Bonsignore: Rams scour the nation in search of next coach

Los Angeles Rams scour the nation in search of next coach

Vincent Bonsignore

http://www.sgvtribune.com/sports/20170107/los-angeles-rams-scour-the-nation-in-search-of-next-coach

As the Rams criss-crossed the county this week searching for their new head coach — when the weather allowed them anyway — two things became abundantly clear.

As evidenced by the 11 candidates they’ll sit down with by the end of the first week they can interview current NFL assistants, they are casting as wide a net as possible to find their coach. Although that 11th might have to wait as the Rams were shut out of meeting with Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan on Saturday due to a blizzard that canceled their flight out of Boston. As a result, they may have to wait as long as the Super Bowl bye week to talk to Shanahan depending on far the Falcons advance in the playoffs.

Nevertheless, then Rams are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to change their long-time frustrating culture of losing.

That’s a bit of a change from their last head coaching search five years ago when they immediately zeroed in on Jeff Fisher and then waited out his decision.

That doesn’t mean they don’t already have a preference on who they ultimately want as their next head coach, but they are clearly deepening the pool from which they will choose.

Second, they are targeting young, offensive-minded assistants and seem undeterred by age or even volume of years as a coordinator or play-caller. Previous head coaching experience clearly isn’t a prerequisite.

Just look at who they are targeting.

Washington offensive coordinator Sean McVay, who interviewed on Thursday, is 30 years old and just completed his second year as an offensive coordinator. Anthony Lynn, who the Rams will talk to Sunday, was elevated from running backs coach to offensive coordinator to interim head coach of the Bills over the last five months. Harold Goodwin, who the Rams interviewed Thursday, has been the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator the last four seasons but doesn’t call plays.

Meanwhile, the perceived two top candidates are both young offensive coordinators with backgrounds as assistants.

Say what you want about Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and how his success is solely tied into working with Tom Brady, but if you believe Brady, his coordinator has been a genuine asset in his continued dominance. And that’s worth something, even with McDaniel’s face plant during his two years as the head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Lastly, Shanahan has built top-10 offenses in three different stops with three vastly different quarterbacks, having overseen productive attacks in Houston with Matt Schaub, Washington with Robert Griffin III and now Atlanta with Matt Ryan.

As you can see, there is a heavy lean toward youth, fresh ideas and offense.

That doesn’t mean one of the defensive coordinator candidates like New England’s Matt Patricia or Carolina’s Steve Wilks won’t bubble to the top of the wish list.

But for now it seems clear the focus is on bringing in a new leader who will address their two biggest objectives: Fixing an offense that’s plummeted to the bottom of NFL rankings and creating an imaginative culture best suited to develop rookie quarterback Jared Goff and get second-year running back Todd Gurley back on track.

And while Xs and Os are important, so too is an eye for talent, creating an environment of discipline and accountability and nurturing a culture that breeds winning.

In other words, everything that seemed to be missing under the previous regime.

Fisher came to the Rams after producing just two winning teams over his last seven years with the Tennessee Titans and was never able to cultivate a culture in which losing was overtly rejected.

His offensive personnel decisions came under question by the end of his tenure as linemen and wide receivers drafted with premium picks never developed as expected or were outright busts. As for the assistants he surrounded himself with — especially on offense — imagination and vision all seemed to be lacking, and players didn’t progress,

And while he created an enjoyable working environment, his laid-back nature wasn’t conducive to discipline or accountability. In the weeks after his firing, many former players pointed to those two factors as improvements they’d like to see in the next head coach.

The Rams will presumably have met face to face with that coach by the end of Sunday night.

The question is, are they any closer to figuring out who that coach is today than when the process clicked into high gear six days ago?

That’s difficult to answers, as it’s also dependent on who is interested in them as well.

Reports surfaced on Saturday indicating Shanahan prefers the Denver Broncos job, which opened last week when Gary Kubiak abruptly retired. That makes sense considering Shanahan’s connection to Denver, where his father, Mike, won two Super Bowl titles and was extremely close with quarterback John Elway.

Elway now runs the Broncos’ football operations, and met for four hours with Shanahan on Saturday.

As for McDaniels, there are hot and cold feelings about him. On the one hand, he’s been instrumental in the success of Brady, but he was also a two-year failure as the Broncos’ head coach. McDaniels has told people he’s a changed coach since the Broncos experience, but some scars take longer to heal than others. Also, there are reports surfacing he might be a package deal with Louis Riddick with McDaniels the head coach and Riddick his general manager.

While the Rams appear open to moving on from current general manager Les Snead to accommodate a new coaches wishes, would they be satisfied with a McDaniels/Riddick pairing and does that package work better in San Francisco, where the 49ers are searching for a new coach and general manager?

A name to keep an eye on, then, is McVay, who made a strong impression during his interview on Thursday.

Current and former players under McVay rave about his detail, imagination, teaching and play calling even after just two years as a coordinator. And Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins has developed into an upper echelon quarterback working with McVay.

While his age might be an issue for some teams, that doesn’t appear top be a problem for the Rams.

But then, by casting such a wide net it’s tough to get a read yet on what, or who, the Rams are ready rule in or out.