So we didn't get Mike Nolan. And we missed out on Gregg Williams. Most people (including yours truly) thought that McCarthy would choose to promote/settle on assistant head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss. There were a few other possibilities, sure, but Nolan and Williams were the top choices.
However, not many people saw this coming. Jim Haslett, interim coach of the St. Louis Rams, will not be retained by the team. He is free to take any job he wants because there seemingly is no place for him in St. Louis anymore. I am, for lack of a better term, shocked. Shocked, I tell you! This story has been an interesting one in Rams country. Join me in reminiscing, won't you?
Scott Linehan is the coach, and the team sucks. Linehan is fired, and Jim Haslett (the defensive coordinator at the time) was named interim head coach. After Haslett took over, St. Louis had a complete turnaround. Okay, maybe not, but they stopped sucking so darn much. They got a couple of wins, and the organization decided to remove 'interim' from his title and hire him for the long haul.
But not so fast, said the NFL. Because Scott Linehan had been fired, a new coaching search had to be undertaken, and all coaching searches must adhere to the Rooney Rule, which maintains that all teams must interview a minority candidate for a head coaching position. So Haslett was un-rehired, but was generally expected to return.
Then, towards the end of the season, word broke that the players had drafted a petition that they sent to the team's management reflecting their desire to keep Haslett on as head coach. I loved this story. All too often we hear how players hate their coaches, tune them out, blackmail them, etc. Here was a case where the two parties actually got along and wanted to work together. Almost like it was too good to be true. And, of course, it was. As I mentioned before, Haslett will reportedly not be retained by the St. Louis Rams.
As Haslett has interviewed with Green Bay in the past two weeks, I would guess that this makes him the new front runner for the defensive coordinator job. Same as with Nolan and Williams, I am totally OK but not thrilled with Haslett coaching the Packers defense. However, he seems to have a more impressive background than the other candidates. Haslett, a former linebacker, was drafted in the second round by Buffalo and was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1979. He has defensive coaching experience in Oakland, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans, including winning the Coach of the Year award in 2000 for turning a 3-13 Saints team into a 10-6 squad that won the division.
So, yeah, Haslett seems like he could get the job done. What do you think?