Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher made some comments on Tuesday about the state of the franchise that were widely interpreted as finger-pointing. And if you ask those who are familiar with the relationship between Fisher and one member of the organization’s front office, the remarks were hardly a surprise.
Fisher, who recently signed a two-year extension with the team, was asked about Rams general manager Les Snead getting years tackled onto his deal as well.
“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.”
While it may not have seemed like much, Albert Breer of The MMQB writes that Fisher’s comments “went over like a neutron bomb elsewhere in the ranks of the Rams.” The feeling within the organization is that Fisher was dumping on Snead.
“It pissed me off because I knew it was meant as a shot,” one Rams source told Breer. “You see it under that umbrella – ‘We need to do a better job in personnel.’ OK, but you want everyone to think that you have full control. You can’t have it both ways, and it can’t always be the talent. Look at the roster, 2012 to now. In ’12, Jeff did a masterful job with what he was given. But we’ve gotten more talent, and we’ve gotten worse.”
Fisher and Snead were hired together in 2012, though not by choice. As Breer notes, one of the reasons Fisher accepted the Rams job is that he was promised a say in personnel decisions. At some point, things are said to have become “toxic.”
“It’s always good to have healthy tension between the coach and GM, but that shouldn’t hurt the team or cause finger-pointing,” another source told Breer. “Over five years, (Tuesday) was the first time you saw public comments. That should never happen. … The organization has given them a long leash. And given that they’ve had time, they have to win, and they have to be able to work together.”
With the way the Rams have looked this season, it’s incredible that anyone in the organization was given a contract extension. Fisher has no business taking shots — no matter how subtle — at his bosses and co-workers, especially when you consider the embarrassing conference call incident before L.A. faced the New England Patriots. If Snead and Fisher can’t find a way to build a successful team together, both will be looking for a new job.
