As I watched the Rams come back and beat the worst team in the NFL, the Houston Texans, in overtime, I asked myself: Is this really fun?
No! It’s funny. The Rams are well on their way to once again becoming the league’s laughingstock. As I say “again,” remember that the reason they moved here in the first place is they had become a joke in California, on and off the field.
Just pick an aspect of the team and you have a problem. Front office, scouting, coaching and oh yes the players. Granted, each of these aspects has personnel that should not be thrown under the bus. But there is a lot of fixing to do between now and next season.
Now along comes the return of Mike Martz. Check that, the proposed return of Mike Martz. Hold on, coach! Time to call one of those timeouts you like to call early in the game. While I know Martz is a football coach and this is his team, my question is simple. Why now? It will only complicate matters. The party is over here. Let’s turn off the lights and send everyone home and start over. I have my list of who should stay should John Shaw need one to go by.
Matt Millen – football guy?
I noticed that the Detroit Lions and their team president Matt Millen have fired another coach. This is the same Matt Millen who was partially responsible for the NFL implementing hiring practices to give minorities a fair shot at a head coaching job. He was the guy who hired Marty Morningwig over a number of qualified African-American coaches. To make matters worse, since the NFL set the rules on hiring practices he is still the only team president in the league that has been fined $250,000 for trying to go around the rules and hire his boy Steve Mariuci. He never interviewed a black coach. Did I mention that he just fired Marriuci? Wow, Matt, nice going. You now have the honor of hiring and firing two guys who while on your watch have amassed the worst records in the history of the team. It’s odd that Millen still has a job. While he is smart enough not to fire himself, somebody in Detroit is dumb enough to keep him around.
Effort at SLU
I have had the chance to watch both the men and women programs at Saint Louis University. I am not in the prediction business when it comes to college athletes. But I will say this: I see effort. That was not always the case last season. I know it is early, but both Brad Sodeberg and Shimmy Gray and their staffs are going to challenge these kids more than they have been challenged in the past. Challenge is good. The men and women will have some interesting challenges on their schedule this year. They will play hard and that is good enough for me and you. They deserve your support.
Mizzou’s future
Now that the football season is over, this is the season that maybe got away. The 6-5 record is an improvement, and they will be going to a bowl game, but when you look at the other teams in the conference, the Tigers could have been in a Big 12 Championship game this weekend. Gary Pinkel has been the right man for the job. He will have to make changes in his staff. While they have worked hard to get the program on track, it is time for some of them to move on. Recruiting this off season will be critical to the future of this program. Too many whispers locally is now a concern.
