The Rams on Monday fired coach Jeff Fisher, and the odds that GM Les Snead returns next season, with the "way the NFL is structured ... seems kind of like a long shot," according to Gary Klein of the L.A. TIMES. Rams Exec VP/Football Operations & COO Kevin Demoff upon firing Fisher said it was an organizational failure and that everyone is responsible, which was not "just lip service." Part of that blame "falls back" on Demoff and Rams Owner Stan Kroenke, because it "starts at the top." They "made the decision to hire" Fisher and to "bring in this team." Over the last five years, they have "watched it not really progress." Klein: "They just couldn’t take it to the next step and Demoff was right, that reflects back on everyone” (“Rams Overtime,” LATIMES.com, 12/13).
THAT WAS FAST: In L.A., Jack Wang notes despite reports that surfaced on Monday, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is "not going to be" joining the Rams, nor is Michigan's Jim Harbaugh. Asked during a morning conference call yesterday on whether he would like to comment on the report, Carroll said, "No. No comment on that." Carroll was then asked if he would "like to rule out the possibility entirely." Carroll: "Yes." Meanwhile, Harbaugh "strongly denied that he would leave Michigan to take the Rams job, or any NFL job." Speaking at a team function yesterday, Harbaugh said, "I’m not leaving Michigan. I’m not even considering it" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 12/14). Harbaugh: "A lot of this talk is coming from our enemies, from coaches, you know the names. You probably know the names of the top three I'm referring to" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/14). ESPN's Dan Le Batard said, “These two guys can get just about any job they want. Why would they take one of the bad ones? The bad ones are available to a lot of coaches who need jobs. These two guys can wait for the perfect one" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 12/13). The Dallas Morning News' Tim Cowlishaw, on Carroll, "He coaches a great team and he’s got young players, a young quarterback. He’s 65 years old. I don't know why he would want to consider doing that” (“Around the Horn,” ESPN, 12/13). ESPN's Ramona Shelburne: "The reason why (Carroll) didn't leave USC right away was he wanted to wait till he could set up a situation where he could have everything in place. ... He had to get (Seahawks GM) John Schneider up there where they would be working as a team and they could build a franchise themselves. They have done that. I don't know why you walk away from that, but the Rams know that is what they would have to present him with in order for him to even take the call” (“Around the Horn,” ESPN, 12/13).
SWINGING FOR THE FENCES: ESPN's Dan Graziano said the fact that Fisher was fired with three games left "leads a lot of people around the league to think" that Kroenke "wants to take a big swing at this and bring in a big name." Graziano: "You're going to see a lot of effort by Stan Kroenke to see how high he can go with this" ("NFL Live," ESPN, 12/13). USA Today's Jarrett Bell: "You're talking about Los Angeles. This has to be a showtime move, a big-time move. We're talking about the market that had Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and if you're the Rams, trying to establish yourself back in Los Angeles, you better make a hit" ("NFL Insiders," ESPN, 12/13). ESPN's Trey Wingo: A lot of people will say, ‘Hey, they got a quarterback in Jared Goff, they play in a big stage in L.A., and think those are positives, however those could also be construed as negatives, could it not?" Wingo: "Let’s be honest, in L.A., if you're not winning, you're not relevant” (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 12/13).
THE HONEYMOON IS OVER: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Matthew Futterman notes Rams games at the L.A. Coliseum have seen "tens of thousands of seats remain empty." Also, TV audiences that were "supposed to grow once the city finally had a home team again are flat." Rams games on Fox have averaged an 8.4 local rating in the L.A. market this season, the "same rating Fox got for the out-of-town NFL games shown there last year" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/14). SPORTS ON EARTH's Will Leitch wrote the TV ratings "have been dreadful," and every time Fisher was "shown on the Coliseum Jumbotron, the fans booed." L.A. is "not crazy about the Rams right now." Leitch: "The NFL has come back, but as of this point, football hasn't." Because the Rams' return to L.A. was "more about real estate than fandom, there's no real immediate passion to welcome them there." Leitch: "Will there be at some point? Sure, once the team settles in, once it gets halfway decent again" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 12/13). BLEACHER REPORT's Mike Tanier wrote of Fisher, "You can fool a multimillionaire like Kroenke but not at his own games: marketing, public relations, promotion." And you "certainly cannot humiliate him." Kroenke "knows a public relations nightmare when he sees it, and Fisher spent the last two weeks serving them up in rapid succession" (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 12/12). Inglewood Mayor James Butts said of football's future in L.A., "If you can win, it works" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/14).
