La Canfora: Rams to pursue Fisher, young GM

[Bar-bq]

This is interesting! I haven't heard much of any of the GM candidates La Canfora lists, but it does confirm our earlier suspicions that if hired, Fisher would be involved in the GM search.

The St. Louis Rams hope to hire former Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher along with a young general manager, league sources said Monday.

Fisher has been atop the Rams' head-coach wish list for some time as a replacement for Steve Spagnuolo, who was fired, along with GM Billy Devaney, on Monday.

Several league sources indicate the Rams have compiled a list of general manager candidates that includes up-and-coming personnel names, with the goal being to hire Fisher, have him participate in the interviewing process of the general manager and form a tandem that would satisfy the veteran coach.

According to the sources, Atlanta's Les Snead, Kansas City's Ray Farmer, Seattle's Will Lewis and Tennessee's Lake Dawson are among the top candidates for the position, with Dawson having worked with Fisher when he was coach of the Titans. Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff is involved in the process with owner Stan Kroenke and has been helping to put together candidates.

Demoff's father, Marvin, is Fisher's longtime agent. Snead also is on the short list for the Oakland Raiders' general manager opening, along with Green Bay's Reggie McKenzie, Baltimore's Eric DeCosta and San Francisco's Tom Gamble.

[fliptalianstallion]

The potential flaw to hiring a young GM along with Fisher is that Fisher might get too much power. If it results in wins however, who am I to complain. I just hope the GM doesn't make horrible drafts and roster choices.

[dgr828]

Shouldn't be the other way around, hire a GM and have him look for canidates for HC?

[Fettmaster]

Shouldn't be the other way around, hire a GM and have him look for canidates for HC?

That's what I thought too?

[Bald_81]

The potential flaw to hiring a young GM along with Fisher is that Fisher might get too much power. If it results in wins however, who am I to complain. I just hope the GM doesn't make horrible drafts and roster choices.

This is what I'm terrified about as well. We are all aware of the horror stories concerning Scott Linehan and Josh McDaniels, who both carried too much power when the draft rolled around. If Fisher comes into the fold first, would he be willing to relinquish all veto power to the GM and trust the scouts in April? That's what I hope for. But like you said, if wins and championships are the result then I couldn't be bothered to care.

[Rambos]

There is a short list of experienced head coaches like Fisher... They are going to have to move fast if they want him... From what I heard today the Rams want to get long term stability. I would not be surprised if Fisher gets an offer of 7 year deal... Seems like the Rams want an experienced head coach and a younger GM. Fisher would have a lot of control as I would assume any of the other big named HC would want. So I'm not surprised they would hirer Fisher first.

[MoonJoe]

I never really thought too much about what a "General Manager" in NFL did, so I went to the expert in all things, the world wide web and this is what Wikipedia says for the GM's basic duties.

In most professional sports, the general manager is a team executive responsible for acquiring the rights to player personnel, negotiating their contracts, and reassigning or dismissing players no longer desired on the team. The general manager may also have responsibility for hiring the head coach of the team.

General managers are usually responsible for the selection of players in player drafts and work with the coaching staff and scouts to build a strong team.

Some of the most successful sports general managers have been former players and coaches, while others have backgrounds in ownership and business management.

So I think the individual must be business savvy, understand the game and needs of the team itself and be able to manage the scouts and work with the ownership and coaching staff as well. Under those requirements for the Rams and where they stand, I would look for someone with a lot of successful past experience as well as strong people skills. The critical decision for Stan would be to establish before the start of the new regime is who has the final vote, GM or the head coach. Otherwise, we may end up right back where we started.

(I just realized I just described myself, anyone know where I can submit my resume? )

[Fortuninerhater]

Shouldn't be the other way around, hire a GM and have him look for canidates for HC?

Yeah, how many of us would love to walk into the office tomorrow and tell our boss he's been fired? "Sorry pal you're just not cuttin' it, I think we're gonna give Dave a try." Lol.

[richtree]

looking at Kansas City's Ray Farmer would be my first choice of these.....

[Goldenfleece]

Forget a young GM. I'd say priority A1 should be to try to get Polian to come here. The 2011 season notwithstanding, he has had a lot of success in this league.