Blake Williams fired: What will the Rams do next?

So much for the speculation that linebackers coach Blake Williams was on the fast track to becoming the St. Louis Rams' next defensive coordinator. Now, Williams is out, and his dismissal isn't likely to be the only change made to Jeff Fisher's staff, according to Mike Silver of Yahoo Sports.

He was "brusque and tactless" which brings to mind the now infamous locker room chats Williams' father made. (I wonder if he had his same knack for absurd PowerPoint presentations?) The fate of the elder Williams is unclear. The NFL has yet to reinstate any of the suspended Saints coaches. In October, Goodell said that the league wouldn't even take up that discussion until the Super Bowl was over, but there are reports Wednesday that the league is having "internal" discussions.

Jay Glazer, who first reported the Blake Williams was out, said Gregg was too. Mike Silver said it was undecided because Williams had not been reinstated.

Here's what Fisher said on Monday:

"There's a couple of issues involved. Gregg has not been reinstated, officially. But, again, this is something that I'll address over the next couple of weeks."

The Rams have two spots to fill, maybe, a new linebackers coach and the defensive coordinator job. There are a couple names on staff that come to mind, including defensive backs coach Chuck Cecil (a former DC under Fisher) and defensive line coach Mike Waufle.

Fisher praised Waufle at season's end, citing his role in the success of the defensive line and the growth of rookie first-round pick Michael Brockers.

Another name to keep your eye on is Jim Washburn, the Eagles' former defensive line coach. There was some nasty back and forth from the fallout in Philly this year, and Washburn didn't always come out looking like the adult in the whole thing after the Jason Babin release. But there's no way of ascertaining the veracity of those reports, not when everyone in the locker room is in full CYA mode.

There are other names, big names. Former Bears head coach Lovie Smith has been mentioned around here before, but that seems unlikely considering he's already getting head coach interest. Smith's pure Tampa-2 isn't the best fit in the Rams secondary. Though, who knows what kind of changes could be coming there too. Tampa-2 isn't much of a fit with Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson as two of the top three corners.

As for which coaches might be next, we'll leave that speculation for another time.