Rams Plan to Go After Jon Gruden

[EmpireWF]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/...ss/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

It will be a dizzying week atop the Chargers power structure, and the possibilities only keep getting more intriguing.

The first order of business for team president Dean Spanos is whether to retain General Manager A.J. Smith.

Spanos is expected to reveal his decision on whether to keep Smith by the middle of next week. It is believed, based on numerous conversations with league sources over the past month, that head coach Norv Turner will be fired regardless of who is the general manager.

Further, should Smith be fired in San Diego, he is expected to have opportunity elsewhere.

People familiar with Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s plans said Monday that Kroenke is waiting for Spanos to make a move on Smith. If Smith is available, league and agent sources strongly indicated that Smith will be hired as Rams’ general manager and bring along Jon Gruden as head coach.

Sources said Gruden has decided to return to coaching in 2012 and that his current employer, ESPN, is already preparing for his departure.

Spokesmen for ESPN and the Rams declined comment on Monday night.

Smith also declined comment when asked both about his future employment or his association with Gruden.

Sources who spoke Monday did so on the condition they not be identified. Those sources in a position to know Smith’s possible plans would not or could not say what he would do for a head coach if still in San Diego.

League sources have said for weeks that Kroenke plans to clean house after the season, firing both head coach Steve Spagnuolo and General Manager Billy Devaney. League sources also said this week that it is all but certain that Spagnuolo will join Andy Reid’s staff in Philadelphia as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. Devaney, who was the Chargers Director of Player Personnel from 1990-2000, will not be a candidate in San Diego.

It is well-known in league circles that the relationship between Smith and Gruden is a solid one. The friendship began in the late 1990s when Gruden was head coach of the Oakland Raiders and was introduced to Smith by Smith’s closest friend, Bruce Allen, then the Raiders’ senior executive.

 

[RyanLeaf16]

Saw this earlier today. Cant wait for Gruden to get back in it and to finally have a dog in the fight!

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Are we certain that Smith and Gruden can co-exist? That will be two very strong egos and opinions in the room, and while the Rams have nowhere to go but up, we saw the Chargers deal with infighting with Smith and Schottenheimer. Though if I am a Rams fan, I will admit that I would look past that to actually get some solid football guys back running the team.

 

[BigBucs]

Saw this earlier today. Cant wait for Gruden to get back in it and to finally have a dog in the fight!

Poor Sam. Offense is gonna be shit for quite a long time. No Monte? Shit defense as well. Rams gonna Ram.

 

[EmpireWF]

Poor Sam. Offense is gonna be shit for quite a long time. No Monte? Shit defense as well. Rams gonna Ram.

Whats been the Bucs excuse since Gruden/Monte left town? :troll:

 

[Houston]

Anything that gets him off Monday Night Football is cool by me.

 

[Hasselbeck]

I think the truly scary thing about that article is the idea of Spags as defensive coordinator in Philly.

Spags sucks as a coach but is a monster as a defensive coordinator.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Also.. if Gruden takes over.. and the Rams get that top pick - things can get veryyyyy interesting in the offseason.

Then throw in AJ Smith? A guy who has already traded a #1 pick before. Wow.

 

[Villain]

Jon Gruden is a million times more awesome when he's yelling from the sideline than when he is fapping over Tim Tebow in the TV booth.

"I tell you what, this kid's got cyanide in his veins! Shoulders made of concrete!" :suicide:

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I think the truly scary thing about that article is the idea of Spags as defensive coordinator in Philly.

Spags sucks as a coach but is a monster as a defensive coordinator.

Nah, no he's not.

The guy had four beasts playing DE on the same team, and it remains to be seen if he can construct a defense without that huge advantage of never having to blitz. We've all seen how that strategy has worked out in STL, where aside from Chris Long, guys like CJ Ah You, James Hall, and Ernie Sims are hardly Strahan, Osi, Kiwanuka, and Tuck.

Let's not forget that his expertise is DB's. I'm skeptical of his so-called genius until he does something significant without those DE's.

But in reality, I don't really give a fuck, he's not my problem anymore. Good riddance, asswipe. Thanks for the worst three years of football I will ever see.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

And if you recall, Gruden was the guy I wanted to begin with, and the old (cheap) Rams ownership somehow never even bothered to interview him. We ended up with the worst head coach of all time, which I knew was a bad hire from day one.

So basically, if the Rams hire Gruden, they threw away three years for nothing and could have taken a shot at him in 2009 and dodged the Spags bullet. Pretty frustrating.

 

[Aso]

Nah, no he's not.

The guy had four beasts playing DE on the same team, and it remains to be seen if he can construct a defense without that huge advantage of never having to blitz. We've all seen how that strategy has worked out in STL, where aside from Chris Long, guys like CJ Ah You, James Hall, and Ernie Sims are hardly Strahan, Osi, Kiwanuka, and Tuck.

Let's not forget that his expertise is DB's. I'm skeptical of his so-called genius until he does something significant without those DE's.

But in reality, I don't really give a fuck, he's not my problem anymore. Good riddance, asswipe. Thanks for the worst three years of football I will ever see.

I don't think you're giving him enough credit but we'll see.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Nah, no he's not.

The guy had four beasts playing DE on the same team, and it remains to be seen if he can construct a defense without that huge advantage of never having to blitz. We've all seen how that strategy has worked out in STL, where aside from Chris Long, guys like CJ Ah You, James Hall, and Ernie Sims are hardly Strahan, Osi, Kiwanuka, and Tuck.

Let's not forget that his expertise is DB's. I'm skeptical of his so-called genius until he does something significant without those DE's.

But in reality, I don't really give a fuck, he's not my problem anymore. Good riddance, asswipe. Thanks for the worst three years of football I will ever see.

Fair assessment. I think he'd have a lot more talent at his disposal in Philly though than he ever did in St. Louis.. and a comparable amount to his time in New York.

The Eagles DL is pretty good. Their secondary can be outstanding next season.. it's the linebacking corps that will need some work.

Still.. Spags would be a huge improvement over who the Eagles have now.

 

[RyanLeaf16]

Not to throw a "wet blanket" on this thread, but, I have heard that the interest may not be mutual. Apparently, Gruden misses coaching, but, he also enjoys the broadcast game. Less stress, days off during the season, etc.

I'm just passing this info along, but, what I heard this afternoon was "With one-hundred percent certainty, he will not coach next season."

I normally don't share what little "inside info" I have unless I really trust the source. A lot of my sources left with the Gruden regime, but, I trust this one and I am just sharing.

 

[RyanLeaf16]

That's what I thought. He keeps signing extensions with ESPN and has been rumored to be a coaching candidate several times over the years with NFL teams and nothing ever came of it.

Well the ESPN extensions mean little. If he wants to go coach, there is an out. His exclusive deal is exclusive to the broadcast world - not coaching.

There is a strong desire to coach again, but, he also enjoys the free time he has to go fishing, be an assistant coach at his kids' school (Carrollwood Day School), etc.

I will say that I am still a little skeptical of the timing of the story today and when I got an update in the afternoon. It could be just one big poker game, but, I wouldn't have shared the info if I didn't believe the source it came from.

 

[GoChargers]

If Norv Turner is fired, Smith should go with him as it was his decision to fire Schottenheimer and hire Turner.

Turner is a nice guy, an outstanding offensive co-ordinator, a below average head coach.. Will be glad to see both of them gone.

 

[mcstl25]

Gruden sounds like a long shot to me. Whoever the Rams' next head coach is, I hope it's someone with previous head coaching experience. Linehan is a good offensive coordinator and Spags is a good defensive coordinator, but both have shown to not be good head coaches. I still think Spags at some point could be a very good head coach, but he's just too inexperienced right now and some of the mistakes he makes are inexcusable.

 

[Palooza]

What about Jeff Fischer?

 

[Rudi]

If it's Gruden, I expect the Rams to draft RGIII. Gruden absolutely loves RGIII, so he would probably want them to take him.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

If it's Gruden, I expect the Rams to draft RGIII. Gruden absolutely loves RGIII, so he would probably want them to take him.

Yet he would probably have more success with signing Rex Grossman and turning him into the next Rich Gannon. Both guys are mobile, both played for the Redskins, both are veterans who understand offenses, makes sense for him.