The Los Angeles Rams are aiming high with their search for a new head coach, and a few big names have emerged in the talks.
Yahoo’s Charles Robinson reported on Monday that the Rams have made Jon Gruden a focal point of their conversations. This is along the lines of what’s been reported in the week since Jeff Fisher was fired. Reports have said that Gruden, who has not coached since 2008, would listen to offers from the Rams. The Rams believe they could get a meeting with Gruden, who worked with current Rams COO Kevin Demoff in Tampa Bay.
Robinson reports that Gruden would need to have personnel control in order to consider an offer from the Rams. The team reportedly would grant such control for certain candidates, and he would qualify.
In addition to Gruden, the Rams are also considering Stanford head coach David Shaw and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.
Payton signed a five-year extension with the Saints last offseason, but there have been talks over the past year that New Orleans is willing to part with him. A report over the weekend said the Saints are open to moving on from Payton this offseason and would take draft pick compensation for him.
Both Gruden and Payton have won Super Bowls as NFL head coaches.
Shaw is a former Stanford player and Jim Harbaugh assistant who took over the Cardinal’s head coaching job in 2011. He has enjoyed tremendous success at Stanford, posting four double-digit win seasons (and potentially a fifth if his team wins the Sun Bowl later this month), as well as two Rose Bowl victories. NFL teams have coveted Shaw for a few years, but he has brushed aside all overtures. Perhaps coaching in Los Angeles could entice him.
Any coach that takes over the Rams would do so knowing there are a few conditions. One is that Jared Goff is intended to be the team’s franchise quarterback, so a head coach would have to believe in him. They would also have to accept that the team will be limited in the draft next year due to the picks dealt away to trade up for Goff.
