Well... no sooner are Jason LaCanfora and Adam Schefter reporting that Josh McDaniels is interviewing with the Seattle Seahawks then USA Today and CBS Sports turn right around and announce that Josh McDaniels has been hired.
Wow... count one for the old media. I fact-checked this story and the Rams' own website is reporting that they have, in fact, named Josh McDaniels the new OC.
What do I think about the hiring?
- I think Steve Spagnuolo must have been impressed by Josh McDaniels when he had to play against him in a one-on-one chess match during Super Bowl 42. As we all know, Coach Spags won that match handily, and he has the fat-ass ring to prove it. Still, he must have been very impressed by his opponent to go out and get him like this.
- Maybe it was about money after all. The thought of McDaniels going to a divisional rival might have loosened those purse strings.
- I think McDaniels played his bluff incredibly well. I am sure he did not want to go to Seattle given their incredibly tenuous quarterback situation. The opportunity to coach a real stud QB coupled with the opportunity to build an offense {almost} from scratch has to appeal to him. Still, the Rams called him back. He won the bluff.
- I welcome the arrival of the Spread offense. I have been calling for it for 18-20 months now. If we are ever to see anything like The Greatest Show on Turf again, we need to adopt the Spread. I am sure Sam will feel right at home with this scheme.
- I am little concerned about the low Synastry readings I mentioned in the last piece. We'll see how it works out. High achievement doesn't look like its in the tea leaves. Let's hope these guys find a way to make it work.
- I like the attitude of our franchise. We needed a coordinator. We went out and got the very best one on the market. That may not be saying so much in this market, but we nailed the very best man on the market. That attitude in itself is exciting. It say we don't want to play second fiddle to anyone, and we aren't going to let a candidate go to our divisional rival. This is good.
- I'm going to have to find a way to forgive this little boner for what he did to Denver. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Broncos, and I'm still pissed to see them in shambles like this.
- On the other hand, we are grabbing a dude at the moment when he is most fervently trying to recover from a failure. Coaches in this comeback-mode are usually excellent sub-commanders.
One thing is sure: We are going to be a heck of a lot closer to 30 points per game next season than 18. If we can even tally 25 per game, we should be 10-6, which should be enough to win the division in 2011...
if there is a 2011...
