Rams Hire OLine Coach

I didn't see this anywhere else...

The St. Louis Rams on Thursday night filled their vacancy for an offensive line mentor by hiring league veteran assistant coach Steve Loney, ESPN.com has learned.

Loney, 55, replaces Paul Boudreau, who was dismissed by head coach Scott Linehan shortly after the 2007 season ended. Loney served as the interim head coach at Drake University this season, leading the Bulldogs to a 6-5 record. He took over the program when incumbent Rob Ash resigned to take the job at Montana State, leaving Drake without a head coach in mid-June.

The school recently hired Chris Chreighton as its permanent head coach.

Most recently in the NFL, Loney served as offensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals in 2006, his second stint with the franchise. He had previously worked with the Cardinals in the early 1990s. He also served as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive line coach for three seasons (2002-04) and was offensive coordinator for one year (2005).

Linehan was the Vikings' offensive coordinator during the three seasons Loney served as the offensive line coach.

During Loney's tenure as line coach in Minnesota, the Vikings led the league in rushing offense in 2002 and in total offense in 2003 and set a franchise record for total yards in 2004. He is highly regarded for his emphasis on technique work and for his design of the running game.

Linehan last week hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running backs coach Art Valero, and there was some speculation he would take over the offensive line role, but his job title was kept open-ended as the Rams considered other candidates for the position. Valero, who also has some experience working with Linehan, will probably now be slotted as the assistant head coach.

On Thursday, Linehan interviewed current Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Hue Jackson for the same position on the Rams' staff. Jackson is still under contract to Atlanta, but the Falcons have granted him permission to seek other jobs as the team continues its search for a new coach to succeed Bobby Petrino.

The Rams are seeking a replacement for Greg Olson, who was Linehan's offensive coordinator the past two seasons.

In addition to Jackson, the Rams this week interviewed Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese for the offensive coordinator vacancy. Linehan has discussed the job with two recently dismissed league head coaches, Brian Billick (Baltimore) and Cam Cameron (Miami), but has not formally interviewed either man for the position.

Jackson, 42, has been in the NFL for seven seasons and worked with Washington (2001-03), Cincinnati (2004-2006) and Atlanta (2007). He was recently a candidate for the head coach job at Duke University but did not land that position.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

ESPN - Rams hire Loney to be offensive line coach - NFL

Am I reading this thread right? That Scotty knew Linehan while in Minn. Wasn't that the case that Scotty knew Olsen from a previous stent too?

perhaps its would be a good thing that he hires someone he DOESN"T KNOW! Now I wounder if 08 is the sequal to 07
:|

Chronism, I hate it. I dont get this at all. Im very, very pissed right now.
GM sucks to let this happen.:x

I am sick to my stomach ...

Yea I know the feeling, the first thing I thought when I read the headline was "I bet he's one of Linehan's friends"...Isn't this getting a little old??

Why should anyone be surprised at this?

It's no surprise to me, but im still upset.

I don't know enough about him to really go either way on this right now, but given the status of this organization as a whole, we probably weren't going to convince a guy like Hudson Houck or someone of that caliber to come here. I am intrigued, though, by Pasquarelli's comment about Loney being highly regarded because of his emphasis on technique and work with the running game.

Ultimately the important hire is going to be the offensive coordinator, and the fact that Linehan is interviewing guys like Zampese and Jackson while having informal conversations with Brian Bilick and Cam Cameron is promising. However, if we ultimately settle for Valero as the OC, then I'll be joining the ranks of those not thrilled by our coaching changes.

Another former Viking/Cardinal. What a shocker. :|

:l

-jake-

It's getting laughable. I also think those numbers from Minny are deceiving, I don't have any stats but I'm willing to bet Culpepper had a lot of yards rushing by scrambling out of the pocket. Plus they had Moss there to stretch defenses.

Rams hire o-line coach
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/18/2008

While the search continues for the Rams' next offensive coordinator, Scott Linehan has added an offensive line coach to his staff, hiring Steve Loney on Thursday evening as Paul Boudreau’s replacement.
Loney was interim head coach this past season in the college ranks at Drake, but worked with Linehan from 2002-04 with the Minnesota Vikings "I’m excited about it," Linehan said of Loney’s hiring. "He’s been a great asset for me."

Linehan tried to hire Loney two years ago when Linehan was hired as Mike Martz's successor in St. Louis. But Loney was then under contract as offensive line coach with Dennis Green and the Arizona Cardinals, and the Big Red denied the Rams position to interview Loney.

Those darn Cardinals, if they weren't so selfish, we would have had our man in the first place, and none of the bad stuff that occurred with our O-line would have happened. Well not to worry now .. Scotty finally got his man .. This can only mean that the good times are right around the corner ... Right??

For all you stat freaks out there, here are some raw numbers on Steve Loney's NFL career:

2002 Vikings (Offensive line coach)
Rushing: 2507 yards (NFL rank: 1st), 156.7 yards per game, 5.3 yards per carry (1st), 26 touchdowns (tied-1st)
Passing: 3685 yds (9th), 230.3 ypg, 49 sacks allowed (29th)

2003 Vikings (O-Line)
Rushing: 2343 yds (4th), 146.4 ypg, 4.8 ypc (6th), 15 TDs (12th)
Passing: 3951 yds (4th), 246.9 ypg, 42 SA (t-22nd)

2004 Vikings (O-Line)
Rushing: 1823 yds (18th), 113.9 ypg, 4.7 ypc (2nd), 8 TDs (29th)
Passing: 4516 yds (2nd), 282.3 ypg, 46 SA (25th)

2005 Vikings (Offensive Coordinator/O-Line)
Rushing: 1467 yds (27th), 91.7 ypg, 3.9 ypc (19th), 10 TDs (t-22nd)
Passing: 3146 yds (20th), 196.6 ypg, 54 SA (31st)

2006 Cardinals (O-Line)
Rushing: 1338 yds (30th), 83.6 ypg, 3.2 avg (32nd), 12 TDs (t-18th)
Passing: 3662 yds (10th), 228.9 ypg, 35 SA (t-17th)

To be fair, he has had a few years where his team was at or near the top of the NFL in terms of total yards and/or rushing yards per carry. That's a good sign.

However, the most alarming number comes in the "sacks allowed" category, where his group has consistently finished at the bottom of the league. This does not bode well for Marc Bulger.

Let's at least be thankful he wasn't hired as our offensive coordinator. Those team stats took a drastic dip when he was calling plays for the Vikings in 2005.

:l

-jake-

Great....we got the guy who coached Arizona's non-existent line.

We better sign a reliable backup, and a 3rd stringer, STAT.

Also....what does this mean for Valero? Technically he doesn't have a title yet. Will he be replacing another coach who has yet to be fired? Will he just be an extraneous coach? Or will he *shudders* be the OC?

I remained amazed at how much some people overeact to who the coaches are. If we dont get healthy on the oline, its not going to mean anything who the coaches are.

I review my point about bobby april. Fire april, our special teams stink. He gets fired. the next year he coaches buffalos special teams and wins coach of the year. Does that mean he was an idiot with the rams and a genius with the bills? Of course not. It means that he had a LOT better talent.

The fact that an offensive line gives up a lot of sacks doesnt necessarily mean it has anything to do with the coach. There is no offensive line coach in the history of the nfl that was going to make a difference this year for the rams given the injuries.

As for the allegations of hiring guys he has worked with before, i suggest to all of you that when you are in any managerial role, its a lot easier to work with people whose skill set you are familiar with and who you know personally. Linehan has ZERO incentive to hire people that arent qualified just because they are his friends. This isnt a government job he has. Linehan is going to be fired if the team doesnt perform and if the coaches dont help the team perform, linehan will pay that price. He has zero long term job security. I think the board of directors hires the ceo and lets the ceo (coach) pick his team (coaches) and if the team fails, the coach gets fired.

Thus, i am a lot less picky than others on who the assistant coaches are as i remain convinced that talent and luck with injuries is going to determine how we do. I dont think we are going to make or miss the playoffs based on the difference between the various offensive line coaches.

By the way, how did the great and sainted jim bates do in denver this year? Fired! Best example ever. Leo Mazzone, considered potentially the greatest pitching coach ever, leaves the braves and his hall of fame rotation, goes to the orioles and their pitchers stink because coaching only gets you so far and talent is the key.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

Quote:

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Originally Posted by general counsel

As for the allegations of hiring guys he has worked with before, i suggest to all of you that when you are in any managerial role, its a lot easier to work with people whose skill set you are familiar with and who you know personally.

---

This is true, and a good point to bring up. I may have jumped to conclusions about this being another ho-hum hire, another crony from Linny's past.

The fact is, that's just how it works around the entire NFL and I'm sure in every sport (or business). You hire guys you are familiar/comfortable with and whose coaching philosophy fits into your system.

Maybe Boudreau's techniques didn't fit in with Linehan's system. How are we to know? Injuries did play a big part of the O-Line disaster that was 2007, and it could've been that he was a scapegoat, but the conflicts with him could've gone deeper than that. It's been said that Linehan wanted Loney from the start, but the Cardinals nabbed him first. Linehan ran a successful offense in Minnesota with Loney. We do not know the intricacies of this offense - we don't go to player meetings, study the Rams' playbook, and attend coaching seminars.

Parcells hires his guys and nobody complains. It's all about whether it ends up being a successful buddy system or not, and also whether these are good fits for the talent, the players, the team as a whole. Belichick was unsuccessful with the Browns to start off his head coaching career. His style there created many conflicts with upper management. There are just too many factors that go unseen by the average fan's eye. It could also be that Linehan is not ready at this point or is just a bad head coach, period... and please don't try to say I'm putting Linehan on the same level as Parcells and Belichick, they are just two obvious, well-known examples.

So to get to my point, I agree with Nick and general counsel. I will give the benefit of the doubt to "Looney" (an appropriate name for putting himself into this insane situation) but the hire that will really matter, the one that will impact the team the most, is the offensive coordinator - the playcaller. Many Rams fans won't be happy with this hire, and understandably so, but I'm willing to wait and see how this works out.

:l

-jake-