***OFFICIAL*** Rams hire Al Saunders to be OC (1 Viewer)

[MrPhoenix]

STLToday.com article

In another sign that Al Saunders could be headed to St. Louis as the Rams' offensive coordinator, the club has begun contract negotiations to bring the veteran NFL coach to Scott Linehan's staff.

"We're in negotiations with the Rams now," Saunders' agent, Bob LaMonte, told the Post-Dispatch on Monday afternoon. "And I think we can come to an agreement."

Negotiations are a bit tricky because Saunders is believed to have made more than Linehan did last year. Linehan makes about $2 million a year as the Rams' head coach; Saunders made in excess of $2 million as offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, according to league sources, and was thought to be the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL last season.

Saunders had a year left on his contract with Washington when he was fired Saturday, and he gets that money even if he doesn't coach next season. But Saunders wants to work. And after spending 17 years of his coaching career with either the Kansas City Chiefs or the Rams, he considers the Midwest home and probably will live in the state once he retires.

Saunders is believed to be talking to Oakland as well, although it is not known for what job.

Great hire if the Rams can get him. He knows the players and the players would play well for him, IMO. The fans are going ga-ga over him in local sports talk radio.For a town still wanting to cling on to the Greatest Show on Turf era, Saunders would be a good start in restoring some of the confidence in the fans here.

 

[Bri]

Wasn't he the Chiefs then Skins OC? How's he know the players? I'm missing something

Do they have an acting owner? How are they handling "moving forward"?

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Wasn't he the Chiefs then Skins OC? How's he know the players? I'm missing somethingDo they have an acting owner? How are they handling "moving forward"?

pretty sure saunders was under martz/vermiel in STL at one point, no?

 

[Bri]

Wasn't he the Chiefs then Skins OC? How's he know the players? I'm missing somethingDo they have an acting owner? How are they handling "moving forward"?

pretty sure saunders was under martz/vermiel in STL at one point, no?

how many guys are left from that "regime"?

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Wasn't he the Chiefs then Skins OC? How's he know the players? I'm missing somethingDo they have an acting owner? How are they handling "moving forward"?

pretty sure saunders was under martz/vermiel in STL at one point, no?

how many guys are left from that "regime"?

bulger/holt/bruce. on the staff, none I believe.

 

[Abraham]

Wasn't he the Chiefs then Skins OC? How's he know the players? I'm missing somethingDo they have an acting owner? How are they handling "moving forward"?

pretty sure saunders was under martz/vermiel in STL at one point, no?

how many guys are left from that "regime"?

bulger/holt/bruce. on the staff, none I believe.

I can't recall completely, but I don;t think Bulger was the starter at any time when Saunders was there. IIRC, Warner started the year after Vermeil left and then Bulger took the job, which (IIRC) is the same year Saunders left for KC. I couuld be off by a year or two though.Also, there are a few other guys left from that group: Jeff Wilkins, Orlando Pace, Leonard Little....

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Wasn't he the Chiefs then Skins OC? How's he know the players? I'm missing somethingDo they have an acting owner? How are they handling "moving forward"?

pretty sure saunders was under martz/vermiel in STL at one point, no?

how many guys are left from that "regime"?

bulger/holt/bruce. on the staff, none I believe.

I can't recall completely, but I don;t think Bulger was the starter at any time when Saunders was there. IIRC, Warner started the year after Vermeil left and then Bulger took the job, which (IIRC) is the same year Saunders left for KC. I couuld be off by a year or two though.Also, there are a few other guys left from that group: Jeff Wilkins, Orlando Pace, Leonard Little....

No bulger didnt start, but he's been on the team since 2000

 

[Chadstroma]

Saunders is believed to be talking to Oakland as well, although it is not known for what job.

Obviously that has to be one of two jobs... HC or OC. Something tells me it is HC.

 

[KellysHeroes]

This would a be a very nice hire.... get Saunders as OC and draft the best OL in the draft. SJax draft stock would get a major upgrade; and so would McMichael's. Bulger could put a couple of 4000 yd seasons with Saunders as OC.

Tell him that if he improves the Offense back to a top 10, (they have the talent), the HC job is his.

 

[drummer]

Saunders was the WR coach on the GSOT team.

 

[redman]

A word of warning that I learned from his years in Washington - Saunders' system is famously complex, and the first year tends to be a learning year. It's year 2 when the players are expected to blossom in it.

Don't use his time in Washington as a guide. I don't think he was every allowed to run his full offense for a variety of reasons. That's on the team/Gibbs, not on Saunders.

 

[KellysHeroes]

A word of warning that I learned from his years in Washington - Saunders' system is famously complex, and the first year tends to be a learning year. It's year 2 when the players are expected to blossom in it. Don't use his time in Washington as a guide. I don't think he was every allowed to run his full offense for a variety of reasons. That's on the team/Gibbs, not on Saunders.

Good pt... thats very true for Good Coordinators and Coaches; it takes atleast half a season for the players to "Get it." You can't expect players to change what their doing and learn a new system during a couple of months.

 

[Barry Jive and The Uptown Five]

This is the last bastion of hope for any Randy McMichael owners

 

[ffwebster]

Rams got him! as per Rotoworld.

Rams Offense-TM- Rams Jan. 30 - 5:53 pm et

Rams hired Al Saunders as offensive coordinator.

Finally, the Rams get something right. Saunders, a wide receivers coach during the Greatest Show on Turf Era, is very close to Torry Holt. He runs a Mike Martz-style offense, but his play calling is historically less pass heavy. Saunders' addition is promising news for all Rams skill players.

 

[heidbrink]

The Rams have now got to have among the highest coach salaries now. Does anybody have coach salary info?

 

[noneother]

sure hope this Is good thing. Some how in the offseason I ended up with holt bulger and sjax. Is leonard the next Betts?

 

[Jeff Tefertiller]

Saunders and Holt are close. Also, I suspect that this addition will buffer the rift from last year between Holt and Linehan. This looks like a great hire. SJackson owners should be ecstatic. The Rams of old never had a problem running the ball.

 

[KellysHeroes]

Saunders and Holt are close. Also, I suspect that this addition will buffer the rift from last year between Holt and Linehan. This looks like a great hire. SJackson owners should be ecstatic. The Rams of old never had a problem running the ball.

Great news for the Skill players in StL.... The 1st month or 2 may be shacky as the players learn the system; but it should work out.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

So does this put Bulger back in the top 10? Can he put up big #'s in Saunders offense?

 

[KellysHeroes]

So does this put Bulger back in the top 10? Can he put up big #'s in Saunders offense?

Bulger could be a very nice steal in drafts or a steal in a early season trade.... be warned; he may struggle the most at 1st. But should do great once he "gets it."

 

[TheWick]

This is very good news. Sjax owners should be very happy. Hopefully Linehan stays out of his way.

 

[humphrp]

So does this put Bulger back in the top 10? Can he put up big #'s in Saunders offense?

Bulger could be a very nice steal in drafts or a steal in a early season trade.... be warned; he may struggle the most at 1st. But should do great once he "gets it."

Great so he struggles at first, and then is hurt for the second. Seems like another subpar year for Bulger. Yes I am a disgruntled Bulger owner. Truthfully though if you ave him in a keeper or dynasty league you should back him up with another quality QB. In my opinion Bulger is the biggest QB risk going into next year. His return could be very high or it could be low (though I do not expect it to be as low as last year).

 

[KellysHeroes]

So does this put Bulger back in the top 10? Can he put up big #'s in Saunders offense?

Bulger could be a very nice steal in drafts or a steal in a early season trade.... be warned; he may struggle the most at 1st. But should do great once he "gets it."

Great so he struggles at first, and then is hurt for the second. Seems like another subpar year for Bulger. Yes I am a disgruntled Bulger owner. Truthfully though if you ave him in a keeper or dynasty league you should back him up with another quality QB. In my opinion Bulger is the biggest QB risk going into next year. His return could be very high or it could be low (though I do not expect it to be as low as last year).

Thats not fair....the whole team had a bad injury bug last yr.

 

[thayman]

sure hope this Is good thing. Some how in the offseason I ended up with holt bulger and sjax. Is leonard the next Betts?

Betts's success in 2006 was more to do with the production of the O-Line than his skill set.

 

[dgreen]

sure hope this Is good thing. Some how in the offseason I ended up with holt bulger and sjax. Is leonard the next Betts?

Betts's success in 2006 was more to do with the production of the O-Line than his skill set.

Also, the Redskins running success down the stretch in 2006 is attributed to Gibbs putting his foot down and demanding that they be a tough running team. I've never read someone give Saunders credit for that stretch of games.