I'm Al Saunders...Convince Me

[Bar-bq]

In a world of procrastination, prognostication, and Seven different Subs containing under Six Grams of fat (excluding cheese, I'm told) man is found to have many options. So boundless are these options that they seem to exist regardless of what a man may be doing, not doing, thinking about doing, or eating.

One of those men is Al Saunders. Saunders is presently weighing up his coaching options for 2008, after visiting both Oakland and St.Louis about vacancies in their respective coaching staffs. In Oakland, he has the possibilty of being hired for an unspecified role, and, word has it, he has been informally offered the Rams OC position for 2008.

Alternatively, he could also sit back and watch the money come in, as he is due by Dan Snyder for the termination of his contract in Washington.

So I'm Al Saunders. I want to know why St.Louis would be the best choice for me, over Oakland and a year's exile. What I want you to do is convince me to take Scott Linehan and the two-headed omnipotent being more widely known as Shawgmunt up on their offer. The ball's in your court...

[UtterBlitz]

Are there any other teams considering him as OC? If not, we have a good shot at hiring him. This move may be more about respect than money. Saunders has some positive history in St Louis to build off so he may be excited to come to the Rams.

[general counsel]

Excellent post.

Two reasons. First, you have plenty of talent at the skill positions and if you get healthy and a bit of help on the offensive line, all the tools are in place to have a top notch offense.

Second, linehan is on a very short leash and ownership may well change. If you resurrect the offense, you have a legit shot of at least being considered as a head coach.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[RAMFANRAIDERHATER]

If Al is considering the Rams vs. the Raiders, I'd simply say this;

Al Davis.

If that's not convincing enough, I'd say this; Al Davis?

But seriously, the skill level on offense is much greater in St. Louis and the players are familiar with his style of offense, so the transistion to a new system would be quick. And....... Al Davis?

[txramsfan]

John Shaw: "Al, you know that we have talent here but we just don't have adequate coaching to get us where we want to go."

Al Saunders: "Yea, I see Torry, Isaac, Marc and OP are still around, and that Jackson kid is a load. However, the rest of the talent on the O line is suspect."

John Shaw: "Barron will have a buzzer tied to his thigh and everytime he jumps offsides, give him a jolt. The current will be equivalent to an electric shock collar for Rotweilers."

Al Saunders: "Ok, that's good enough. Now, how am I supposed to deal with the Cream of Wheat HC Linehan?"

John Shaw: "Just appease him and by week 6 we'll be out of playoff contention anyway because he couldn't motivate a bunch of college frat boys visiting the Playboy Mansion. We'll then fire him and give you interim coach. Do well, and the job is yours in 2009".

Al Saunders: "Alright John, you've convinced me."

Or something like that.

[KoaKoi]

Originally Posted by general counsel

Excellent post.

Two reasons. First, you have plenty of talent at the skill positions and if you get healthy and a bit of help on the offensive line, all the tools are in place to have a top notch offense.

Second, linehan is on a very short leash and ownership may well change. If you resurrect the offense, you have a legit shot of at least being considered as a head coach.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

I think your spot on in your first rationalle, GC. That's what I immediately thought of. Raiders lost Moss and Porter has proven he can't be the #1 WR for the Raiders. Their RB core is also tenuous as Jordan is in the coach's doghouse; and Marcus spent the whole year negotiating his contract and rec'd very little field experience. Rams offense is the opposite and Bulger will be able to handle his entire playbook, where Russell might need more simplified calls.

But! to play devil's advocate.... your second rationalle has a problem and may not carry as much weight in this context, because I believe the same thing can be said of both teams. Lane Kiffin is in the same situation as Linehan (if not worse!) and a great OC year with the Raiders is just as likely to transition into a HC gig, as it great year with the Rams would.


Can I think of anything better than your second rationalle though? Not really...

I'm not sure St. Louis is geographically more desirable than the Bay area, so I would promote the Rams as an organization where Saunders can really set out his ideas and be listened to; whereas Oakland with Al Davis, is micro managed more and won't allow Saunders to have as much flexibility and organizational support to do his thing. Is this true? I don't know, but it sounds like a worthy point. There's also a divisional argument. Going Raiders means joining the weakest team in a strong AFC; whereas the Rams (while the weakest team in their division this past year) is in a division where the separation between the teams is much closer (ie. playoffs are a more attainable goal), and the Rams show much more capability of turning things around immediately, than the Raiders do. Plus he's got history wth the Rams, and the fans don't wear spikes or make personal threats if you have a bad game, lol.


Ok, I'm better at devil's advocate than coming up with my own, but hey, there it is.

[Tony Soprano]

.
The Raiders are a mess - there are some in the Oakland Media asking the NFL to intervene. The Raiders are no party and Saunders at 60 isn't going to take a job lesser than a coordinator's position.

[general counsel]

With the death of Georgia, al davis is clearly the most fossilized owner in the nfl. In fact, raider fans are in far worse shape than rams fans because despite the reality that al is no longer capable of running the day to day operations, he continues to make all the critical decisions that affect the current and future of the franchise. This is what we call in business "ignoring reality."

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[moloch41]

*Ring* *Ring*

Al: Hello, Al Saunders speaking.

Linny: Hey, Al, this is Linny

Al: Who?

Linny: Scott Linehan...Linny

Al: Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not interested in buying anything right now...

Linny: Huh?

Al: You're a telemarketer, right?

Linny: No, I'm coach of the St. Louis Rams

Al: Really? I've never heard of you

Linny: Oh, I fly under the radar here- it's great. That means I can't get fired.

Al: Yeah...ummmm...what can I do for you?

Linny: Now that you're no longer with Washington, I was wondering if you would be interested in interviewing for the offensive coordinator position here.

Al: Who was the offensive coordinator there last season?

Linny: That would be me

Al: How did you do?

Linny: Not so good, but luckily my boss fired the Offensive Line coach for it instead.

Al: Really? Didn't you have like a ton of offensive line injuries? Why did he get fired?

Linny: Who cares? I still have a job, right?

Al: I guess, but that kinda sounds like he was made a sacrifical lamb for something that wasn't his fault- who's to say the same won't happen to me if I go there?

Linny: Why does this all have to be about you?

Al: Huh?

Linny: What?

Al: huh?

Linny: So, you interested in coming in for an interview or what?

Al: I guess coming in for an interview wouldn't hurt- I can probably book a flight tonight and be on a plane tomorrow

Linny: Tommorrow? That's kind of fast, isn't it? I mean, it's the offseason- why do we have to rush? I'm in the middle of planting a garden right now

Al: Well, I just figured you'd be rushing to get someone in place before the Senior Bowl and NFL draft...that's not too far away and there's a ton of work involved...

Linny: Nah, I've been watching scouting tapes on tightends all weekend. There's a kid out of South Eastern Missouri State that can block like nobody's business. Well, actually, he wasn't a TE in college- he was more like the kicker, but he laid this block on this one play that was phenominal. He probably needs some polishing at the pro level, but I'm confident we can make it happen.

Al: How about all the other positions?

Linny: What other positions?

Al: Uh, nevermind. Okay, so when do you want to do this?

Linny: I was thinking the end of next week

Al: Okay, what day, so that I can check my schedule

Linny: You want a specific date? Now, why would you get all technical on me like that? I like to leave open dates on important stuff like that.

Al: I have to ask- do you really even want me?

Linny: Of course- didn't you read all the press clippings that our Public Relations guy fed to the media about that?

Al: I guess not. Okay, so are you going to call me or something? I've gotten several calls today from other teams expressing interest...

Linny: Such is life- if you're available, you're available. I'll hook up with you next week.

Al: Uh...okay...

Linny: Linny Out!!!

[39thebeast]

Um if we suck you can either retire here because you are from around here. Or you can maybe get a head coching job in your native land because the guy we have right now is a bum

[UtterBlitz]

Love it moloch41......

Let's hope Linny is not making the call to big Al.