Los Angeles Rams Front Office Blunders Continue To Haunt The Franchise

What can you say about the Los Angeles Rams front office? They have managed to anger and frustrate fans in two cities in the United States in less than 12 months, and many feel that they continue to show a gross display of ineptitude. One wonders how long people will continue putting up with their shenanigans.

The case started mounting for a new Los Angeles Rams front office at the end of last year. The Rams opted to move from St. Louis to Los Angeles because St. Louis would not provide a new stadium. In fact, St. Louis is still paying off the stadium they agreed to build the Rams when they left Los Angeles 21 years ago. This move has caused St. Louis fans to sue the franchise over “deception” according to a St. Louis Business Journal report.

The ineptness seemed to continue prior to the first snap taken in Los Angeles. The Rams looked to make a huge splash with their first pick in the April NFL Draft. They traded two first round, two second round, and two third round picks to move up and take California’s Jared Goff first. When the season rolled around, Goff didn’t even dress out despite being completely healthy.

This brings us to the latest events that prove the front office does not seem to think far enough into the future. Much maligned Chairman and Owner Stanley Kroenke announced via press release that longtime Ram coach Jeff Fisher had been let go.

After expressing his appreciation for Fisher, Kroenke talked about the future of the organization.

“However, this is the right time to make a change as our performance has not lived up to my or our fans’ expectations. We all are focused on improving as an organization and building a team that makes Los Angeles proud. Our mission is to celebrate a Super Bowl title with our fans in Los Angeles. Today is the first step to bringing us closer to that goal.”

Jim Fassel has been named interim coach for the Rams. The Rams have three games remaining this season, and they have been out of the playoff race for some time.

One starts to wonder about the thought process of the St. Louis Rams front office when pondering the comments Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff had about Fisher’s firing. According to the Los Angeles Times report, Fisher’s firing “solely a performance-related issue.” One could conclude from that statement that the front office would be evaluating Fisher’s performance this year.

However, just one week before Fisher was let go, ESPN reported that prior to the season beginning Jeff Fisher signed a contract extension with the Rams. The extension was through the end of the 2018 season, two more seasons. Now, why would you sign an extension if there was a possibility that his performance could lead to him being let go?

This is an issue that occurs consistently in the college ranks. Just this year, Les Miles was let go as head coach of the LSU Tigers with multiple years left on his contract. However, the colleges are not in the business of running sports franchises. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry so it seems discretion would win out.

Regardless, the Los Angeles Rams front office will again start the search for a new coach that they expect to lead them to the Super Bowl. They seem to have the pieces in place on defense if they can stay healthy, and they have talent at the some of the skilled positions on office. Will this be enough to get them past their front office issues? Only time will tell.

[Featured Image by Jeff Gross/Getty Images]