Wagoner: Jeff Fisher well aware of challenges of relocation

Jeff Fisher well aware of challenges of relocation

Nick

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/26052/jeff-fisher-well-aware-of-challenges-of-relocation

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Way back in 2012 when Rams owner Stan Kroenke interviewed then potential head coach Jeff Fisher, Kroenke brought up the prospect of relocation.

Fisher had been through it before, guiding the former Houston Oilers on a whirlwind journey from Houston to Memphis to Nashville, where they would settle as the Tennessee Titans.

Now, Fisher is going through it all over again, leading the Rams back to Los Angeles.

“I’ve been through that experience,” Fisher said. “It’s not an easy experience, but you can do things right. And you can make mistakes if you’re not careful. Stan and I have discussed this at length, even at the time he hired me four years ago, because I’ve been through that experience. So we have a pretty good idea of how to handle it.”

Fisher knows better than anyone that moving a team isn’t easy, and this time will be no different. The Rams have a lot on their plate in the coming months that has nothing to do with the move, but when you add it in, well, one could see how it would make for some pretty sizable obstacles when it comes to building the football team.

As a refresher, the Rams enter this offseason with 17 players scheduled for restricted or unrestricted free agency. In addition, Fisher has already made changes to the coaching staff, creating some vacancies, and might still have more in the offing. And Fisher is in the last year of his contract, which means at some point a short extension might be on the way.

Add those moving parts to the various offseason events like the NFL scouting combine, the Senior Bowl, the start of free agency and the draft and you’ve got quite a stacked deck.

“That’s the thing,” Fisher said. “I currently still have staff changes to make. And players are starting to wonder. This day and age, believe me it’s easier to communicate. So we’ll get all of the information to the players. But we have to tweak offenses, rehab players, self-scout, get ready for free agency and the draft — you name it. All of that stuff has to continue.”

With Fisher and general manager Les Snead working on those things, the onus falls on other members of the football operation to handle some of the logistics. As we reported earlier in the week, the Rams are likely to finish their business in St. Louis at the end of March with a target of April for the physical move. From there, it remains to be seen where they will maintain offices and train, though they are looking at a possible short-term stay in Oxnard and then moving somewhere else for the next season or two while building a training facility with all the bells and whistles. Westlake and Calabasas have been discussed as possible options for that.

One thing they do know is that they will be playing their 2016 home games — save for one game in London — at the Coliseum, where they played from 1946-1979. The team plans to begin selling season tickets for next season on Monday.

With all of that going on, Fisher won’t have the chance to focus on any one thing. As he knows better than anyone, there is a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

“I don’t know if I can pick one,” Fisher said. “It’s get the players settled. We have to figure out where we’re going to train and all those kinds of things. And then it’s get out in the community and make the players available, whether it’s rallies or whatever we want for those that are maybe on the fence to really get to know us, because it’s going to be a special team.”