It turns out that Eric Dickerson will only miss one Los Angeles Rams home game this season.
The Hall of Fame running back vowed to never attend another Rams game while Jeff Fisher was head coach, and Fisher got the axe a day after his team was embarrassed 42-14 at home by the Atlanta Falcons.
“This is the right time to make a change, as our performance has not lived up to my or our fans’ expectations. We all are focused on improving as an organization and building a team that makes Los Angeles proud,” owner Stan Kroenke said in a statement.
With a miserable 31-45-1 record at the helm of the Rams, which includes losing eight of nine games and posting a 4-9 mark this year, Fisher did not ever have a winning record for St. Louis/L.A.
Fisher’s childish feud with Dickerson brought further ridicule on to the team and fanned the flames of fan discontent, which became an inferno during last week’s blowout.
“I wasn’t trying to get Jeff Fisher fired,” Dickerson told USA TODAY. “That wasn’t my goal. Let’s get that straight off the bat.”
However, Dickerson added that he “most definitely” will attend the Rams’ two remaining home games.
Dickerson said he wants the Rams to hire a “proven NFL coach,” and his list of candidates includes former San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh has returned Michigan to national prominence in just two seasons, but it is being reported he has no interest in the Rams position.
Other names surfacing include New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels (who also served in that role for the 2011 STL Rams before being fired), former Tampa coach and analyst Jon Gruden and Kyle Shanahan.
The NFL’s “Rooney Rule” will compel to the Rams to interview at least one black candidate, and I hope COO Kevin Demoff calls Stanford coach David Shaw.
Shaw has compiled a 63-17 overall record, and is an impressive 42-12 in the Pac 12. His teams have made three Rose Bowl appearances, and the Cardinal have played in a bowl game each of his five years as head coach. Stanford will face North Carolina in the Sun Bowl on December 30.
Shaw served as passing coordinator for Harbaugh at San Diego University and later became his offensive coordinator at Stanford after Harbaugh was hired there.
With Shaw as passing coordinator at San Diego in 2006, the Toreros led NCAA Division I-AA in passing offense (293.3 yards per game), total offense (494.25 yards per game) and scoring offense (42.83 points per game) and finished 11-1.
He also served nine years as a NFL assistant coach, respectively, with the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens from 1997 to 2006.
Adding more polish to his Rams’ resume is the fact that Shaw’s father, Willie Shaw, was a college or NFL assistant coach 32 years. He was Rams defensive coordinator in 1995-96, the team’s first years in St. Louis. He later served as assistant head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.
Shaw should be given serious consideration and awarded the job if he wants the yeoman’s task of fixing the Rams’ shamble of an offense, stabilizing erratic quarterback Jared Goff and building a true L.A. foundation for the dysfunctional franchise.
Soul power Fowler
The St. Louis Cardinals surprised many a pundit – including me – when free agent Dexter Fowler was signed to a five-year, $82.5 million contract.
He will play centerfield and bat leadoff – and hopefully add some effervescence to the all-too-droll Cardinals clubhouse.
“If I got into a clubhouse, we’re going to have fun,” Fowler said during his introductory press conference at Busch Stadium on Friday.
“Even if the clubhouse is not having fun, we’re going to have fun. Win, lose or draw, let’s have fun because I believe that’s going to make us better. I feel like I can do that in a clubhouse. Either way, we’ll get the guys out of their shell if they are in the shell.”
This was the prefect attitude while playing for the Chicago Cubs and manager Joe Maddon.
As I warned last week, we’ll have to see if manager Mike Matheny gets on board with Fowler’s joviality, especially when the team isn’t playing well.
General manager John Mozeliak has set the stage for Fowler, and has probably let Matheny know he should not try to curb his enthusiasm.
“(Fowler) wants to have a voice in that clubhouse. When you think about all of things we’ve talked about and tried to change, the culture of what we have going — we like what we have but now we like it better. We feel he’s only going to enhance that,” Mozeliak said during the press conference.
The Cardinals now have some soul at the top of the lineup and as a leader in the clubhouse. It has been awhile since you could say that – and nothing but good can come of it.
Oregon tags Taggart
Willie Taggart, who turned around South Florida’s floundering football program, was hired last week by the University of Oregon.
Nice job, Ducks!
In his first press conference, Taggart was asked about Oregon winning a national championship and he calmly responded “There is no reason for us not to.”
He said the first three things he will impress on his team are: “Make no excuses, blame no one, do something.”
He said players must “(Be the) best student you can be, best football player you can be, and (have) the best character that you can have.”
He fired up the Oregon crowd before a home basketball game against Alabama last weekend and his enthusiasm soon had thousands of Duck fans on their feet and cheering.
Taggart had the respective recommendations of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, for whom he served as linebackers coach at San Francisco, and retired Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy.
“I certainly think he’s a good fit,” Dungy said before Taggart got the job
“Oregon is a different situation. You’re not coming in taking something from the ground floor. You need a coach that can come in and get players going and coach well. It’s a big challenge at Oregon, one that he would be successful at.
“You’re not trying to become respectable, you’re trying to win national championships — it’s a different kind of challenge.”
As for Harbaugh’s influence, Taggart said “When you see a Willie Taggart football team, you know a lot of that came from (Jim and Baltimore Ravens head coach John) Harbaugh.”
Taggart, 40, compiled a 24–25 record at South Florida. He went just 6–18 in his first two seasons and was rumored to be fired. His Bulls won 18 games the last two years, including 10 in 2016, the best mark in school history.
Strong choice by USF
One of Taggart’s first choices for his staff at Oregon was going to be Charlie Strong, who was fired by Texas at season’s end.
Strong, however, is taking over as head coach at USF for the departed Taggart.
“Some of the best football talent in the country is right here in the (Tampa) Bay Area and throughout the state of Florida, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with the young men in the USF football program and build on the strong foundation already in place,” he said.
Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows, including Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box” on KFNS. His Twitter handle is @aareid1.
