Les Snead knows his role as general manager, and the NFL draft will help define it

Rams' Les Snead knows his role as general manager, and the NFL draft will help define it

By Gary Klein

The gleaming white, high-tech stationary bike sits just to the right of the desk in Les Snead’s office, across the room from a wall-mounted television monitor and next to a large whiteboard.

With an iPad perched atop the bike’s black handlebars, and a water bottle nestled just below it, the Rams general manager can multitask while spinning.

He says he watches video of the team and of draft prospects. He catches up on email. Sometimes, the exercise just clears his mind.

“When you’re on it, your mind gets away,” he says, nodding toward the Schwinn. “That’s where some of your big-picture thoughts come into play.”

Since the end of the Rams’ 4-12 season — which continued a 13-year playoff drought — Snead has been preparing for next week’s draft.

This will be his sixth with the Rams, the first with new Coach Sean McVay and the first without former coach Jeff Fisher.

Snead, like Fisher, received a two-year contract extension before last season. And he survived the aftermath of Fisher’s December firing.

So a strong draft performance would seemingly protect his status.

But when asked whether he feels pressure or thinks his job is on the line with this draft, he says he simply plays a role in a collective effort.

“In our business, [pressure] implies there’s some sort of distress level,” he says, adding, “There’s no distress.

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[www.latimes.com]