A ha! Insight into the Rams OC situation emerged today, with the news that the Rams interviewed former Rams assistant Ken Zampese. Shaw and Jay Z aren't likely to give Linehan much leash, so I suspect their input into the hiring decision will trump an 11-21 head coach's. Zampese is a known commodity, a guy who's worked well with the Rams superstars like Holt and Bulger during the team's prodigious start to the millennium. Brass will afford him some extra consideration since he could help mend the tattered relationships between the team's stars and the head coach. There are a couple other factors at play in the Rams search process. For starters, big name OC types, like Cameron, may be reluctant to say the least to jump into a situation with a coach on a short leash. Two, the money, the Rams didn't spend big bucks on a brand name head coach, and there's no reason to believe they'll spend big bucks on an established OC when they can get a guy who brings the other desirable qualities, like Zampese's track record with the team's disgruntled stars, for an entry level OC salary? If you're the betting type, I'd put the kid's college fund on the Rams hiring Zampese.

It looks like Cam Cameron is out of the mix, albeit unofficially, for the Rams job. When Marty Schottenheimer was the pundit preferred candidate for the Ravens job, it was widely assumed that Cameron would follow his former boss, even as far as being reported by Cameron's agent that he had an agreement with Marty to take the OC job if Scottenheimer were hired as the head coach. Baltimore apparently appeals to Cameron more than Marty. With an offer on the table to Dallas OC Jason Garrett and a good chance he'll take it, Garrett would reportedly like to make Cameron his OC in Baltimore, if he takes the job. (hat tip to Blogging the Boys.)

Update [2008-1-16 17:48:51 by VanRam]:The article linked above that discusses the Zampese interview also mentions that the Rams were scheduled to meet with former Ga Tech coach Chan Gailey, but Gailey canceled the meeting for some undisclosed reason. Looks that that reason is because he was signing on with the Chiefs as their new OC.