Zygmunt's resignation official
0 Comment December 23 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"A team player to the end, Jay Zygmunt declined to take shots on the way out. Even though there's plenty of blame to go around for the Rams' precipitous fall from grace in recent years, Zygmunt only pointed inward.
"I think I'm primarily responsible for what's happened on the field," he told the Post-Dispatch on Monday. "I'm very disappointed in our performance the last few years. There were also some years where we were pretty good. But obviously right now I've been very disappointed. And I do believe in accountability and responsibility."
Just a couple of hours earlier, the Rams announced what had been foreshadowed long ago: that Zygmunt was stepping aside by "mutual agreement" with the club after 27 seasons with the organization.
"It's certainly been a privilege and honor for me to work for what I think is one of the most storied franchises in the NFL," Zygmunt said. "I'm extremely grateful and appreciative, too, for the opportunities that ownership has given me here for the last 27 seasons. I feel very fortunate to not only work for special people, but with special people."
Zygmunt was already in his hometown of Chicago when he returned a phone message. He had driven off Monday morning from Rams Park after packing some boxes from his office. He will spend the holidays in Chicago with his family, then begin the next chapter of his life.
"Right now, I plan to have the best Christmas I've ever had with my family, and at some point I'll see what options there are for me and we'll go from there," Zygmunt said. "There's plenty of time for thinking about my future after the holidays are over with. It's been a couple of really tough years.
"But I'll have some time to think a lot of things over in the course of time. It's been a long time since I had some time to really think about anything but the Rams."
Zygmunt, who's in his mid-50s, had what doctors termed a "mini-stroke" in the fall of 2007 and had three stents inserted into coronary arteries last June. On Monday, he said his health is "great." Although emotional at times during a phone interview, he also seemed at peace with what has transpired.
"I think change is good for me," he said. "More importantly, I think it's good for the Rams. The team's performance, the record, speaks for itself. But the great thing about the NFL is things change very, very quickly. You see what happens with the Atlantas and the Baltimores and the Miamis. It is a young man's game.""
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