Before he could kick off his first practice as Rams head coach, former defensive coordinator Jim Haslett had to hustle back to his office. “Forgot the whistle,” he explained.

Some 2 1/2 years had passed since Haslett last was in charge on the field, so it was understandable that he didn’t have the routine down perfectly. “I got lost a couple of times, started walking into the defense room and turned around . . . little things like that,” he said. “It’ll come around. It’s not a big deal.”

Haslett put the team through a brisk, 90-minute workout, and said afterward that “it’s kind of boring, to be honest with you. You kind of stand around and you aren’t coaching, coaching. You’re not yelling at anybody.”

That will come. Haslett earned a reputation as a tough, demanding head coach during his six years in New Orleans. Asked to compare him to Scott Linehan, reinstated first-team quarterback Marc Bulger simply said, “Their personalities are a little bit different.”

“It’s all kind of new,” guard Richie Incognito said. “I think we’re all just feeling our way through it right now.”

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Notes & quotes:

*Former football Cardinals offensive lineman Conrad Dobler attended practice.

*Haslett has opened practices to the media. Under Linehan, reporters could watch the first 20 or 30 minutes, then had to leave.

*WR/returner Derek Stanley took some reps with the first team, and might be due for a promotion from the practice squad.

*The players ran sprints at the end of practice, their first conditioning drill in several weeks.

All for now . . .