Nolan Cromwell and Issac Bruce

So, rumors are swirling about a rejiggering of the Rams coaching staff. I am skeptical. There is no doubt that WR coach Charile Baggett has departed for Tennessee. He couldn't take our pure lack of talent at the position. He must be replaced. This does not constitute rejiggering though. If we wanted to really fix something, we would start by firing Pat Shurmer and dumping the West Coast Offense. This would constitute a sizable first step in the right direction.

Getting Mike Leach would be huge.

But returning to the issue at hand, we need a new WR coach. Two named are being bandied about, and they are big names if you are a Ram fan. The first is none other the Issac Bruce, the 2nd all-time leading receiver after that guy named Jerry Rice. He is also a charter member of the Greatest Show on Turf. You could hardly ask for a better receiver to coach receivers. The other name is Nolan Cromwell. You youngins may not know that name so let me coach you up.

Nolan Cromwell was a QB at Kansas where they ran it out of the Wishbone. The Rams drafted him in 1977, and we moved him to Free Safety, where he QB'd our defense for years. He retired after 1987... The last strike year. I don't want to go into that. He is one of the unsung heros of Ram history. He was also our field goal holder for years and years. We frequently ran trickerations with Cromwell running or throwing the football. He was elected to four ProBowls and should have had more. He was an amazing athlete. Many do not know that Cromwell dropped a Pick-6 interception in SB14 that might well have clinched the game for the Rams.

It seems that Cromwell has been quite a Renaissance man in his after-life as a coach. He has been a special teams coach with the Rams and Packers. He coached receivers in Seattle. He has been the offensive coordinator of Texas A&M for the past 4 years. Let's remember that he was an option QB and defensive back as a player.

Choosing between these two guys is like choosing between your mother and your father. Its brutal. I'll spit it out: I do have to say that I think Issac is the better qualified guy to coach our receivers. You can hardly find a more skilled receiver in NFL history than Bruce. I believe he can pass it on. He is a good character guy also. He always conducted himself impeccably. We want and we need him back.

Is there another slot where we can make a place for Cromwell? I'll tell you this: I wouldn't mind making him the OC. It would shake things up plenty. I feel strange making a former defensive back and wishbone QB our coordinator. Still, we cannot do worse than we did last season. I need to study Cromwell's offensive philosophy, and see what he has been up to at Texas A&M these past 4 years.