St. Louis Rams Denied Permission to Interview Two Offensive Coordinator Candidates
The St. Louis Rams’ search for an offensive coordinator to replace Brian Schottenheimer took another unfortunate turn on Tuesday, as the team was denied permission to interview two of their prospective candidates, Indianapolis Colts special assistant and former Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski and Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, as first reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Jim Thomas:
Rams denied permission by Green Bay to interview QB coach Alex Van Pelt for OC job.
— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) January 21, 2015
Rams also denied permission by Indianapolis to interview special assistant to head coach Rob Chudzinski for OC job.
— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) January 21, 2015
The Rams have struggled to find candidates in the aftermath of Schottenheimer’s departure to the University of Georgia. Three coaches who they have secured interviews with–Marc Trestman, Greg Roman, and Kyle Shanahan–have been hired by other teams.
They reportedly have interest in outgoing Denver Broncos coordinator Adam Gase, though he’ll almost certainly be more drawn to one of the other current openings, which include an opportunity for a quick reunion with John Fox in Chicago, as well as the San Francisco and Cleveland jobs.
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Unless head coach Jeff Fisher is going to go completely off the grid for the hire, the remaining candidates are probably guys who have a history working with him. Tight ends coach Rob Boras and quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti (who recently interviewed for the Cleveland coordinator job) are seen as internal candidates, and Fisher’s former quarterbacks coach with the Tennessee Titans, Dowell Loggains, is still without a job after being fired by the Browns.
Perhaps the greatest lesson for Rams fans is to be careful what they wish for; a large chunk of the fan base was outwardly overjoyed on social media when Schottenheimer decided to leave for Georgia. But for whatever reason now, whether it be the team’s potential relocation to Los Angeles, the lack of an established quarterback, or Fisher’s vulnerability following three straight losing seasons, it seems like it’s going to be very difficult for the Rams to upgrade over Schottenheimer this offseason.
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