Falcons Dir of Player Personnel Les Snead was formally introduced as the Rams' new GM Tuesday, and it is now his job to "help resurrect a Rams team handicapped by poor player selection -- via the draft or in free agency -- for far too long," according to Jim Thomas of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Much of Snead's 17-year career working as a scout or personnel exec in the NFL "has been about transition, adjustment, new coaches and new regimes." One of the things Snead does "best is adjust to change and work well with others." With the Rams, he will "identify and evaluate prospective talent," while Exec VP/Football Operations & COO Kevin Demoff will sign it, and coach Jeff Fisher will coach it. If the "Fisher-Snead-Demoff troika can't agree on whether to take a particular player, they just won't take him." Demoff said of Snead, "When you sit down and talk to him, you come away saying, 'This is not your average scout in the NFL.' Les Snead was the first call we made regarding a general manager, and the last call we made regarding our general manager position" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/15).
WHO WILL TAKE CHARGE? In St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz wrote with the Rams and the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission "engaged in difficult negotiations for a lease agreement at The Edward Jones Dome, it's a good time to ask this question: Who will take charge?" Miklasz: "I'm speaking of the behind-the-scenes power brokers that know how to use their influence to bring people together and get things done. ... Where is the power?" With the "new guard in place, who at the CEO level can step in and take on a vital leadership role to keep the ball moving and hopefully broker an agreement between the Rams and the CVC?" Some "qualified candidates" include Emerson Electric CEO David Farr, Energizer CEO Ward Klein and Enterprise Rent-A-Car CEO Andrew Taylor (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/11).
