Obviously there are a lot of good candidates I left off the short list (recap:
Kyle Shanahan, Raheem Morris, Josh McDaniels), but I'm starting to regret not including the following names:
Matt Patricia: I actually like him as a HC candidates ahead of Josh McDaniels, although I confess to being pretty ignorant about both. Patricia strikes me as a straightforward guy, and he doesn't give the same cloak-and-dagger vibes I usually associate with New England. The Patriots D seems like it started to improve again as he rose up the ranks, and it certainly seems like Belichick only employs brilliant coaches. I'd be curious to see what he's like as a head coach, and my gut feeling is that he'd likely excel.
Anthony Lynn: This is an interesting name to me. I haven't followed his coaching career, but he did a good job taking over for Greg Roman (which surprised me because I always felt Roman was a good OC). Lynn seems to be well-respected, and I think he's a good communicator. The communication bit also caught me off guard since the first interview clip I heard of him was the unfortunate ESPN edit of the discussion of Tyrod being benched. Once I watched the uncut interview I came away impressed. I thought he was fair in his assessment of Tyrod, and was surprised with how well he towed the line between objectivity and support.
Teryl Austin, Harold Goodwin, Sean Mcvay...: Okay, so now I'm just throwing out everyone, haha. These guys are not really on my short lists because I haven't had much exposure to them, but I appreciate what their squads have accomplished in recent years. Simply put, I wouldn't be mad if the Rams picked any of these three guys. I also wouldn't mind if the Rams turned to one of those coach-emeritus types (e.g. Norv Turner, Brian Billick). Man, there are a lot of intriguing candidates out there. Well, I think that's my cue to abandon this exercise. I'm looking forward to whoever the Rams pick. Hopefully, it'll be the start of a cool new era.
Think Freely, Live Well, Be Kind
