St. Louis Rams Continue to Lose Offensive Coordinator Candidates as Rob Chudzinski Stays in Indianapolis

While the Indianapolis Colts denied the St. Louis Rams permission to interview special assistant Rob Chudzinski a week ago, it was thought that Chudzinski would re-emerge as a candidate for the Rams’ offensive coordinator position this week as his contract expired in Indianapolis.

That won’t be happening, however, as Chudzinski agreed to stay with the Colts on Tuesday, receiving a promotion to associate head coach. It’s a logical move for the former Cleveland Browns head coach, who will be able to place himself firmly on the radar for teams seeking head coach candidates next year, especially if the Colts continue their winning ways.

With Chudzinski officially out of the fold and numerous candidates having been removed from consideration before him, the Rams really only have three candidates remaining to fill the offensive coordinator job that was vacated in early January when Brian Schottenheimer accepted the same position at the University of Georgia.

Nathaniel Hackett is the only known outside candidate remaining. Hackett, who had his first offensive coordinator job with the Buffalo Bills in 2013 and 2014, interviewed a second time for the job on Monday.

More from St. Louis Rams

The 35-year-old Hackett has been primarily a college coach over the course of his 12-year career. He followed Doug Marrone to the Bills in 2013 and led an offense that had its moments but failed to flourish as the team attempted to bring along young quarterback E.J. Manuel without success. The Bills were 26th in the NFL this season (ranked two spots ahead of the Rams) in total yardage with 5096 yards, and they averaged 21.4 points per game, which ranked them 18th in the league.

Quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti, who interviewed for the Cleveland Browns’ coordinator job earlier this month, and tight ends coach Rob Boras are seen as the internal candidates for the job. If the Rams hire Cignetti and feel the need to bring in a new quarterbacks coach, it could be risky. With the expectation that the team is going to draft a quarterback this year to compete with Sam Bradford and prepare to start in the future, a quarterbacks coach who is still unemployed by February may not be the best person to bring the young signal-caller along.

Next: 2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Kentucky DE Za'Darius Smith

Home/St. Louis Rams