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DICK VERMEIL, HEAD COACH
BY RAM-BLE
(Feb 2)
This is what I think of
Dick Vermeil as Head Coach. Not as Chief of Football Operations. As Coach.
I think the first two years he had problems. All sorts.
But, that's not the point. This year and thru the "program" he installed,
in the long view, he was very good. In what he did.
I mean, he:
1. Got Vermeil type players. He had an "old world" vision that character
matters. I don't mean "old world" as a slight. It's a positive. He weeded out
the riff-raff. Brought in good people as players. I believe this league is filled with
thugs, gang-bangers, drug-dealers, etc. By filled, I don't mean the majority. But, there's
lots. There are also the real good people. You won't find Kurt Warner in a crackhouse.
Vermeil insisted on character and he was right. That really matters in team chemistry.
2. With character, comes work ethic. Gotta go to work. And you really do. And we did.
Cheerfully, this year. Plus no one was selfish and resentful. Due to Dick.
3. Vermeil's a detail guy. That's good. We don't miss the simple things. And, that quality
led him to see we really were messy and unorganized in our scouting department. So, he
cleansed it. I believe those who say he brought in Armey. And Armey's been wonderful.
4. Vermeil kept the right players and let no one good go. We lost no one in free agency,
trades, cuts, etc. that I think was a mistake.
5. Vermeil REALLY DOES care for his players as people. I read about all kinds of
ex-players calling him up regularly. You know, there are at least two kinds of motivators
as coaches. I'll say Vermeil-style and Parcells-style. Vermeil really cares. And when the
players buy it, they want to please him. Very effective. It took 3 years for our players
to take Vermeil seriously and to heart. But they did in the end.
Parcells goads, criticizes, challenges. He really creates fear in his players that if they
don't step up they'll lose their job. I used to go to see my friend who bartended at the
bar by Giants Stadium. He told me even stars were in fear of some backup beating them out.
With Parcells.
I like both ways. I like Vermeil's better.
You know, I go back to a something I said a long time ago. I reported that John Feinstein
said that Dick Vermeil was the most impressive person he ever met. At any profession.
That's a helluva commendation.
Now, to be clear, I do think Vermeil has done a number of crucial things that have been
very important to our success. Those were said above.
But, if you look at my Vermeil critiques thru his tenure, most of it has to do with him as
strategic visionary. As Chief of Football Operations. There, he had to be told what to do.
The evidence there is immense. I haven't posted much about that, because it seemed wrong
to bring that up in a Super Bowl run, but man more and more reports have come out that
Vermeil was dictated to. Mortensen, Peter King, and many more. Left to his own ways, we'd
have Mike White as Offensive Coordinator and Tony Banks as QB. And worse.
Also, Vermeil as Coach doesn't really coach. He has nothing to do with the defense. He
hardly goes there during practice. He has Gansz do the special teams. And Martz the
offense. Bruce tells you Vermeil ain't too involved in the real coaching. Now, that's a
knock, but it doesn't diminish those contributions he's made. Those I reported above.
And, I'll repeat. Dick Vermeil is a very, very nice man. He deserves the success he got.
He deserves that he proved himself.
I hope life is kind to him. |
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EVERYTHING THAT WAS VERMEIL
BY RAMMED FOR LIFE (Feb 1)THANK YOU. When Vermeil retired
it was a rather sad day after a joyous weekend. Dick Vermeil is moving on. I will
miss him. A lot.
And I will be thankful to him forever. Thanks to Dick Vermeil, we have a thoroughly
professional organization stocked with players---one looking forward to a great future.
Dick Vermeil took over a disaster area and turned it into a champion.
I am not, however, surprised. I have been sure that Dick would retire since I heard last
week that his wife that his wife said to him, "Dick, if you win Sunday, what do you
have left to prove?" Clearly, the answer to that is nothing. I believe Dick Vermeil
came back to win a ring and to prove he could coach the right way. He did that.
I believe he knows that he doesn't want to do what a HC needs to do again this year. I
also believe he cares about connecting with his family. Before the game, Jaws was talking
about Vermeil bragging on his grandkids and talking about his wife. BEFORE THE GAME!
Remember how he hung around the press answering questions past the time required?
Dick finished the job. But he was already looking past the job. In his mind, he had moved
on.
THE CHANGES. I freely and gratefully give Vermeil all the credit in the world for
re-inventing himself more successfully this year than any other public leader I have ever
seen.
BUT ... if I am to give him credit for that, I MUST hold him responsible for the failures
of the past. For me, 1998 was more than anything else a VERMEIL FAILURE!
I do not buy the idea that Vermeil stayed the course for 3 years. I mean, in some ways he
did. His player acquisition plan has some long term elements (though even there, he had to
be talked into going after expensive stars!). But I cannot accept the idea that the brutal
training camps were a weeding out process like boot camp. He has APOLOGIZED to Ike for
costing Ike 2 years of stardom!
THE OLD DEMONS. I won't go into the long spiel here. I doubt I ever will get the time or
the occasion to go into the material I have on the matter. Let me just say this.
1999 was a Vermeil success. His finest. In some ways, I believe, the first of his career.
My take on Vermeil is that this year, for the first time in his life, he learned to coach
the game and prepare his players THE RIGHT WAY.
In doing so, he won a ring ... and healed himself. Now he can go home to Carol in peace.
It is a beautiful story. In some ways, more beautiful than KW's. It entails issues of
self-redemption and family dynamics, shaking off the sins of the fathers.
Want to hear a horror story? Look into Vermeil's father, the ultimate workaholic, the man
who would work 24 hours in a row and refuse to give his son an ounce of approval. Trouble
is, people won't hear this story. When Vermeil burned out in Philly, some authors dug up
the story because it fit the era's dawning awareness of burn out as an issue.
Now, though, no reporter will touch it. The other story line is easier, takes less
digging: "Coach, dismissed as washed up, proves he was right all along." Some
reporters talk about the tough training camps and the revolts. But I doubt anyone will
have the patience to get down and work out the real story of how Vermeil healed himself.
That is a story that the nation would do well to hear!
GOOD BYE. Still...I am sad he couldn't find a role with the organization. Actually, I
would have preferred him to stay one more year, had he been able to face it.
But I am also proud and happy for him in having known his mind and made a decisive, clean
decision. I hope he enjoys a long, happy retirement. I hope he heals many old wounds with
a family that knew precious little of him for many years. I hope he and Carol can enjoy
some great time together in a well earned peace. Both have paid a high price for success.
The best to you, Dick!
MIKE MARTZ Ready or not ...ball is in your court!
Huge job? Yes. But ...let's not forget what Martz does NOT have to do! He has a ready made
staff. Few new HCs have that luxury. Vermeil left him a turn-key operation! Similarly,
Martz has an O and a D completely in place. One the players know. No adjustments or
transitions needed. Finally, Martz/Armey have limited need to find players.
Working the cap will be a challenge, and developing a long-range cap strategy. But most of
what we need is on the roster with some help from a few apt draft picks.
Mike Martz has a functioning machine in place. He has less distance to travel than most
new HCs do.
WHAT IS A NFL HEAD COACH?
BY BAMA RAM FAN (Feb 2)
What is a head coach?
Is he the one who controls every aspect of the team, makes all the offensive and defensive
calls during the game, builds the game plan during the week, goes through miles of film
and tape and puts it all together for the players to review, does all the scouting of
potential players (both rookies and free agents) for the following year, washes the
uniforms and cleans up the field after every practice?
Obviously....NO.
So, what does he do?
Vermeil's duties also included GM, which means he was THE one guy responsible for all
aspects of the team performance. That includes---
* The hiring of coaches. It has routinely been stated that Vermeil hired Martz after
interviewing him. I guess as a COACH, he maybe wouldn''t get credit (not all coaches have
that authority) but as a GM he certainly does. Oh yeah, he also hired Saunders and the
defensive coaches and the position coaches.
* The acquisition of personnel. This means the scout team and organization are under him.
Again, only a few coaches/GMs have this authority. So all of the new players brought in by
Armey and the scouts can be linked back to DV. In fact, the hiring of Armey was another DV
decision. Now, DV doesn't actually go and scout individual players---that's why they have
a scout staff. In fact, DV complained that the whole scouting department was a mess when
he came in, and it took over a year to straighten it out.
* The signing of free agents is directly attributable to DV, because of the financial
implications. DV had the final say regarding who they went after and who they didn't, and
he worked with Ziggy to keep the cap under control.
* DV let his coaches coach this year. Well...he let the defense coaches coach last year,
but not the offense. Why? Probably because Rhome just wasn't very good at it. But DV
stayed involved. The coach who did NO game coaching, Ditka, is gone. So who was better?
Ditka, without even a set of headphone on, or DV, who wore the headphones, and liked to
know what was going on but rarely intervened?
* The 2nd and 5th round pick for Faulk was one of the best trades ever in the NFL. Kind of
like getting Marcus Allen for the same picks. The Rams problems on offense have always
stemmed from inconsistent OL play. So I guess getting Timmerman was not a stupid move
either. I always thought one of the GM's duties was to acquire the talent it takes to win.
* One more thing about Timmerman. Vermeil had to CONVINCE him to come to St. Louis. Timm
actually had a better offer from Philly, but he chose the Rams. So in that respect, the
coach also has to be a marketer for the team and himself and the city. Quite different
from the old days.
* Was DV lucky? Yeah---I guess the guy was really lucky to have hired the right coaches,
drafted the right players, signed the right free agents, traded for a superstar running
back, listened to the players and staff on practice times, and then have a Superbowl
season.
Plus he was just SO SO lucky to leave the team about $15 mill under the cap for next year
so they can keep the whole thing going. |
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COACH VERMEIL--- FIRST
BLAME, NOW CREDIT
BY BILLY T(Feb 2)
For 2 yrs Vermeil got the blame.
Now, he GETS credit-- for bringing this all together.
For the two years prior to the onset of the 1999 season, I was one of his most outspoken
critics. However, DV did alter his strategy, he did let go of Banks, he did shorten
practice and delegate more--far more--this year. He is chiefly responsible--at least as
much as a head coach CAN be responsible--for this Super Bowl victory.
No coach in the history of the game has ever been mistake free. All of the best have let
players go they should have kept, kept players they should have let go, called the wrong
plays, taken play-calling out of the hands of those that would have done it better . . .
That's the nature of the beast. To somehow hold Vermeil up to the standards of perfection
is ridiculous. Sure, he screwed up on Banks, Phillips, on Brian Robinson, etc. Sure, he
could have put things better regarding Bruce and his hamstring. But the guy more than made
up for all of that by helping put this package together, one that brought a SB victory
home to all Rams fans, everywhere.
How many other coaches would be willing to change the way he did? To listen to other
voices and learn from them? To let a young guy, with obvious designs on HIS job, call the
plays and potentially steal the glory?
Then there are the Fletchers, the Hobgood-Chitticks, the cast-offs. The guys who no else
really wanted. Vermeil found them, along with Armey and put them to work. The rest is
history . . .
Now we'll see if Mike Martz can delegate too, because he'll have to. The game has changed
too much, has gotten too demanding, for a HC to run everything. He'll have to let go.
DV could and did...and a Superbowl victory was the result. |
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NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
BY NITTANY RAM (Feb 3)Based on the number of Rams fans from Pennsylvania that post on the board
at rams.rivals.com, many of you might be under the impression that this state is filled
with us.
Well, it ain't. As a matter of fact, I have lived here my entire life, and before I found
these message boards, I knew of only three others.
One was my little brother, who had no choice in the matter. It was a question of survival.
He was going to be a Rams fan "or else". One was some weird, older guy from my
hometown that I didn't even like. The other was a fraternity brother of mine from the
Harrisburg area.
That was it, at least as far as I knew.
I would go as far to say that the Rams are one of the NFL's least represented teams in
this state. To you, that makes sense, since the Rams are so far away from Pennsylvania.
But there were always many Packers, Cowboys, Vikings, Dolphins, Giants, and Redskins fans
here, along with the large Steelers and Eagles constituency...just no Rams fans.
While I was growing up, being a Rams fan here was never a "picnic" either. The
jokes and taunting...I'm sure all the Rams fans from areas outside of SoCal and St. Louis
can attest to that. All I know is, that prior to this season, if you were a Rams fan in
central PA, you had to have thick skin.
Well, that could be changing.
As I was driving to work this morning, I passed by many school bus stops. And I saw
something I never saw before...many of the kids were decked out in Rams gear. I've never
seen so much blue and gold in central PA in my life. Rams hats, Rams sweaters, Rams
coats...I couldn't believe my eyes.
I hereby, officially serve notice to all fans of the Steelers, Eagles, Giants, Cowboys,
Vikings, etc. in central PA.
There's a new sheriff in town.
Funny what a lil' ol' Superbowl victory can do. |
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~Superbowl XXXIV~ 
