepared to sit out the year.

He will not accept an OC job this year.

--B

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Shaw's impressed with Linehan.
Zyggy is more of a Rivera guy...but likes Linehan, too.

--B

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Rivera is not the front-runner.

--B

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Shaw wants a balanced football team.

And it makes no sense whatsoever to hire a defensive coach if he can't put together an offensive staff that can maintain this offense.

--B

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Rivera is a little green, as well.
But he's got really strong personal skills -- comes across as a charismatic leader. That's his real plus at this point.

Shaw has done his homework on this.

He's received advice / input from some real NFL heavyweights.

--B

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* As I wrote earlier in the week, the Rams see a bunch of good DC candidates out there -- and a severe shortage of OC candidates -- and are concluding that the best formula is to hire a HC with a good offensive background and pair him to a defensive coordinator. The Rams could make a big run at Rod Marinelli as their DC to go with a Linehan or Cameron (hypothetical) as HC. Makes sense to me.

* What hurts Rivera is timing.... the chips are starting to fall, with coaches getting hired, and staffs getting put together. How long can they wait for Rivera? It depends on how much they like him. And they do, like him... but not sure about his plans for an offense in STL. This one is tricky.

--B

[RamJackson39]

If the Rams hire an OC to be the next HC, I will personally hunt down Shaw myself.

[tanus]

why? i will never understand why we have to have a defensive minded head coach. just because the head coach is an offensive guy doesnt mean he cant put together a strong defense. if thats your logic then you are saying the defensive guy wouldnt be able to put together a good offense.

if linehan has the better overall plan for the rams then so be it. his track record is pretty impressive. im willing to give him a shot.

[general counsel]

Could the 85 bears been a better defense with buddy ryan as the head coach? Answer NO. we need a better coach and better players on defense but it doesnt have to be the head coach. we arent going to win if we cant leverage our top gun offense. we are NOT a team that is going to win by converting our philosophy 180 degrees and running the ball up the middle 35 times a game and relying solely on defense. balance is the key.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[ramsbruce]

why? i will never understand why we have to have a defensive minded head coach. just because the head coach is an offensive guy doesnt mean he cant put together a strong defense. if thats your logic then you are saying the defensive guy wouldnt be able to put together a good offense.

Exactly, we should want the best candidate no matter if he's a DC or an OC.

[RamJackson39]

why? i will never understand why we have to have a defensive minded head coach. just because the head coach is an offensive guy doesnt mean he cant put together a strong defense. if thats your logic then you are saying the defensive guy wouldnt be able to put together a good offense.

Have you seen Linehan's offenses? Oh joy, Mike Martz city all over again. I want a guy that is finally committed to running the game. Maybe that's just me, but I want to see a drive that consists of mostly runs. Besides, Rivera is a young guy that really intrigues me. He comes from a great background and has done wonders with Chicago's defense, that has really led them to the playoffs.

For the most part, the best coaches in the league come from a defensive background.

[Nick]

I want a guy that is finally committed to running the game.

I'm not saying I prefer Linehan over Rivera, but in his four years as a professional football team's offensive coordinator, his offenses have an average rank of 8th rushing the ball. Furthermore, with Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown in Miami, Linehan also knows how to utilize a rushing attack that features two star backs.

[psycho9985]

I'm not saying I prefer Linehan over Rivera, but in his four years as a professional football team's offensive coordinator, his offenses have an average rank of 8th rushing the ball. Furthermore, with Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown in Miami, Linehan also knows how to utilize a rushing attack that features two star backs.

This is all fine and good.We have some good candidates for the position,but i'm still not holding my breath in anticipation on what Shaw will do.He still might make a lame brain choice like Brooks.

I wish the clan had some pull in this but we dont.all we can do is wait,and its agonizing.
Waiting is always the best move although I'm exasperated to no end with it,but the waiting may mean we're waiting for the playoff,or the SuperBowl to end.

[evil disco man]

In Linehan's first season as the Vikings' offensive coordinator, they led the NFL in team rushing yards. [also had the 8th most rushing attempts, 7th most in 2003, and 28th in 2004, when Culpepper had 39 passing TDs] All three years he was there, they averaged at least 4.7 yards per rush, including 5.3 in 2003. This year in Miami [who thought they'd be 9-7?], they dipped below at 4.3, but Ronnie and Ricky combined for over 1,600 yards rushing. His offense does feature deep-route passing, but he knows how to run the rock. The Rams haven't even come close to that average since 2001, when they were at 4.8 ypr.