Turns out Greg Olson, who's already moved on to Tampa as QB coach, got a bum rap. Though it was said that Linehan took over play-calling in 2007 after the Dallas game, it's becoming more widely known that Linehan basically called the plays all season. So except for those final four games in 2006, Olson, the offensive coordinator, never called plays, making one wonder what the hell he was around here for. Perhaps not coincidentally, those four games in 2006 were practically the only time in the Linehan Era the Ram offense actually looked like it knew what it was doing. Linehan apparently didn't trust Olson enough to let him run on his own with the gameplan. The end of 2006 says he should have, but Olson took a bullet for the underperforming head coach instead.
The silver lining, of course, is that Linehan made a MAJOR upgrade to the coaching staff by bringing in Al Saunders from Washington. Saunders was atop my short list to take over for Linehan as HEAD coach, so you know I'm on board. Instead of the questionable Dennis Erickson offensive system, the Rams will return to what they do best; the Don Coryell offensive system. Saunders' credentials are impressive. He was wide receivers coach here for the Super Bowl championship, and as Dick Vermeil's OC at Kansas City, put the Chiefs' offense at the top of the league over a 5-year span. Saunders will surely put a spark back in the steps of Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. His term in Kansas City shows he knows the power running game; he could turn Steven Jackson into a monster. He also knows how to use the tight end, something Linehan's never figured out despite keeping 10 or 12 on the roster. And if Saunders can make a decent deep threat out of Marc Boerigter, there may even be hope for Drew Bennett. Though I'm not counting on it.
The hiring of Al Saunders is a coup for Scott Linehan and a positive sign that he's willing to make the sea change the Rams need for 2008. Linehan is smartly (for once) putting the offense completely in the OC's hands and stepping out of the way. Linehan jokes that he'd just like to add one play a week to the gameplan. Honestly, I wouldn't trust him with any play more complicated than the end-of-game kneeldown. Maybe next season, the Rams will get to use that play a little more often (and with the lead, at that, remembering the fiasco in Baltimore).
Saunders gives Linehan his best chance to pull his butt out of the fire in 2008. His acquisition alone makes this a good offseason so far at Rams Park.
Grade: A
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