Monday, the St. Louis Rams finally fired head coach Scott Linehan. After being blown out for the fourth time in as many games, anyone who didn't see this coming must've had similar weekend plans to Ricky Williams. Defensive coordinator, and former New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett has been named the interim head coach. Now, if this choice was made off of the accomplishments of the Rams' defense so far this season, it was as poor of a choice as the initial hire of an inexperienced Scott Linehan. But if the decision was made off of his head coaching experience with the Saints, it was a fine choice.
Haslett made an immediate impact with the Saints. He was hired to replace Mike Ditka after a 3-13 year. Haslett led the Saints to a 10-6 record in his first year, earning him a playoff berth, the NFC West title, and the NFL's Coach of the Year award. Haslett spent five more years in the Big Easy before being the fall guy for the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. The Saints went 3-13 that year, which really isn't that bad considering that they opened up at home against the Giants. In Giants Stadium. Yeah, and you thought that Astros having to play the Cubs in Milwaukee was rough.
That being said, I doubt that an immediate turn around is imminent for the Rams. The Rams are a bigger mess than the Oakland Raiders, who are owned by the eccentric Al Davis. Once bordering on insane, I believe he's officially reached that point. With the Raiders, the owner is the only thing that needs to change. With the Rams, while the owners may change from Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, everything else personnel wise needs to change.Team President John Shaw is going to take care of himself at the end of the season by retiring. But General Manager Jay Zygmunt must be replaced as well. He's the one for irresponsible signings like the Drew Bennett fiasco. Bennett's been flat out terrible since he arrived, and got hurt in the first game of the season this year against the Eagles. What's more, is the Rams elected to cut their future hall of fame receiver Isaac Bruce to make room for him. Sure, Bruce his past his prime, but he hasn't forgot how to run routes, and never dogs plays. Bennett's guilty of both.
Sadly, the Rams can only go up, but Haslett may be the one to take them there.
Keywords: Al Davis, Drew Bennett, Jim Haslett, Ricky Williams, Scott Linehan, St. Louis Rams
