Rams fire Blake Williams

[shower beers]

Per profootball talk:

Blake Williams, the Rams linebackers coach who took over many of the defensive coordinator responsibilities after his dad was banned from the NFL last offseason, has been fired.Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports that Williams is out in St. Louis. Gregg Williams, who is still serving an indefinite suspension from the NFL for orchestrating the Saints’ bounty program, is also not expected to re-join the Rams even if he gets reinstated.

When Jeff Fisher became head coach of the Rams last year, one of his first moves was to hire Gregg Williams as his defensive coordinator, and Williams in turn brought Blake along. After Gregg was suspended, Fisher gave many of Gregg’s responsibilities to the 27-year-old Blake, making him one of the youngest assistant coaches ever to handle play calling in the NFL.

Blake is now looking for work elsewhere, and if he finds work before his dad is reinstated, it will be the first time he has ever had a coaching job that his dad didn’t get him: Blake Williams previously worked for the Redskins, Jaguars and Saints, and his dad was the defensive coordinator at the time he was hired in all of those three stops as well.

[shower beers]

A bit of a head scratcher to me, as our unit seemed to improve tremendously from last year. I guess we can count Greg out also.

[laram0]

Firing Blake is a sure sign that Greg is done as well!

[AvengerRam]

Firing Blake is a sure sign that Greg is done as well!

[mde8352gorams]

....Which poses the interesting question, who will be our defensive coordinator next season. I personally think it will be someone who is with the team now. Our defensive talent is young and has been groomed within our current system, so an insider like Dave McG is a strong possibility. But as we've learned with the NFL....stay tuned folks.

BTW, I caught a great Peter King article on SI.com yesterday touting the Rams for their re-building process as the best way to do it. Essentially, go with youth and keeping the greatest % of players in the NEW rookie salary scale. Very complimentary story. Just noticed ZiaRam posted the article on another thread...good reading.

Go Rams!

[fliptalianstallion]

Well if Chuck Cecil's taking over, hopefully he won't regress this defense like he did back in his years with Jeff Fisher's Titans.

[Rambos]

I guess Fisher was not a happy camper that his buddy Greg brought that on us and his new job.

It's going to be an interesting ride this off season.

[ZiaRam]

Wow I'm very surprised at this..... Looks like anything could be possible now. wonder if this is a sign that Lovie or another Def. Cord. on a team that lost their head coach will be our target now.

[r8rh8rmike]

The writing is on the wall by firing Williams junior, and I'm fine with the move. I wasn't looking forward to keeping ties with Williams if he was reinstated. Too much baggage, too many distractions, and the Rams defense progressed fine without him.

I'm looking forward to see what the Rams do to settle the DC question once and for all. I wasn't a big fan of the DC by committee approach.

[RockinRam]

Interesting. Maybe Fisher never wanted Blake in the first place but only kept him because he trusted Gregg.

And talk about riding on your parents coattails sheesh.

[Rambos]

By Marc Sessler

Gregg Williams, Blake Williams won't return to Rams

If Gregg Williams is allowed to work again, it won't be with the St. Louis Rams.


FOX Sports Insider and NFL Network contributor Jay Glazer reported Wednesday the suspended coach, and his son, Blake Williams, are out as members of the Rams coaching staff.

Gregg Williams hasn't officially been reinstated by the NFL, so any decision about his employment with the Rams or any other team is technically on hold, but Blake has informed coaches he and his dad are no longer with the organization.

Blake Williams spent last season as the Rams linebackers coach and was instrumental in helping Rams coach Jeff Fisher run the defense after Gregg was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for his role in the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal.

Fisher is a close friend to Gregg Williams and has simultaneously supported him and kept his distance during the coach's suspension.

The Rams have Gregg Williams under contract through the 2014 season, but he signed that deal long before the team knew what was ahead for the coach. If he's allowed to work again, it's going to happen somewhere else.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

Not really surprised at the decision, but AM surprised at the short time it took to make the move. I also thought the linebacker play this year was pretty good. It will be interesting to see what they do with the DC job. Does McGinniss step into that role? Does Cecil come aboard? Does Lovie return? Or is some other plan in the works?

Hopefully, Larry Marmie isn't rehired. lol.

[HUbison]

Nothing changes. The answer is still McGinnis or Cecil, IMO.

[DE_Ramfan]

Dave Wannstedt should be available! Just think... the power of TWO 'staches.

[Richbert88]

Guess Blake shouldn't have expressed his opinion doubting the abilities of Sam. :-)