The Only Certainty: Rams’ Season Is Over : Pro football: Ahead lies hiring a coach, getting started on the draft and rebuilding after a disastrous autumn.
By Sunday night, John Robinson had said his goodbys and officially ended his nine-year run as coach of the Rams.
By evening Monday, Rams Park was quiet, dark and empty--a ghost town for a ghost team.
By the second or third week of January, the front office plans to have hired Robinson’s replacement, who will begin trying to raise the club from the depths is has reached the last two seasons.
Interviewing apparently will not begin until after Christmas, when the list of available coaches and the negotiating positions of the prospects will be clearer.
In the past few days, Lindy Infante and Dan Henning suddenly became available, and there will be more.
The Rams already have pinpointed Buddy Ryan and Chuck Knox as their top two candidates, but Knox is still under contract and Ryan has not yet been contacted.
John Shaw, Ram executive vice president, apparently sees no reason for undue haste in selecting Robinson’s successor, especially because of some complications:
--If Ryan is the choice, he will demand and probably receive major personnel control. But what would that mean for scouting director John Math, a close associate of Shaw?
With the Rams having the No. 3 pick in this spring’s draft, a man with a history of success in his high first-round picks, such as Keith Jackson and Jerome Brown, could become more attractive.
Ryan’s combustible personality and do-it-my-way confidence probably will lead to a round of interviews with Shaw and owner Georgia Frontiere. Shaw and Frontiere privately have told associates that they admire Ryan’s straightforward style.
Shaw already has called Eagle owner Norman Braman, Ryan’s boss in Philadelphia for five years before he fired Ryan after last season; Miami Dolphin Coach Don Shula and Chicago Bear Coach Mike Ditka--none of them Ryan fans--to explore Ryan’s dark side.
Even after those calls, Shaw remains intrigued by Ryan.
Ryan has been contacted by Ron Wolf, the Green Bay Packers’ director of operations, about their coaching vacancy and expects to hear from the Indianapolis Colts this week. If the Rams drag their feet, he may not wait.
--Ryan probably would keep offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese and defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher. But Knox, a favorite of Frontiere since his five-year stint as Ram coach in the 1970’s, might not want either on his staff.
Knox, also mentioned as a possibility with the Minnesota Vikings, is seen by the Rams as a solid, two- or three-year stabilizing influence for this apparently directionless team. The Rams, however, also want to keep Fisher.
Who gets the priority, Fisher and Zampese, or Knox?
--Zampese, signed through 1993, is known as one of the top offensive minds in the league and has long been one of Shaw’s top football confidantes. But with the dramatic decline of the Ram offense and the evident loss of confidence by $2-million quarterback Jim Everett, where does Zampese fit in the team’s new direction?
One Ram source has mentioned Infante, a quarterback specialist, or San Francisco 49er offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren as possible head coaching candidates, simply to smooth out Everett’s wrinkles, assuming either is willing to accept Fisher staying as defensive coordinator.
If Infante, Holmgren or some other quarterback-minded coach were brought in for an interview, it would be a sign of management’s uncertainty on whether Zampese--more a game-plan coach than a position coach--can bring Everett out of his 20-interception 1991 slump.
Amid all this uncertainty, the team’s assistant coaches held their last formal meetings Monday. Shaw was on site briefly, and then the Rams silently left.
Ram Numbers Highlight TONY ZENDEJAS
You don’t need a report card to realize that few Rams played to their potential. A dismal 3-13 won-loss record and a 10-game, season-ending losing streak says as much. Thirty-one year old Tony Zendejas is the exception. When the final gun signaled the end to the Rams’ season Sunday night in Seattle’s Kingdome, Zendejas stood out like a beacon. Only an extra-point try which hit the Anaheim Stadium upright Nov. 10 against Kansas City separated him from a “perfect” performance. Zendejas made his other 25 extra point tries. He became the first kicker in NFL history to make every one of field goal attempts when he booted three Sunday to finish 17 for 17. His 50-yard boot in the second period matched his season best Sept. 8, when he hit from the midfield stripe against the Giants at the Meadowlands. SEASON TO DATE Sixteen-game totals (Record: 3-13) First Downs RAMS: 271 OPP: 286 Rushing Yards RAMS: 1,285 OPP: 1,659 Passing Yards RAMS: 3,410 OPP: 3,545 Punts/Average RAMS: 75/38.0 OPP: 68/41.8 Rushing RAMS: ATT: 388 AVG: 3.3 TDs: 11 OPP: ATT: 469 AVG: 3.5 TDs: 1.9 Passing RAMS: ATT: 518 CP: 289 TDs: 13 OPP: ATT: 434 CP: 259 TDs: 25 Penalties/Yards RAMS: 108/774 OPP: 83/743 Fumbles/Lost RAMS: 32/20 OPP: 17/8 Interceptions RAMS: 11/175 OPP: 20/297 Possession Time RAMS: 29:03 OPP: 30:57 Scoring by Quarters
1 2 3 4 OT TOTAL RAMS 22 103 55 54 0 234 OPP 95 114 76 105 0 390