New Rams coach Jeff Fisher is working through his extensive and ambitious “to do” list.

Building a better roster piece by piece is a big part of his job. So is assembling a better coaching staff.

But his overriding goal is necessarily broad. He is trying to build a strong program — a way of doing things that everybody working at Rams Park can believe in.

The challenge is enormous. This is a downtrodden operation, arguably the NFL's worst before the latest round of firings commenced.

The Rams haven’t posted a winning season since 2003. The decline started on “Mad Mike” Martz’s watch and continued through two overmatched first-time head coaches (Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolo) and two handcuffed interim coaches (Joe Vitt and Jim Haslett).

Fisher must start over almost from scratch, building around the handful of cornerstone players already in place.

The task will be daunting, but Fisher inspires confidence within the football industry. This is why top assistant coaches are lining up to join this project.

New defensive coordinator Gregg Williams left his post with the Saints, a perennial Super Bowl contender, to rejoin Fisher. They  developed a strong bond working together in Tennessee.

New offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer had myriad opportunities after leaving the Jets, but he eagerly signed on as well after an extensive visit with the new Rams coach.

New assistant head coach Dave McGinnis worked under a one-year deal with the Titans this season while hoping to follow Fisher to his next gig.

The call came and he jumped at the opportunity to help Fisher build a program from the ground up.

“I really, really wanted to stay with Jeff,” McGinnis said during a conference call with St. Louis reporters Wednesday. “I love the way he does things. He just gets it on every level in this league. There are a lot of levels you have to be spot on with.”

McGinnis has been around the coaching block. Like many NFL coaches, his career was launched back at the University of Missouri — an unlikely coaching cradle, given its lengthy drought between gridiron glory days.

Along the trail, he notes he was “head coach of the Bears for six hours, and knew it for three” back in 1999, when that team called a news conference to announce his hiring before he agreed to terms. That blunder convinced him not to work for that organization.

(Had McGinnis actually taken the Chicago job, he would have hired Martz as offensive coordinator — thus preventing the birth of the “Greatest Show on Turf.” Funny how the world works.)

McGinnis became head coach of the Cardinals, first on an interim basis, then with more permanent status. But working for Bill Bidwill in those days had its drawbacks and he never got the Gridbirds on track.

His happier times in Tennessee under Fisher illustrated the difference between a team and a program. He quickly came to appreciate Fisher’s method of operation. The Titans worked hard and adhered to high standards but still had fun.

When Fisher stepped down as coach and took a year off from the NFL, McGinnis hoped Jeff would find a new challenge and bring him along.

And here they are. Although this team has yet to settle on its new general manager, Fisher has quickly established himself as the new face of the franchise.

“He has a confidence about him,” McGinnis said. “That is very, very evident when you are around him.”

That confidence must spread to every aspect of the Rams organization, given the transformation that must occur. Last season the Rams kept finding new ways to lose during their 2-14 campaign.

Fisher must replace the stagger with swagger. His confidence must become contagious and spread to every corner of the operation.

“People in the building like the atmosphere he creates,” McGinnis said. “Players love playing for him.

“You know you will always have a chance. You will always be prepared on Sunday. The environment is conducive to doing very, very good things.”