Coaching Carousel Update: Non-Crony Edition

The Rams could do much worse for a secondary coach than former Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. As this PD article notes, Williams has connections to Shaw and the Rams front office. The Rams have some young talent in their secondary. Atogwe, Tye Hill and Jonathan Wade could benefit greatly from working daily with Williams and the experience he brings. Obviously LaRon Landry is a special talent, but under Williams' guidance he had an outstanding season, named to the league's All-Rookie Defensive team. I was shocked he didn't win Defensive Rookie of the Year, but that went to SF's LB Patrick Willis, the sixth season a row a LB won the award. (The last time a D-back won was CB Charles Woodson in 1998.)

Washington's pass defense ranked 7th in the league this year with a -6.8% DVOA. This would be a great hire by the Rams, and give them some serious talent in the coaching ranks, someone that's more than just a Linehan crony too.

The Redskins have granted the Rams permission to interview Williams and former OC Al Saunders. One interesting thing about this situation is that the 'Skins have yet to actually terminate either guy, thus forcing the Rams to get permission to interview. At least the Rams aren't the only team in the league abiding by screwy management decisions. Obviously, an Al Saunders hire would be a huge move for the Rams. His biggest hurdle for the job: not a Linehan crony, but I suspect Shaw and the suits would pull rank on this one given their relationship and desire to, you know, maybe win a few games. Needless to say, if we can hire Saunders, I think we should. Linehan might not like working with a non-crony, but it might be the only chance he gets to save his ass in '08.