The “Final Say” At Rams Park
Rams GM Jay Zygmunt has taken a beating from irate Rams fans and media. By trade, he’s been an attorney and the team’s salary-cap specialist. So what is the guy doing making personnel decisions? Why does he have power on the football side of things?
The issue of Zygmunt having “The Final Say” at Rams Park has been the rub with fans and media.
Zygmunt’s response to all of that came in two separate stages, and I will give them to you in reverse order:
1. Three times during a 30-minute interview on our Team 1380-AM radio show Monday, Zygmunt said this: “I am not a personnel guy.”
2. Over the weekend, Zygmunt hired Billy Devaney to serve as executive vice president over player personnel at Rams Park.
It’s becoming clear to me that even if Zygmunt was hung up on having power before, he seems to be getting over it.
That’s why Billy D is on board.
Zygmunt wouldn’t have recruited Devaney unless he valued Devaney’s football judgements. He didn’t bring Devaney in here to toss aside Devaney’s recommendations on free-agent signings and draft choices. He has too much respect for Devaney.
(OK, you may be asking… what about Tony Softli? Didn’t the Rams hire him to coordinate the draft, and wasn’t Softli supposed to have considerable influence at Rams Park? So why will it be different for Devaney? The easy answer: Devaney is an established talent evaluator in the NFL, and has made his reputation over a 25-year period. He has a track record. Softli was a relative unknown when the Rams hired him. And the Rams hired him after being denied permission to speak to seven other candidates employed by other NFL teams. To be blunt: Softli wasn’t what the Rams thought they were getting. They took a shot. It may not work out. But with Devaney, they KNOW what they are getting. Big difference between the Softli hiring and the Devaney appointment).
So if you are worried about Jay Zygmunt throwing his power down on Devaney as if it were a hammer, I’d suggest that you reevaluate the situation.
More than anything, J-Z realized he needed help.
And he went out and got it.
Don’t ask me
Head coach Scott Linehan said so on Monday at Rams Park. Speaking to a few reporters off to the side, after Devaney’s introduction, the newly candid Linehan offered this:
“I needed Billy Devaney to come here. And I think Jay needed Billy, too. We need his help.”
Linehan explained that, as a coach, he gets too attached to players. He doesn’t always make the best judgements. He wanted someone like Devaney to come in and lead the way, and to offer meaningful input that may prevent the coach from making personnel mistakes. Linehan also said that Devaney’s well-rounded personality was a good fit for the Rams; Devaney, who has experienced the very best and the very worst of the NFL, knows the delirium of victory and the depression of defeat. He’s got a healthy perspective. Linehan said one of his problems is brooding too much after defeats…not being able to shake off defeats… letting the losses affect his mood, his coaching. And Linehan sincerely believes that Devaney can be a positive force behind the scenes, to keep the coach centered.
Zygmunt is the same way; losses just destroy the guy. Devaney’s fresh voice, and approach, will be good for J-Z. Linehan and Zygmunt now have a touchstone at Rams Park. Someone who has been through the grind, who has won Super Bowls, who has also been fired, and who can help guide them through the twists and turns of a season. When people talk about B. Devaney, they mention his football acumen, but his people skills rank a close second. He has some Dick Vermeil in him.
Above that, Zygmunt also knows the Rams must achieve more success in rating free agents and draft picks. And that’s why he aggressively went for Devaney. Again, he didn’t bring Devaney in here to be a cheerleader. He plans on making Devaney the point man on all football stuff. On our Team 1380-AM radio show, Zygmunt said Devaney would “absolutely” be in charge of the Rams’ War Room on draft day. And Zygmunt added that he and the coaches are turning to Devaney for guidance before making decisions on the upcoming free-agent class. If Zygmunt has the so-called “Final Say,” it exists only in theory. Because if Zygmunt goes along with Devaney’s recommendations, and I believe he will, then the “Final Say” is never in play. It’s only a veto, really.
Look, I spent the last six months of 2007 flogging J-Z and Linny for all the mistakes that were made that led to a 3-13 record. I wouldn’t take any of it back.
But now I see two guys who realized they needed help, and in a big way.
And so they did something about it.
And I commend Zygmunt and Linehan for taking swift action. First Al Saunders, and a coaching-staff shakeup. And now this.
The hiring of Billy Devaney was a meaningful step for this franchise, which is now under the direction of new owner Chip Rosenbloom.
“When we met with Chip recently,” Zygmunt said, “What was really important to him was getting the Rams back on track. He asked, “What can we do to get the Rams back to where they should be? Whatever it takes, do it.’ Chip wants the Rams to be champions again.”
And that’s the real Final Say.
Thanks for reading…
–B
All of this shaking up reminds me of the Big Red. Terrible year after terrible year, with some form of action taken place towards the end of the season to give just a glimmer of hope for the following year. Maybe a big win on the last game of the season, or perhaps a hyped draft pick to give some hope for the next year. I don’t want to judge the actions taken by current management until time has run its course, but if we are 3-13 or 4-12 in ‘08, then this is just another boneheaded move. It’s tough to be a football fan in this town. Do I re-up the $2000 for seats for the ‘08 season based on these front office/coaching moves? Towards the end of the season, every scibe for the P-D painted nothing but horrific pictures of what the future holds for this franchise, nearly making me make my decision to NOT renew my season tickets. But then I remembered something, I bought my PSLs to bring football back to the Lou, regardless of playoff appearances. Afterall, I supported Billy Bidwell for years, and obviously not for the playoff appearances. Try and remember the Lou with no pro football, those were dark days.
Once again good article Birnie. I like the effort the Rams are making, its long over due. What I like about the changes is that if the Rams don’t show improvement this year, I think Linehan…….well, the real problem will be exposed.
B you could be right about the rams being top 10 in making playoffs during shaw and z tenure.
I do know it was between the rams and bengals for being the worst teams during the 90’s.
The bengals probably won the honor by the rams having a great 1999.
The rams had good years when vermeil and arney (football people) had more control.
I can’t recall how much control shaw and z had during the 80’s.
I have to agree with the Big Man in his assessment. All you doubters need to first cut Linehan some slack, unless that is, you were calling for Dick Vermeil’s head with the same ferocity after the 1998 season, because the circumstances are nearly the same.
DV of course, had more experience, but don’t forget that he himself was coming off a loooong coaching hiatus, prior to which his biggest downfall was…that’s right…trying to do too much; not delegating; mistakes very similar to those which Linehan has fallen guilty in his first two seasons at the Rams helm.
The good news is, like DV did, Linehan has taken steps to correct his errors in judgement, bringing in quality assistants who only came to the Rams on the understanding that they’re input would be heard and followed. Let’s see if history has a chance to at least come close to repeating itself, or more accurately, a proven solution has a chance to correct a common philosophical error.
And regarding J-Z, he too has seen the error of his ways and has taken steps to self-correct. Don’t under-estimate John Shaw’s direction in making the Billy Devaney signing happen as well.
And please, don’t delude yourselves into thinking that John Shaw will ever be actually fired by anyone in the Rosenbloom family. He is like an uncle to Chip and was a saint to the family’s late Matriarch, Georgia Frontiere. Shaw would most definitely retire voluntarily before he would ever be fired by Mister Chip.
Finally, can you honestly look at the Rams’ personnel, even after the past two dysfunctional seasons and say that they were as bad as their record? No way! Injuries, misdirection, bad coaching decisions and the like were more than enough to derail them. And as Devaney has already said, this team is NOT in rebuilding mode. Retooling maybe, not rebuilding.
I believe the difference, next year, will be dramatic. I believe the Rams will be a wildcard team or very close to it, and within two seasons, I believe they’ll be back as an elite team in the NFC.
That is all of course based upon management and coaching truly learning from their mistakes and not repeating them, taking advantage of the position they are still in to rebound quickly.
We’ll see, but I for one, am hopeful.
Good article, Bernie. The one question I’m left asking is - what is Linehan’s role now? It’s not calling plays, it’s not personell, it’s not drafting, and he has been given an army of babysitters since the season ended.
But hey give him credit, he makes a lot of money to call timeouts and issue challenges.
my problem with management is ,who or what ran dv off after the superbowl?
was that the lomax that was excited about the fenix move? if so ,I’ll never forget your victory or hanifans over the raiders(17 points down!)
Bernie,
So far so good, I think the Rams have made some smart moves so far this offseason. Hopefully this will translate into at least a .500 team next year.
GO RAMS!
It’s called saving your job. New ownership is suddenly in place and you start to review your recent past deeds….which in this case have been dreadful. Now you do all you can to bolster your position. You hire new people, take a new direction, buckle down and say all the right things to the press, you know, all the stuff the fans want you to say.
Chip may be a Rosenbloom, but that doesn’t mean he’s a Georgia clone. Shaw & Zyg know this. They also know that minority owner, Stan, possibly has some say in matters. The next two years should at least be interesting to watch. The LA Times reports that Chip is being quietly courted by those with big money in LA.
Only time will tell what happens to the Rams.
Why hire someone from Atlanta…wasn’t anyone available from Miami or Minnesota?