Linehan hires most of his Rams staff

[RamWraith]

By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/06/2006
Rams Venturi
Rick Venturi has been hired as the Rams' assistant head coach/linebackers.


Scott Linehan, new Rams head coach, became Scott Linehan, party host, Sunday at Rams Park. He invited his staff, which is all but complete now, to gather for snacks and to watch the Super Bowl.

"It was pretty low-key; it wasn't much of a party," Linehan said. "But it was nice to be able to watch the game and get to know each other a little bit."

On Monday, the team announced 10 assistant-coach appointments, although most already had been reported.

Previously, Linehan had named former New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett as defensive coordinator and Greg Olson, the Detroit Lions' quarterbacks coach, as offensive coordinator.

With their input, Linehan filled the remaining positions.

Confirmed on Monday as assistant head coach/linebackers was Rick Venturi, who spent the past four seasons as the Saints' defensive coordinator under Haslett. Venturi will be entering his 25th NFL season.

Venturi replaces Joe Vitt, who coincidentally has been named assistant head coach/linebackers under new Saints head coach Sean Payton.

Other confirmations were Paul Boudreau (offensive line coach), Willy Robinson (secondary coach), Doug Nussmeier (quarterbacks coach), Judd Garrett (tight ends coach) and Randy Hanson (quality control/offense).

Also, Bob Ligashesky was retained as special-teams coach.

Newly named assistants were Nick Holt (defensive line coach), Ron Milus (assistant secondary coach) and Wayne Moses (running backs coach).

Linehan said he still plans to hire a quality control coach for defense, and also might add offensive line and/or special-teams assistants.

But the core of the staff is in place some 2 1/2 weeks after Linehan was named as Mike Martz's successor.

Linehan, who never has been a head coach at any level, said he was relieved to have his assistant coaches lined up, calling the process "a chore. You don't just hurry up and hire a staff; you've got to hire the best staff for the job as you see it.

"There are a lot of things that factor into it. There's got to be a mix between guys similar to you, guys that are different, guys that are strong in certain areas vs. having too many that are strong in one area. I spent a lot of time thinking about that."

Several of the new assistants have worked with Linehan.

"That helps," he said. "You don't really want to go too much on word of mouth. Even though guys might be impressive in interviews and there are guys who recommend guys, I like to (look at) guys I've worked with who I know that No. 1, they're competent, and No. 2, they get along and do a good job of mixing in with the staff."

Holt, who will be working in the NFL for the first time, was head coach at the University of Idaho the last two seasons.

He was Idaho's defensive line coach in 1992 and '93, when Linehan - who played quarterback at Idaho - was the Vandals' offensive coordinator.

They also worked together at Louisville.

Holt, 42, has served on staffs at Southern California and Nevada-Las Vegas, too.

"When I was with him, he was always a defensive line coach." Linehan said. "But he was Pete Carroll's linebacker coach for the first three years of putting in the system at USC. ... I think a whole lot of Nick as a defensive coach."

Milus (pronounced MY-luss), spent the previous two seasons as the New York Giants' secondary coach. He also has been an assistant with the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos.

Milus, 42, and Linehan were on the same staff at the University of Washington in the mid-1990s.

Like Holt, Moses will be a full-time coach in the NFL for the first time.

He was Stanford's running backs coach in 2002-03 and '05. Moses, 51, coached at Washington with Linehan and Milus. Moses also was an assistant at USC, UCLA, California, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, North Carolina State, Rutgers and Bowling Green.

Ligashesky joins wide receivers coach Henry Ellard and strength and conditioning coach Dana LeDuc as holdovers from Martz's staff.

Ligashesky, 43, came to the Rams last season after serving as a special-teams assistant with Jacksonville in 2004.

He coached collegiately at Pittsburgh, Bowling Green, Kent State, Arizona State and Wake Forest.

Ligashesky "blew me away" during his interview, Linehan said. "I loved his passion and his energy, and my gut just tells me this guy's got what it takes. I really believed he deserved another opportunity."

Nine other members of Martz's staff have found jobs with other NFL teams. Several others, most notably defensive coordinator Larry Marmie, have yet to land new positions.

[1st & Goal]

Doug Nussmeier (quarterbacks coach), Looking at the time line for experience, he should have been the QB coach for Smoker. This could provide an opportunity for Smoker to regain his standing with the team. Not sure what direction the team will go for the back up QB. Smoker and Fitz, offer a lot of upside, but lack the experience to lead the team, if Bulger goes down.

[general counsel]

Gus Ferrote. He knows the system, he isnt terrible.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[OldRamsfan]

This should be very interesting , Isure hope things turn out the way they appear...

[CanadianRam!]

Is it safe to hire so many saints coaches, espcially on the defensive side...i mean yeah they are familiar with haslett, but what have the saints done lately?

[RAM-BO]

I say pick up Matt Schaub from Atlanta. A great backup QB, throws much better than Vick.

[shortman1984]

I say pick up Matt Schaub from Atlanta. A great backup QB, throws much better than Vick.

You are wrong. Schaub is a Starter, not a back up. I think he should be the starter at Atlanta,. but hey what do i know..lol.

[HUbison]

I say pick up Matt Schaub from Atlanta. A great backup QB, throws much better than Vick.

Schaub is a solid QB and should be starting, but he is not a FA. And surely our FO won't try to deal for him. However, Garcia is a FA who may follow Olsen and be a workable back-up should (God forbid) Bulger spend time on the injury list.