Brooks Is Rams’ Choice : Pro football: Reaction is universally positive. Oregon coach believes he can turn the NFL team around in four years.
Rich Brooks, an assistant coach with the Rams 23 years ago, accepted a four-year contract for about $2.5 million Friday to return as the team’s 19th head coach. He will be introduced at a press conference today at the NFL scouting combine workouts in Indianapolis.
Brooks, 53, compiled a 91-109-4 mark in 18 years at the University of Oregon and last season led the Ducks to their first Rose Bowl appearance in 37 years.
“(A four-year contract) should give me enough time to turn this program around and head this franchise in the direction of the playoffs and bring back the winning tradition the Rams have experienced in the past,” Brooks said.
Later, in a telephone conference call, he added: “I feel the change will be good for me. Obviously, the ultimate in the coaching profession is the challenge of being a head coach in this league (the NFL). I think I’m qualified; I think I’m ready.”
Ram owner Georgia Frontiere approved Brooks’ appointment after speaking with him earlier in the day.
“It’s a great hire,” said Bobby Beathard, general manager of the San Diego Chargers. “When you visit Oregon and see how he runs things and the relationship he has with his players, you just have to be impressed with the guy.”
Brooks, a special teams assistant with the Rams in 1971 and 1972, also coached the defensive backs for the San Francisco 49ers in 1974 and 1975.
“I feel very comfortable that our football people did their homework and found the best coach,” said John Shaw, Ram president. “All the people I contacted, like Bobby Beathard, Dick Vermeil, Ernie Zampese and Dick Steinberg, had nothing but glowing endorsements for Rich Brooks.”
Steinberg, the New York Jets’ general manager, interviewed and considered hiring Brooks in 1990 before giving the job to Bruce Coslet.
“This is New York City and Rich was coming off something like a 6-5 year at Oregon, and it may have been a gutless thing to do, but it kept me from hiring him,” Steinberg said. “But there is no doubt he was extremely qualified and could have done an outstanding job.
“I don’t think you will find many people in the league who will be shocked or will question this move. The guys in this league have been around and they have seen him operate and they know how impressive he is. Nothing against Oregon, but to be able to stay in one place that long and compete, and compete very well, tells you a lot right there.”
The Rams were concerned about Brooks’ overall record and the reaction St. Louis fans will have to his hiring. The team began its search for a head coach with a list of 27 names, and while Brooks made a favorable impression after being the first coach to be interviewed, the team continued to talk with Zampese, the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator, UCLA Coach Terry Donahue, former Bear Coach Mike Ditka and Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez.
As late as Thursday night, the team continued to explore different possibilities, but the urgency to hire the rest of the coaching staff and word from Eugene Friday morning that Brooks had become irritated by the wait, prompted the Rams to react with a job offer Friday afternoon.
“The Rams have found the right man,” former 49er and Stanford Coach Bill Walsh said. “He has a done a great job and has won against the odds year after year. He’s never had the most talented teams, but I have always said Oregon is the best-coached team on the West Coast.”
Brooks drove the Ducks to seven winning seasons in his 18-year tenure, including four bowl appearances in the past six years. Oregon’s visit to the Independence Bowl in 1989 ended a 26-year postseason drought.
“The people who know football and know coaching really respect Rich Brooks,” said Vermeil, former UCLA and Philadelphia Eagle head coach. “He’s always been able to do more with less than just about anybody I know.”
Given such experience, he should feel right home with the Rams, a team that has compiled a 23-57 record the past five seasons, while failing to advance to the playoffs since 1989.
“In my dealings over the last 2 1/2 weeks, I’m confident the expertise and cooperation (from management) will be there,” Brooks said. “I’m sure we will be on a level playing field. . . . I believe there’s a bigger commitment now than there has been in the past to bring this program back to the forefront.”
Brooks is expected to bring a couple of assistant coaches from Oregon, including defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti.
Aliotti, offensive coordinator Mike Bellotti and assistant head coach Neal Zoumboukos all have been mentioned as possible successors to Brooks at Oregon.
Brooks also will meet with several Chuck Knox holdovers who already have been recommended for hiring by Steve Ortmayer, the team’s vice president of football operations.
Wayne Sevier, special teams coach; Mike Martz, quarterbacks coach; Dick Selcer, linebackers coach; and Joe Vitt, assistant head coach, are known to be highly regarded by Ortmayer. Johnny Roland, who turned down an offer to coach with Houston, already has been hired for an unspecified offensive assistant post.
Brooks, who coached the linebackers at UCLA in 1970 and again in 1976, is not known for making small talk, and has been criticized by some for remaining aloof and difficult to get to know.
“I’ve known him a long time, but I can’t say I know him well,” Beathard said. “But I wouldn’t let that bother me in hiring a football coach. Several successful coaches presently in the league could be described that way. I just think he’s a really good football coach.”
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New Man in Charge
Here’s a look at the Oregon coaching record (with Pac-10 finishes) of Rich Brooks, named Friday to replace Chuck Knox as the coach of the Rams:
YEAR W L T FINISH 1977 2 9 0 7th 1978 2 9 0 8th 1979 6 5 0 4th 1980 6 3 2 5th 1981 2 9 0 9th 1982 2 8 1 9th 1983 4 6 1 7th 1984 6 5 0 7th 1985 5 6 0 6th 1986 5 6 0 7th 1987 6 5 0 5th 1988 6 6 0 7th 1989 8 4 0 3rd 1990 8 4 0 3rd 1991 3 8 0 9th 1992 6 6 0 7th 1993 5 6 0 7th 1994 9 4 0 1st Totals 91 109 4