Haslett had to go
January 17
St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Jeff Gordon
"Jim Haslett gave it his best shot.
After replacing hapless Scott Linehan as head coach, he coaxed a couple of inspired efforts from the downtrodden Rams.
But he couldn't sustain that turnaround. He didn't accomplish enough to stay at the helm.
Chip Rosenbloom set the bar low for him. He guaranteed Haslett a contract extension if he could win six games. He was willing to re-up him after four or five victories, if the Rams' on-field improvement was obvious.
Haslett won twice. So now he moves on, perhaps to Green Bay as defensive coordinator.
We wish him well in this corner of cyberspace. Haslett is a good guy. He was easy to work with. But . . .
The defense he coordinated for two-plus seasons buckled. The Rams offense stunk, too. The team lost 10 consecutive games, which is hard to do in the parity-driven NFL.
How could Rosenbloom and Co. possibly bring Haslett back?
Sure, Haslett operated under constraints set by Linehan and former president for football operations Jay Zygmunt. He didn't get the team under optimal circumstances.
He inherited a LOT of problems, too many to fix in a couple of months.
But that doesn't excuse the implosion we all witnessed down the stretch of last season. If you can't beat the Seahawks at home, for instance, you can't stay on as coach. You just can't.
There are some games you simply MUST win to stay employed. Seattle came to town with a beat-up, dispirited team and won in the Edward Jones Dome.
Rams players signed a petition supporting Haslett, but they didn't put out for him on the field. Signatures are nice, but victories make a much greater impression.
Haslett offered a comprehensive plan to get the Rams back on a winning track. He had some excellent ideas. His confident, up-front style was a nice contrast to Linehan's skittishness.
But Haslett had the better part of a season to put those ideas to work and they just didn't pan out.
Hence the decision to clean house Thursday. The Rams turned out Haslett and his assistant coaches, giving them an opportunity to land jobs elsewhere.
The Rams need new leadership. That will likely come in the form of either Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier -- the current favorite, according to the NFL Network -- or Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
(Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan is highly interested in the job, too, but Baltimore's run to the AFC Championship has hindered his candidacy. If the Ravens win Sunday, Ryan wouldn't be available until after the Super Bowl -- and the Rams management team isn't willing to wait that long. NFL insiders expect the decision to come in the next few days.)
Frazier also was a candidate in Detroit, but the Lions hired Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz instead. Leslie would come to St. Louis with high recommendations from significant NFL figures.
Spagnuolo is still a candidate for the Jets, al
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