New coach is demanding but sincere

Having learned a few embarrassing lessons along the way, I'm hesitant to hype rookie NFL head coaches. I don't get worked up over what happens in training camp. So I'll hold off on trying to nominate new Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Let's see him in a real game. Let's see what happens when the injuries cut into an already thin roster, or when the squad is shaken by the inevitable losing streak. Let's see how the young coach responds if players question him or ignite a controversy. Let's see if he grows rabbit ears or develops overly sensitive skin when there's a feeding frenzy among frustrated fans or media. So what do we make of the Rams and Spagnuolo a week before the regular-season opener in Seattle?
To state the obvious: The roster still has gaping holes, and only time and better judgment will fill them. Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney didn't create this roster; they inherited much of it. And they are turning it over as fast as they can.
Quality, intelligent leadership eventually will take the Rams higher. So what about Spagnuolo as a leader?
I haven't seen any signs of panic. Spagnuolo's stability is an attribute considering that three NFL head coaches (Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Buffalo) freaked out last week and fired their offensive coordinators.
Spagnuolo is demanding but sincere and that earns respect. He's run a peaceful, orderly and businesslike camp. That may not have people rushing to the ticket windows, but this is a welcome change for an organization that was undermined by constant dysfunction. And compared to some other rookie coaches around the NFL who are yapping a lot or trying to project some tough-guy persona, Spagnuolo seems comfortable with who he is. He doesn't seem to feel a need to put on a show, or to draw attention to himself. I don't see Spagnuolo firing ego bullets in some misplaced display of authority.
Here's the most important thing: Spagnuolo has gotten the players to embrace his approach. So far - and I repeat, more severe challenges are coming - Spagnuolo is receiving the necessary commitment from his players. That was a constant (and failed) struggle for Scott Linehan, the previous rookie head coach brought in by the old regime at Rams Park.
Spagnuolo is connecting.
"I think we have got a bunch of hungry guys," Spagnuolo said. "I think it's good to be hungry. It's a hungry Football team that wants to be a team. We've talked a lot about it and I think the guys have embraced it. At least their actions and the attitudes and what comes out verbally says that to me. So if we can rally around that, that would be good."
That's why Spagnuolo thanked the squad in the team meeting the evening before they faced Kansas City in the final preseason game. He asked a lot of them in a physical camp, and they gave him what he wanted. That's where leadership begins: getting players to play for you.
"That means a great deal," Spagnuolo said. "I thanked them the other night. The night before the game for what they did. Back in offseason program, right through training camp, it was a new training camp. It was a different hotel and we're here. New staff, new this or that, and they didn't skip a beat. They really bought in to it."
Friday at Rams Park, Spagnuolo took the time to express gratitude to his staff. They will be vital to his success, or failure.
"It all starts with a good staff," he said. "I think it's a staff of character - that is how we built it and I think it is a cohesive staff. I think that is important. I think the players feel that. (If) we're all together on the same page, it permeates into the locker room."
And yet Spagnuolo has the awareness to realize that this means little unless he can maintain that loyalty over the next 16 games.
"I'm perfectly aware that all of this is a honeymoon period," Spagnuolo said. "That's not lost on me. The real challenge is upcoming. It will be here before you know it. No team goes through 16 games without some adversity."
Miracle fixes?
Bold promises?
        Not this coach.
Spagnuolo is old-fashioned in a way. He's all about energy and enthusiasm and being earnest. In terms of personal style, think of a young Dick Vermeil. Spagnuolo knows it's going to take a lot of hard work to turn the Rams around. And that's what this coach is all about: rolling up his sleeves and getting to work, and convincing his players to join the effort. I don't know what's ahead, but this is a good place to start.

St.Louis Rams History

Saint Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St Louis, Missouri They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference  in the National Football League  The Rams have won three NFL Championships , and are the only NFL team to win championships in three different cities
The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League Although the NFL granted membership to the same owner, the NFL considers it a separate entity since only four of the players  and none of the team's management joined the new NFL team
The team then became known as the Los Angeles Rams after the club moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1946, opting not to compete with Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference Following the 1979 season, the Rams moved south to the suburbs in nearby Orange County, playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim for fifteen seasons , keeping the Los Angeles name The club moved east to St Louis prior to the 1995 season
Franchise history
For more details on this topic, see History of the St Louis Rams
Cleveland Rams
The Cleveland Rams were founded by attorney Homer Marshman in 1936 Their name, the Rams, comes from the nickname of Fordham University "Rams" was selected to honor the hard work of the football players that came out of that university They were part of the newly formed American Football League and finished the 1936 regular season in second place with a 5–2–2 record, trailing only the 8–3 record of league champion Boston Shamrocks
The following year the Rams joined the National Football League on February 13, 1937, and were assigned to the Western division to replace the St Louis Gunners, who had left the league after a three-game stint in the 1934 season From the beginning, they were a team marked by frequent moves, playing in three stadiums over several losing seasons However, the team did feature the MVP of the 1939 season, rookie halfback Parker Hall
In June 1941, the Rams were bought by Dan Reeves and Fred Levy, Jr Reeves, an heir to his family's grocery-chain business that had been purchased by AP, used some of his inheritance to buy his share of the team Levy's family owned the Levy Brothers department store chain in Kentucky and he also came to own the Riverside International Raceway Levy owned part of the Rams, with Bob Hope another of the owners, until Reeves bought out his partners in 1962
The franchise suspended operations and sat out the 1943 season because of a shortage of players during World War II and resumed playing in 1944 The team finally achieved success in 1945, which proved to be their last season in Ohio Quarterback Bob Waterfield, a rookie from UCLA, passed, ran, and place-kicked his way to the league's Most Valuable Player award and helped the Rams achieve a 9–1 record and winning their first NFL Championship, a 15–14 home field victory over theWashington Redskins on December 16 The victory was provided by a safety : Redskins great Sammy Baugh's pass bounced off of the goal post, then backward, through his team's own end zone The next season, NFL rules were changed to prevent this from ever again resulting in scoring; instead, it would result in merely an incomplete pass
Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams: Los Angeles Era
1946–1948: Starting over in Los Angeles
On January 12, 1946, Reeves obtained the consent of the NFL to allow his team to relocate to Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which had a seating capacity at the time of 105,000—far greater than their Cleveland venue's This placed the Rams more than 2,000 miles  away from the nearest NFL team, at the time  At the time, the NFL did not allow African-Americans to play in the league The commissioners of the Los Angeles Coliseum approved the deal on the condition that the team be racially integrated As a result, the Rams signed UCLA players Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, who became the first two Black men to play in the NFL, post-World War II
The Rams were the second NFL team to represent Los Angeles, but the first to actually play there: The Los Angeles Buccaneers, a traveling team stocked with Southern California natives, played there in 1926 The Rams played their first pre-season game against the Washington Redskins in front of a crowd of 95,000 fans The team finished their first season in LA with a 6–4–1 record  At the end of the season Walsh was fired as head coach
The LA Coliseum, built in 1922 and used in the 1932 Summer Olympics, was the home of the Rams for more than thirty years In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football The next year, the Rams merged with fellow Coliseum tenants, the Los Angeles Dons
1949–1955: Three-end formation
Between 1949 and 1955, the Rams played in the NFL championship game four times, winning once  During this period, they had the best offense in the NFL, led by quarterbacks Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin  Wide receiver Elroy Hirsch, teamed with fellow Hall-of-Famer Tom Fears, helped create the style of Rams football as one of the first big play receivers During the 1951 Championship season, Hirsch posted 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns The popularity of this wide-open offense enabled the Los Angeles Rams to become the first pro football team to have all its games televised
1956–1962: Tanking out
The Rams posted losing records in all but two seasons between 1956 and 1966 In those two seasons, the club finished with a 6 and 6 record in 1957 followed by an 8 and 4 mark and a strong second place showing the next year Led by business executive Pete Rozelle's shrewd understanding of how to use television as a revolutionary promotional device, the Rams remained a business success despite the team's poor record In a 1957 game against the San Francisco 49'ers, the Rams set a record for attendance for a regular-season NFL game  The Rams drew over 100,000 fans twice the following year
1963–1969: The Fearsome Foursome
The 1960s were defined by the Rams great defensive line of Rosey Grier, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, and Lamar Lundy, dubbed the "Fearsome Foursome" This group was put together by then head coach Harland Svare It was this group of players who restored the on-field luster of the franchise in 1967 when the Rams reached  the conference championship under legendary coach George Allen That 1967 squad would become the first NFL team to surpass one million spectators in a season, a feat the Rams would repeat the following year In each of those two years, the LA Rams drew roughly double the number of fans that could be accommodated by their current stadium for a full season
George Allen led the Rams from 1966 to 1970 and introduced many innovations These included hiring a young Dick Vermeil as one of the first special teams coaches Though Allen would enjoy five straight winning seasons and win two divisional titles in his time with the Rams he never won a playoff game with the team, losing in 1967 to Green Bay 28–7 and in 1969 23–20 to Minnesota Allen would leave after the 1970 season to take the head coaching job for the Washington Redskins
1970–1972: Changes
Quarterback Roman Gabriel played eleven seasons for the Rams dating from 1962 to 1972 From 1967 to 1971, Gabriel led the Rams to either a first- or second-place finish in their division every year He was voted the MVP of the entire NFL in 1969, for a season in which he threw for 2,549 yards and 24 TDs while leading the Rams to the playoffs During the 1970 season, Gabriel combined with his primary receiver Jack Snow for 51 receptions totaling 859 yards This would prove to be the best season of their eight seasons as teammates
Coach George Allen favored veteran squads, reflecting an "I want to win now, not build now" attitude, and habitually traded draft picks to other teams for veteran players When Allen left after the 1970 season, he left behind an aging Rams squad He was replaced in 1971 as Rams coach by former UCLA head coach Tommy Prothro Prothro began rebuilding the Rams in the 1971 NFL college draft, laying the foundation for the Rams 1970s success by picking Isiah Robertson, Dave Elmendorf, and Jack Youngblood in that draft In the 1972 draft Prothro continued his rebuilding of the Rams by drafting future pro-bowlers Lawrence McCutcheon and Jim Bertelsen
In 1972 Chicago industrialist Robert Irsay purchased the Rams for $19 million and then traded the franchise to Carroll Rosenbloom for his Baltimore Colts and cash The Rams remained solid contenders in the 1970s, winning seven straight NFC West championships between 1973 and 1979 Though they clearly were the class of the NFC in the 1970s along with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, they lost the first 4 conference championship games they played in that decade, losing twice each to Minnesota  and Dallas
1973–1979: NFC West Champs


The Rams' coach for this run was Chuck Knox, who led the team through the 1977 season The Chuck Knox-coached Rams featured an average offense, supported by an elite defense and special teams The defining player of the 1970s LA Rams was Jack Youngblood Youngblood was called the 'Perfect Defensive End' by fellow Hall-of-Famer Merlin Olsen His toughness was legendary—notably, playing on a broken leg during the Rams' run to the 1980 Super Bowl His blue-collar work ethic stood in stark contrast to the public perception that the Rams were a soft, "Hollywood" team Coincidentally, though, several Rams players from this era took advantage of their proximity to Hollywood, dabbling in TV and/or film acting after their playing careers ended Perhaps the most notable of these were Merlin Olsen  and Fred Dryer
Ironically, it was the Rams' weakest divisional winner  that would achieve the team's greatest success in that period Led by third-year quarterback Vince Ferragamo, the Rams shocked the heavily favored and two-time defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys 21–19 in the Divisional Playoffs, then shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9–0 in the conference championship game to win the NFC title and reach their first Super Bowl Along with Ferragamo, key players for the Rams were halfback Wendell Tyler, offensive lineman Jackie Slater, and Pro Bowl defenders Jack Youngblood and Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds
The Rams' opponent in their first Super Bowl was the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers The game would be a virtual home game for the Rams, as it was played in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl Although some oddsmakers set the Rams as a 10½ point underdog, the Rams were tightly competitive with Pittsburgh  In the end, however, the Steelers scored two touchdowns in the 4th quarter Despite a valiant effort by the Rams defense that stifled long yardage gains, the Steelers offense managed to "run out the clock" on the Rams offense, winning their 4th Super Bowl, 31–19
Los Angeles Rams: Anaheim Era
1979–1981: Starting over in Anaheim
Prior to their 1979 Super Bowl season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom drowned in an accident; his widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70% ownership of the team Frontiere fired her step-son, Steve Rosenbloom, to assume total control of the franchise As had been planned prior to Carroll Rosenbloom's death, the Rams moved from their longtime home at the LA Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in nearby Orange County, in 1980 The reason for the move was twofold; first, attendance LA Memorial Coliseum was more difficult to sell-out than stadiums in other NFL cities because of its abnormally large seating capacity ; and, Pete Rozelle—who had since become NFL Commissioner—created a 'black-out rule' preventing any home game that wasn't sold-out 72 hours before kickoff from being broadcast in its local TV market Second, the Southern California's population patterns were changing: there was rapid growth in LA's affluent suburbs , and a decline in the city of Los Angeles' citizenship and earning power Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1965 as the home of the California Angels Major League Baseball franchise To accommodate the Rams' move, the ballpark was re-configured with luxury suites, and enclosed to accommodate crowds of about 65,000 for football
In 1982, LA Memorial Coliseum was occupied by the erstwhile Oakland Raiders The combined effect of these two factors, was to force the Rams' traditional fan base to be split between two teams Making matters even worse, at this time the Rams were unsuccessful on the field, while the Raiders were thriving—even winning Super Bowl XVIII in 1983
1983–1991: Robinson takes over the Rams

The hiring of coach John Robinson in 1983 provided a needed boost for pro football in Orange County The former USC coach led the Rams to the playoffs six times in his nine seasons They made the NFC Championship Game in 1985, where they would lose to the eventual Champion Chicago Bears The most notable player for the Rams during that period was running back Eric Dickerson, who was drafted in 1983 out of SMU and won Rookie of the Year In 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards, setting a new NFL record, which still stands to this day In the 1985 Divisional Playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys, Dickerson rushed for 248 yards setting an NFL Playoff Game record which also still stands Dickerson would end his five years for the Rams in 1987, by being traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a number of players and draft picks The trade occurred after a bitter contract dispute, shortly after the players' strike that year ended Dickerson would remain as the Rams' career rushing leader with 7,245 yards until the 2010 season
Despite the Dickerson trade, the Rams remained contenders due to the arrival of the innovative offensive leadership of Ernie Zampese Zampese employed the intricate timing routes he had used to turn the San Diego Chargers into a state-of-the-art offense Under Zampese, the Rams rose steadily from 28th-rated offense in 1986 to 3rd in 1990 In the late 1980s the Rams featured a gifted young QB in Jim Everett, a solid rushing attack, and a fleet of talented WRs After an 11–5 record during the 1989 regular season, they were a team that seemed destined for greater things until a crushing 30–3 defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1989 NFC Championship game
1990–1994: Georgia's Endgame for the LA Rams
The first half of the 1990s featured losing records, no playoff appearances, and waning fan interest The return of Chuck Knox as head coach , did not boost the Rams' fortunes His run-oriented offense brought the end of Zampese's tenure, in 1993 John Shaw, the team's general manager, was perceived by some to continually squander NFL Draft picks on sub-standard talent The offensive scheme was unsteady, unspectacular to watch—further alienating fans One bright spot for the offense during this time was running back Jerome Bettis, although he was later traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Team management traded quarterback Jim Everett, and released All-Pro linebacker Kevin Greene, which only widened the chasm between success and the Rams organization The losing seasons increased At this point, Georgia Frontiere blamed the poor front office decisions on their stadium situation Neither Orange County nor the city of Los Angeles were prepared to build a taxpayer-financed stadium just for the Rams; after all, there were at least three perfectly suitable stadiums already in the Greater LA area
Georgia Frontiere attempted to relocate the Rams to Baltimore, Maryland, but that deal was eventually stopped Mrs Frontiere then sought to re-locate the team to the city of her birth city of St Louis NFL owners  voted to oppose the move, arguing that Frontiere  had badly mismanaged the team Nevertheless, she threatened to sue the NFL itself; ultimately, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue acquiesced to Frontiere's demands
As part of the re-location deal, the city of St Louis agreed to and guaranteed that the stadium's amenities would be maintained in the top 25% of all stadiums in the National Football League The Edward Jones Dome was under construction before any deal with the Rams were made after St Louis began building it in an attempt to lure a new franchise after the Cardinals left for Arizona following the 1987 season after the the city had refused to build a new stadium for the Cardinals Frontiere waived the clause after a 10-year threshold period had passed, though, as the city implemented a later plan to improve the stadium
The move left many in the Los Angeles area embittered toward the NFL That sentiment was best expressed by Fred Dryer, who at the time said "I hate these people  for what they did, taking the Rams logo with them when they moved to St Louis That logo belonged to Southern California" Steve Rosenbloom, the general manager of the team during Carroll Rosenbloom's tenure, opined that teams come and go, but for a team to leave Los Angeles—the second largest media market in America—for St Louis,  was simply irresponsible and foolish With the Raiders moving from LA back to Oakland only a few months later, the NFL would have no franchise in Los Angeles As of 2014, the league has yet to return
St Louis Rams
1995–1999: Starting over in St Louis
The 1995 and 1996 seasons the Rams were under the direction of head coach Rich Brooks Their most prolific player from their first two seasons was the fan-favorite Isaac Bruce Then in 1997, Dick Vermeil was hired as the head coach In 1997, the Rams traded up in the draft to select future All-Pro offensive tackle Orlando Pace The Rams were very well known for their high powered offense in 1999 Prior to the season, the Rams traded a second and a fourth round draft pick for future league MVP, Marshall Faulk The season started with Trent Green injuring his leg in preseason that would sideline him for the entire season Vermeil told the public that the Rams would "Rally around Kurt Warner, and play good football" Kurt Warner, who had played QB for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League just a few years prior, synced up withMarshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce to lead the Rams to one of the most historic Super Bowl offenses in history, posting 526 points for the season This was the beginning of what would later become known around the league as The Greatest Show on Turf
1999–2005: Greatest Show on Turf
Main article: The Greatest Show on Turf
In 1999, Kurt Warner shocked the league by throwing for 41 touchdowns This got the Rams to Super Bowl XXXIV, where they beat the Tennessee Titans, 23–16 on the last play of the game Warner was named the MVP Following the Rams win, Dick Vermeil retired and Vermeil's Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz was hired He managed to take the Rams to Super Bowl XXXVI, losing to the New England Patriots Mike Martz helped the Rams establish a pass-first identity that would post an NFL record number of points forged over the course of 3 seasons  However, in the first round in the 2004 draft, the Rams chose Oregon State running back Steven Jackson as the 24th pick of the draft Jackson has been one of the Rams' most successful running backs since the Rams' arrival in St Louis
Martz was criticized by many as careless with game management He often feuded with several players as well as team president and general manager, Jay Zygmunt However, most of his players respected him and went on record saying that they enjoyed him as a coach In 2005, Mike Martz was ill and hospitalized for several games, allowing assistant head coach Joe Vitt to coach the remainder of the season, although Martz was cleared later in the season, team president John Shaw would not allow him to come back to coach the team
2006–2011
After the Rams fired Martz, former Minnesota offensive coordinator Scott Linehan took control of an 8–8 team in 2006 In 2007, Linehan led the Rams to 3–13 Following the 2007 season, Georgia Frontiere died January 18, 2008 after a 28-year ownership commencing in 1979 Ownership of the team passed to her son Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom and daughter Lucia Rodriguez Chip Rosenbloom was named the new Rams majority owner Linehan was already faced with scrutiny from several players in the locker room, including Torry Holt andSteven Jackson Linehan was then fired on September 29, 2008, after the team started the season 0–4 Jim Haslett, Defensive Coordinator under Linehan, was interim head coach for the rest of the 2008 season
John Shaw then resigned as president, and personnel chief Billy Devaney was promoted to general manager on December 24, 2008, after the resignation of former president of football operations and general manager Jay Zygmunt on December 22
On January 17, 2009 Steve Spagnuolo was named the new head coach of the franchise In his previous post as Defensive Coordinator with the New York Giants, Spagnuolo masterminded a defensive scheme that shut down the potent offense of the previously undefeated and untied New England Patriots, the odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl that year In one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, the New York Giants defeated the Patriots 17–14 In spite of his success as Defensive Coordinator with the New York Giants, Spagnuolo's first season as Head Coach of the Rams was terribly disappointing as the team won only once in 16 attempts
On May 31, 2009, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the majority owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez officially offered their majority share of Rams for sale They retained the services of Goldman Sachs, a prominent investment banking firm, to help facilitate the sale of the Rams by evaluating bids and soliciting potential buyers The sale price was unknown, but at the time Forbes magazine's most recent estimate listed the Rams' value at $929 million One of the early contenders for the team was a group led by Dave Checketts and Rush Limbaugh; however, opposition to Limbaugh's potential ownership led to the group's dissolution In February 2010 it was reported that Shahid Khan, a businessman from Urbana, Illinois, had signed an agreement to acquire the 60% ownership interest of Rosenbloom and Rodriguez, subject to approval by NFL owners However, a month later, on the final day to do so, then-minority owner Stan Kroenke invoke his right of first refusal to buy the 60 percent of the team that he did not already own
Rams' all-time leading rusherrunning back Steven Jackson
Pursuant to NFL rules, owners are prohibited from owning other sports teams in markets where there is already an NFL team At the time of purchase, Kroenke , owned the Denver Nuggets, theColorado Avalanche, the Colorado Rapids, and the Pepsi Center  Kroenke, a real estate and sports mogul as well as married to a Wal-Mart heir, also owned Altitude Sports and Entertainment These interests violated the NFL's cross-ownership rule
Nevertheless, on August 25, 2010, NFL owners unanimously approved Stan Kroenke as the owner of the franchise contingent upon his eventual divestment of his Colorado sports interests Kroenke complied with the rule when he transferred ownership of the Nuggets, Avalanche, the Pepsi Center, and the Altitude to his son Josh Kroenke
Sam Bradford became the quarterback of the Rams in 2010
The Rams received the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft after finishing the 2009 season with a 1–15 record The team used the pick to select quarterback Sam Bradford from the University of Oklahoma The Rams finished the 2010 season second in the NFC West with a record of 7–9 Bradford started all 16 games for the Rams after earning the starting QB position during the preseason On October 24, 2010, running back Steven Jackson passed Eric Dickerson as the franchise's career rushing leader
On January 18, 2011 the Rams hired Josh McDaniels, former head coach of the Denver Broncos Coincidentally, McDaniels was the Offensive Coordinator of the New England Patriots team that went undefeated and untied until it faced the stout defense led by Steve Spagnuolo of the New York Giants McDaniels replaced Pat Shurmur as Offensive Coordinator
On February 4, 2011, Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year Sam Bradford received 44 of the 50 possible from the nationwide panel of media members Bradford finished the 2010 season off with a 60% completion percentage, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions The last three quarterbacks to win this award were Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers , Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans , and Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons
After a solid rookie campaign by starting quarterback Sam Bradford and strong 7–9 finish to the 2010 season, the team and fans held high expectations for the upcoming season Unfortunately for the team, due to injuries to starters and poor execution, the Rams fell to a 2–14 record and poor finish to the 2011 season Their non respectable record and production led to coach firings across the board including head coach Steve Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, as well front office changes including the general manager position immediately following the season Their poor 2–14 record awarded the Rams the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft
2012–present: The Jeff Fisher Era
n January 2, 2012, one day after the Rams finished 2–14, head coach Steve Spagnuolo and GM Billy Devaney were fired  McDaniels also left the team and returned to New England to become offensive coordinator for the 2012 season
The organization did not appear to be interested in any other candidates when Jeff Fisher was hired Fisher was being courted by the Rams and the Miami Dolphins and his stock had risen after being out of football for one season having parted ways with the Tennessee Titans the year before Of note, Fisher was asked during the interview process about his experience in coaching during the relocation of the Houston Oilers relocation to Tennessee Initially, the Oilers relocated to Memphis, Tennessee for one season before moving to their current home in Nashville and changing their name to the Tennessee Titans It was implied that Fisher would not be interested in such a move and this tended to suggest that he would ultimately choose the Dolphins due to the continued uncertainty regarding the Rams and St Louis Nevertheless, on January 13, 2012, Jeff Fisher officially announced his decision to assume the duties of head coach for the Rams
On January 20, 2012, it was announced that the Rams would play one home game a season at Wembley Stadium, London, for the next 3 seasons The first game was played against the New England Patriots on October 28, 2012 The Patriots would beat the Rams badly 45–7 However on August 13, 2012, it was announced that the Rams have withdrawn from the 2013 and 2014 games
On January 23, 2012, it was officially announced that Brian Schottenheimer had been hired to be the new offensive coordinator, making him the third offensive coordinator that Sam Bradford has had in as many seasons Brian Schottenheimer had previously been the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets During that time, the Jets had gone to back-to-back AFC Championship Games
The Rams would make a quiet turn around from their 2011 season under new head coach Jeff Fisher and their new coaching staff The team went on to finish with a 7–8–1 record on the season, recording the first tie game in a season since 2008 The Rams showed a new level of competitiveness with improved player personnel and positive attitude Important players like Sam Bradford, Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Robert Quinn would record career high numbers helping the Rams' to an improved season Almost immediately following the season, the Rams let go of recently suspended defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and his son, linebacker coach Blake Williams Overall, the Rams were able to show their strive and potential for a bright future during their 2012 campaign
Stadium issues
Main article: Edward Jones Dome § Future
The Rams and the St Louis CVC began negotiating deals to get the Rams home stadium, the Edward Jones Dome into the top 25 percent of stadiums in the league  Under the terms of the lease agreement, the St Louis CVC was required to make modifications to the Edward Jones Dome in 2005 However, then-owner, Georgia Frontiere, waived the provision in exchange for cash that served as a penalty for the city's noncompliance The City of St Louis, in subsequent years, made changes to the score board and increased the natural lighting by replacing panels with windows, although the overall feel remains dark The minor renovations which totaled about $70 million did not bring the stadium within the specifications required under the lease agreement; thus, keeping the Dome in a state of On February 1, 2013, an Arbitrator  selected to preside over the arbitration process found that the Edward Jones Dome was not in the top 25% of all NFL venues as required under the terms of the lease agreement between the Rams and the CVC The Arbitrator  further found that the estimated $700 million in proposed renovations by the Rams was not unreasonable given the terms of the lease agreement Finally, the City of St Louis was Ordered to pay the Rams attorneys' fees which totaled a reported $2 million dollars
Publicly, city, county and state officials have expressed no interest in providing further funding to the Edward Jones Dome in light of those entities, as well as taxpayers, continuing to owe approximately $300 million more on that facility As such, if a resolution is not reached by the end of the 2014-2015 NFL season and the City of St Louis remains non-compliant in its obligations under the lease agreement, the Rams would be free to nullify their lease and relocate
On January 31, 2014, both the Los Angeles Times and the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Stan Kroenke purchased approximately 60 acres of land adjacent to the Forumin Inglewood, California It would be, by the most conservative estimates, sufficient land on which a NFL-proper stadium may be constructed The purchase price was rumored to have been between $90 million - $100 million Commissioner Roger Goodell represented that Mr Kroenke informed the league of the purchase As an NFL owner, any purchase of land in which a potential stadium could be built must be disclosed to the league This development has further fueled rumors that the Rams intend to return its management and football operations to Southern California The land was initially targeted for a Walmart Supercenter but Walmart could not get the necessary permits to build the center Kroenke is married to Ann Walton Kroenke who is a member of the Walton family and many of Kroenke's real estate deals have involved Walmart properties,end