Rams Behind Robinson 60% : Pro football: Only part of his contract is guaranteed, although the team has made no move to replace him as coach.

John Robinson’s future with the Rams is far from guaranteed, even though only months ago he signed a three-year contract that was supposed to bind him to the team through the 1993 season.

Owner Georgia Frontiere apparently has made no move to fire Robinson, but team sources say his contract is only guaranteed for about 60% of the $2 million-plus package--which figures to slightly less than $700,000 a season if paid in full.

That means that if the Rams consider firing Robinson at the end of the season--and Executive Vice President John Shaw is adamant in saying that Robinson will stay through this so-far disappointing season--Frontiere will be looking at the prospect of paying only about $550,000, because Robinson already will have collected his salary for this year.

If the Rams were contractually bound to pay Robinson all of the $2 million-plus, his firing at the end of this year would be unlikely.

The contract was designed to give Robinson, who signed it coming off a 5-11 season and is 3-6 this season, two years of partially guaranteed money, not three.

It is not clear exactly how the contract is structured, but it is believed to include several options for the Rams, most of which must be exercised by early 1992.

Shaw said Monday that any decision about Robinson’s future is up to Frontiere.

Last December, Shaw was believed to be leaning toward replacing Robinson, but his decision was preempted by Frontiere’s declaration that Robinson was staying.

“We are not considering any coaching changes right now,” Shaw said Monday.

Shaw also denied rumors that he has either met with or is interested in hiring former New York Giant coach Bill Parcells to take Robinson’s place in ’92.

“The answer to any of those questions is: Absolutely not!” Shaw said.

One Ram source said that despite the light guarantees in Robinson’s deal and the growing feeling in the Rams’ front office that, after nine years, Robinson might not be the one to bring about a drastic turnaround, a major reason he might stay through 1992 is the lack of solid candidates to replace him.

The Rams aren’t sure if defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher, 32, is ready to be a head coach in 1992, and beyond Parcells, who appears destined to take over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers anyway, there are no obvious choices on the horizon.

Frontiere, who emphasized that she expected the Rams to get back into contention this year in her statement last December, apparently has not asked Shaw to draw up a list of candidates in case she decides to fire Robinson.

Robinson said Monday that he could not predict what will happen beyond this year. But he followed that up with a fervent pitch for patience.

Robinson said: “If you look at us, or you look at me and say, ‘Well, the Rams in my first seven years won most of the close games. If we got you in the fourth quarter, we were going to beat you, probably.’ We had that kind of football team.

“Now we’ve lost that. Now, have I lost that ability to get that back on my team? Those are the decisions.

“There are people who say, ‘Hey, you can’t last in this league forever. You wear down. . . .’ Those are all things that somebody has to ultimately make a decision on.

“But we’re going to move from where we are forward. We are going to get from where we are to a winning place again.

“I’m going to do that. If somebody takes me out before I get it done, then I’ll step aside and let somebody else do that. But if I’m here, we will do that. I’m convinced of that.”

Robinson, who has made the playoffs six times in his nine-year Ram career, added that there would be none of the backbiting between him and the front office that went on during the final stages of last season.

“I’m certainly not going to worry about (job status), nor am I going to deal with that,” Robinson said. “I’m going to coach this team, and we’re going to play as hard and as well as we can, and when the season’s over we’re going to see where we are.

“There may be a point where we have to say, ‘Hey, the organization has to move on.’ But this organization isn’t going to be torn apart this year. John Shaw and I will work as closely together as any two people in this league. That’s the facts.

“And at the end of the year, we will see where we are. We sat down after Georgia made the decisions that she made last year, (and) we said we’re going to work to make this happen.

“If it doesn’t, if something goes wrong in terms of a change having to be made after the year, we’ll sit down and say, ‘OK, this is it.’

“But we will not talk about it (publicly). Under any circumstances.”

Robinson, noting the youth of this year’s squad and an attitude that has improved compared to last season’s organization-wide disarray, said there were clear signs that the Rams would be back in competition soon.

He emphasized that he and Shaw sat down in January and plotted a future for the team that, although slow in coming, is destined for success. The close loss Sunday to the Saints, however frustrating, Robinson said, is a sign that the team is headed in the right direction.

“I think this team’s going to become a good football team at some point,” he said. “I hope it’s this year, and if it’s not this year, it’ll be next year.

“We’re prepared to do battle, but we’re not sufficiently mature or intelligent or mentally competitive to pull out the wins. We’re not far away from it, however.

“I think there is just a general feeling on this football team that it is a good football team. People that are here are happy to be here and want to do well and will continue to do that until a return to playoff level happens.

“That’s going to happen. Last year, I don’t think it happened. And you may perceive me as a (joker) or whatever you want to perceive me, but that’s what I believe.”

Ram Numbers Highlight

WESLEY CARROLL

He caught only six passes in the Saints’ first eight games and lines up behind Quinn Early on the depth chart, but don’t for a minute underestimate this University of Miami product. Carroll hurt the mistake-prone Rams badly Sunday, being on the receiving end of four of Steve Walsh’s passes for 61 yards. It was his catch three seconds before the end of the first half, however, which broke the Rams’ backs and stamped him as a player. From the Ram 31, the 6-foot, 183-pound Carroll ran a post pattern into the end zone, got behind Michael Stewart and then outjumped and outmuscled Darryl Henley for Walsh’s touchdown pass which put the Saints ahead, 16-10.

SEASON TO DATE Nine-Game Totals (Record: 3-6) First Downs RAMS: 145 OPP: 156 Rushing Yards RAMS: 748 OPP: 959 Passing Yards RAMS: 1,767 OPP: 2,027 Punts/Average RAMS: 46/38.0 OPP: 38/43.8 Rushing RAMS ATT: 220 AVG: 3.4 TDs: 9 OPP: ATT: 256 AVG: 3.7 TDs: 10 Passing RAMS ATT: 254 CP: 142 TDs: 6 OPP: ATT: 248 CP: 148 TDs: 14 Penalties/Yards RAMS: 53/406 OPP: 53/475 Fumbles/Lost RAMS: 17/10 OPP: 14/7 Interceptions/Yds RAMS: 6/115 OPP: 11/74 Possession Time RAMS: 28:27 OPP: 31:33 Scoring by Quarters

1 2 3 4 OT TOTAL RAMS 13 70 34 34 0 151 OPP 55 55 30 68 0 208