RAM NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : Knox Says He’s Seeking a Defense That Fits

Last season, the Rams brought in Jeff Fisher and his attacking 4-3 scheme in an attempt to rejuvenate their stagnant defense. It didn’t work, and Fisher is no longer with the team.

Chuck Knox says he won’t be forcing a philosophy on Ram defenders next season; he will be searching for one that fits.

“We’re going to build around the talent,” Knox said Friday at Rams Park, “because talent wins football games. We played the 4-3 here before and led the NFL in defense and then we went to 3-4 because we had four linebackers who were better than four defensive linemen.

“The linebackers can’t go in and line up and play in the defensive line, so we changed the scheme.

“We’re not going to come in with any preconceived ideas. We’re going to take a look at the talent and find a way to put the 11 best defensive players on the field.”

That should be good news to Kevin Greene. Greene, who had a league-leading 46 sacks from 1988 to 1990 as an outside linebacker, started last season as a defensive end and ended up with three sacks.

It’s official: The Rams announced Friday the signing of Ted Tollner as quarterbacks coach. But Knox would not talk about other assistants who have “made commitments” but have yet to sign contracts.

Offensive line coach Jim Erkenbeck (former tight ends coach at Kansas City), special teams coach Howard Tippett (Green Bay) and receivers coach Milt Jackson (Indianapolis) are expected to officially join the staff Monday.

The only position remaining is linebackers coach, and Knox said he is still interviewing candidates and plans to make an announcement early next week.

An eye on Everett: Knox said he hadn’t seen enough film to determine the cause of Jim Everett’s two-year slump, but he is convinced Tollner is the man who can help Everett out of it.

“Ted has a tremendous reputation as an offensive coach,” Knox said. “He’s a technician and a fundamentalist, and he has the ability to keep a fine focus on the quarterback without looking at all the other things.

“Ted will focus on his drop, his setup in the pocket; he’s a guy who (Everett) can talk to about reads, how to handle adversity and all the little things that go into becoming a great quarterback.

“It’s such an important position, and it’s sometimes overlooked.”

The Rams did not have a quarterback coach on staff last season.

The dealer: Knox, who has a history of making blockbuster trades after assuming the responsibility of rebuilding a team, says he hasn’t made any decisions about personnel yet.

That’s not to say he won’t be ready to make some moves soon, though.

“The name of the game is the acquisition of talent,” he said. “We need to raise the talent level and there’s five ways to do it: the draft, the waiver wire, signing free agents, good trades and Plan B. And you’ve got to be involved in all five areas.

“You can’t make a trade if you’re afraid to fail. If you’re afraid to fail, you’ll want the deal stacked in your favor, and then the other person isn’t going to do it.

“So there is always an element of risk. It just takes a lot of work and preparation.”

Plan C? Commissioner Paul Tagliabue’s announcement Friday that the Plan B date, which was Feb. 1, will probably be delayed as much as a month is good news for Knox and his staff. Instead of having four or five days to determine which 37 players to protect, they will have a few weeks.