Jeff Fisher's comments about GM Les Snead highlight Rams' internal dysfunction
Chicken-or-the-egg question to mull: Have the (formerly St. Louis) Los Angeles Rams always been this dramatic, or did the move to L.A. just highlight all the issues with this organization?
We’re leaning toward the latter. Sure, incidents such as the Eric Dickerson vs. Jeff Fisher feud and all the hand wringing over the handling of Jared Goff have been issues that have been west coast babies. But other things clearly have been incubating for some time now, such as the relationship between Fisher and GM Les Snead.
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They’ve been a forced marriage now for more than four years, and it’s becoming quite clear that there’s tension — an unhealthy variety, it appears — between the two decision makers. Our eyebrow was raised this week when Fisher, who clearly walks between the raindrops, had a very interesting comment about Snead. It was revealed in the past few days that both received contract extensions in the preseason despite the team’s continued and perhaps deepening struggles, and when Fisher was asked about Snead’s contract he didn’t exactly pop a bottle of bubbly.
“I’m so busy here, I was honestly unaware he was extended. I’m being honest with you, we’re just working here,” Fisher said. “I look at this as being my responsibility, the win-loss record.
“We need to do a better job from a personnel standpoint. We’ve had some unfortunate things take place with some high picks in Stedman Bailey and Tre Mason and those kinds of things you don’t anticipate. But we’re moving forward.”
Oh.
Seriously, just go ahead and caption this photo for us, please …
The MMQB’s Albert Breer moved the ball forward (something the Rams would be jealous of) on this story. Breer wrote Thursday that the relationship between Fisher and Snead has been “toxic” and has been that way for some time now, and Fisher’s pointed comments — bringing up the team’s personnel issues when asked about the GM’s contract — are a surprisingly edgy and thinly veiled attack.
Fisher is believed to have a good deal of say over personnel matters, too, which not only grays the role that each play in picking Rams players but also inadvertently pushes Fisher under the bus himself a bit. Who signed off on the Goff trade? We can’t help but think Fisher played a big role in it. Perhaps that trade was a reaction to the Rams, who were armed to the hilt with draft picks the prior five years, missing on so many high choices. Did Fisher call rank on that deal? It’s not entirely clear.
But it’s obvious that Fisher has made missteps as well, including making a slew of changes on the offensive coaching staff that have not panned out. Right now, the team appears to be a mess. Even with Goff on board, do we know he’ll be good? Is there any belief that this Rams team is close to contending, even with some very talented players on the roster? And, humorously, is anyone actually in the Los Angeles limits actually paying attention, or is all the eye-rolling happening from a distance?
Creative tension can be a positive thing in an NFL franchise, but this doesn’t feel like that.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
