Les Snead, now without Jeff Fisher, will rise or fall on his own meritsBy RICH HAMMOND
Certainly it’s not a scenario Les Snead wanted to find himself in, but it’s tough to imagine how the aftermath of a miserable 2016 season could have worked out better for him.
The Rams, last December, fired Coach Jeff Fisher but chose to bring back Snead for a sixth season. It was a bold move, given that the Rams haven’t sniffed the playoffs since Snead’s hiring in 2012.
Snead didn’t just keep his job. By all accounts, he boosted his profile. Depending on who is asked, Snead and Fisher either had equal say on personnel matters, or Fisher had the final say. Now, after the Rams’ hiring of Sean McVay, the youngest coach in NFL history, Snead gets a more prominent seat at the table.
Both men still report to Kevin Demoff, the Executive Vice President of Football Operations. But as the Rams prepare for this week’s draft, it’s difficult to imagine that they would lean on McVay, 31, rather than Snead, who has been evaluating NFL players since McVay was a teenager.
To his credit, Snead has remained quiet about the last few seasons, even last year, when Fisher publicly took a couple thinly veiled shots at him over Rams personnel decisions. It was Fisher who told a reporter in 2012 that he took the Rams’ job – before Snead’s hiring – because it included final say in personnel.
Never mind all that now. Snead remains – he quietly received a contract extension at the start of last season — and now it’s his time to shine. Or not.
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