St. Louis sports already has seen two coaching changes over the last couple of weeks.
Is a third one on the horizon?
Steve Spagnuolo is in his third season as head coach of the Rams. He has an overall record of 10-32.
When the Rams fired Scott Linehan during the 2008 season, he was in his third year and had an overall record of 11-25.
Mike Martz was 56-36 as head coach of the Rams.
Not counting the postseason, Dick Vermeil was 22-26 in three years with the Rams. He was 9-23 after two seasons.
But Vermeil brought the Lombardi Trophy to St. Louis, so his first two seasons are forgotten.
Jim Harbaugh has San Francisco 9-1 in his first season with the 49ers. By the time the year is over, he’ll have more wins in one season than Spagnuolo has in three.
Seattle Head Coach Pete Carroll has 12 wins in his second season with the Seahawks, including a playoff victory.
Spagnuolo has directed the Rams to seasons of 1-15 and 7-9. What will his record be this year?
With six games remaining, the Rams own a 2-8 record. Still on the schedule are San Francisco twice, Arizona, Seattle, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
At best, we’re looking at a 4-12 record. Will 12 wins in three seasons be enough to save Spagnuolo’s job? Does he need to show something to save his job?
“I don’t go there only because I don’t do the six-week deal. I don’t go that far into the future. It’s just this game,” Spagnuolo said. “I just know that’s how I operate in this business. The good Lord takes care of the rest.”
Spagnuolo seems like a good guy. By all accounts, he’s a good football coach, especially when it comes to defense.
But he’s obviously had his struggles as a head coach.
To his defense, the Rams have been hit hard by injuries this season. They literally will have to find someone off the street to play offensive tackle this Sunday against the Cardinals.
The defensive backfield also has been hit hard by injuries.
But there also have been plenty of things to question regarding decisions by Spagnuolo.
Hiring Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator hasn’t worked. Sam Bradford has taken a step backward.
If there’s a coaching change, maybe just McDaniels, that means Bradford would have his third different offense in three years. That would be rough.
But can you really keep the same staff in place after this kind of brutal season?
Rams owner Stan Kroenke doesn’t make many public appearances, but you know he’s watching somewhere and taking notes.
“When I get an opportunity, I visit with Stan, but I don’t bother him. We’re here pounding away,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s very supportive. He was in the locker room I think it was back in Arizona. I love having him around. I’ve got a great deal of respect for him. But he knows we’re here pounding away.”
A coaching change this season likely will not happen. What would be the point? Are you just going to let McDaniels take over? No thanks.
The Rams aren’t going anywhere. You might as well see if the team plays hard for Spags over the final six games.
Spagnuolo doesn’t deserve all of the heat. General manager Billy Devaney needs to be thrown into the mix as well.
The Rams’ offseason moves looked good on paper, but haven’t worked out. The only player to really make a difference has been safety Quintin Mikell. Offensive guard Harvey Dahl and defensive tackle Justin Bannon have been OK.
Linebackers Brady Poppinga and Ben Leber have done very little. Has anyone seen running back Jerious Norwood lately?
The Rams have big money tied up in the starting offensive line, which isn’t exactly working out.
In last Sunday’s game, two of those five regular starters played. Tackles Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith were hurt (both are under performing this season) and center Jason Brown was benched.
The silver lining to this Rams’ mess is the team is in line for a top five pick in next year’s NFL Draft.
Indianapolis is 0-10 and will likely have the No. 1 pick. Minnesota and Carolina both are tied with the Rams at 2-8.
After the Colts draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, the Rams would love to have that No. 2 pick to take all-world Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon.
The question is, who will be the Rams coach next year?
