The Los Angeles Rams have fired four members of the front office: Director of Pro Personnel Ran Carthon and scouts Danton Barto, Evan Ardoin and Sean Gustus.
The timing is unusual with the 2017 NFL Draft more than two weeks away. Most teams wait until the draft to make any changes in the personnel department. The Cleveland Browns made news last year when they broke convention to release scouts in front of the 2016 NFL Draft.
While many reports on the Browns’ changes last year noted that the release of those scouts may have given them a leg up on a job search, there aren’t many jobs to search for prior to the draft. Perhaps, though, that experience did inform the Rams’ decision to make the moves they did.
Carthon played running back at the University of Florida before a three-year NFL career spent mostly with the Indianapolis Colts. He joined the scouting staff of the Atlanta Falcons under then-Director of Player Personnel Les Snead. When Snead joined the Rams’ staff as general manager in 2012, Carthon joined him in St. Louis as director of pro personnel himself. His responsibilities were detailed as:
[He] manages the pro scouting department in evaluating players among the professional leagues while continuing his duties of advance scouting of the Rams’ upcoming opponents. In addition, he prepares the club for acquisitions through free agency, trades and the daily waiver wire. Carthon also cross checks top college prospects.
Barto was the Rams’ southern region scout having worked for the team for the last four seasons. A linebacker at Memphis, Barto is the program’s all-time leader in tackles. He had previously served as head coach for several indoor arena football teams.
Ardoin, the Rams’ midwestern region scout, had served as a scout for eight years following an early internship for the community outreach department. Ardoin played linebacker at the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Missouri-St. Louis
Gustus spent five years with the Rams to cover the southeast region. He had previously worked for the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. He played quarterback at Richmond prior to his NFL scouting career.
We wish them the best of luck in their careers.