Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ram Rumors are flying. Let's untangle fact and fiction

Four significant pieces have been published in the past 24 hours outlining some spectacular Ram-Rumors.  The jist of these pieces are as follows.
  • Apparently, Steve Spagnuolo and Billy Devaney await the gallows.  Their fate is sealed.
  • Jon Gruden has decided to return to coaching in 2012
  • This would apparently void his 5 year contract with Monday Night Football
  • The Rams mean to get him
  • Should the Chargers fire their GM, A.J. Smith, Stan Kroenke intends to make him GM of the Rams.
  • According to the bullshit, A.J. Smith has the wherewithal/clout to bring Gruden into the organization
  • Some Ram fans are sweating the fear that Gruden would dump Sam Bradford, and want to roll with Andrew Luck
First, let's temper all these scrambled eggs with some facts:
  1. Most hope/believe that Spagnuolo and Devaney await the gallows.  I am gunning for the second name, not the first, but I accept the fact that they rise and fall together.
  2. Stan has said nothing.  That's why they call him Silent Stan.  We all hope he will do the deed.
  3. I am going to peel back-flips and celebrate overindulgently if we nail Jon Gruden.  I fully endorse & support this move.  I love it.
  4. Jon Gruden has said nothing.
  5. ESPN claims Jon Gruden is fully committed to Monday Night Football.
  6. If Stan tries to hire A.J. Smith, I will fly to St. Louis with a .460 Weatherby Magnum sniper rifle and make sure he never enters the building alive.  In all seriousness, I can hardly think of a worse candidate for the job.  This is absolutely not the man for the job.
  7. The notion that A.J. Smith has the wherewithal/clout to deliver Jon Gruden is spectacularly fictitious bullshit.  I will continue to say this until someone shows some proof of a connection.  I know of no connection, direct or indirect, between A.J. Smith and Jon Gruden.  
  8. Jon has never voiced any love for this guy.  I don't know why he would.  I certainly wouldn't. Would you?  Of course not!  You would never do a thing like that.  Neither would I.
  9. Why does anyone think A.J. Smith, a guy whose stock is about to be delisted on the Dow Jones, has the clout to deliver Jon Gruden?
  10. Kevin Demof is the guy with the most likely open-connection to Jon Gruden.  He worked with Gruden in Tampa Bay during their championship run.  Demoff is vastly more likely than A.J. Smith to deliver Jon Gruden.  Further, using this connection could be the move that saves Demoff's neck.
  11. Most writers have correctly slapped down rumors that Gruden would dump Sam Bradford.  This is utterly baseless.  He hasn't even accepted the job.  This is just pure fear.  Gruden worked with Sam during his QB camp two years ago, and said tremendously flattering things about him... aside from declaring him the world's worst slider.  There are presently no reasons to believe Gruden would dump Bradford.
Anyhow... here are those pieces for your consideration:
I would feel much better about the whole thing if the rumors said "Dick Vermeil declared Team President, and presently negotiating for Jon Gruden's services."

Can somebody please start that rumor?  That would be good.

One very nice footnote to report:  Highly-esteemed Sports Illustrated writer Peter King declared that the Ram-jobs could be the most desirable and best landing spots for candidates during the 2012 hiring cycle.  Why?

  1. Sam Bradford
  2. The #1 absolute pick in the 2012 draft
  3. The greatest projected cap room of any NFL franchise come 2013.