When you think of Rams head coaches...Because it ended poorly with bad seasons in both 1981 and 1982....Ray Malavasi has been discarded...His first three seasons the team went 32-16...Three playoff births, two conference finals, and one Super Bowl appearance... George Allen, Chuck Knox, John Robinson...but Malavasi was the only one to get to a Super Bowl...In 1978 he steps in after George Allen was fired...he's got Pat Haden--local hero--but marginal quarterback and a youth Vince Ferragamo...By 1979 Carrol Rosenbloom was dead, injuries set in, and he had Haden, Ferragamo, Jeff Rutledge, and Bob Lee at QB...the team was getting ready to move to Anaheim and it was being booed routinely at the Coliseum...but he guides the team to a Super Bowl run and is only a few plays away from upsetting the team of the decade in Super Bowl 14...
In 1980 the team goes 11-5...but age was starting to take a toll and replacements weren't coming in... Elmendorf had retired after the 1979 season...Jack Reynolds was let go after 1980...and by 1981 Larry Brooks was showing age and then there was the Fred Dryer fiasco...Don Klosterman had been pushed to the side...Perry and Thomas were showing mileage at the corners...and Haden, Rutledge, and Dan Pastorini were playing QB....team fell to 6-10 and 2-7 in 1982....
Malavasi wasn't great and he needed to be replaced, but shouldn't he at least get a little more respect in Rams lore?
#RamCave #RamView #KlostermanHOF
