The first person new St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan should have thanked when he took the podium at Rams Park last Friday was none other than Ricky Williams.
You see, if the Miami Dolphins offense fell flat on its collective face, it is doubtful that the team’s former offensive coordinator would have been the Rams’ choice for coach.
Williams, who was the punch line of more jokes than President George Bush in 2004, rushed for 743 yards on 168 carries and led the team with six touchdowns. Williams probably would have easily surpassed 1,000 yards had he not been suspended the first four games of the season because of prior violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He also played sparingly for two games upon his return.
Here’s another odd twist as the search for NFL head coaches is now down to one – the Oakland Raiders.
Unless Al Davis hires a minority coach, of eight head-coaching jobs that came open after the season’s end, not one black or Hispanic coach would have been hired.
Before black NFL fans march on Rams Park or the practice facility of their favorite team, consider this:
Ron Rivera of the Chicago Bears and Tim Lewis of the New York Giants probably have the Carolina Panthers to blame for their remaining in their present positions.
Both were high on team’s “wish list” for head coach, and both saw their stock plummet after the Panthers ran roughshod over their defenses.
In fact, Steve Smith probably single-handedly pushed Lewis and then Rivera to the back of the prospective coaching pack. The Sportseye knows that a resume is important, but if a defensive coordinator can’t stop one guy in a big game, how is he supposed to stop 11?
