3zine.jpg (21333 bytes)THE STORY OF GREEN'S SIGNING, BY FAST EDDIE
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 The story was that Vermeil and the Rams soured on Gannon after Gannon's interview, partly because his asking price was way above what they felt he was worth. Mike Martz had been pushing Green all along and Army joined him in advocating that direction. Vermeil watched a lot of tape on all these guys before the free agency period even opened in February. During the first week of free agency, Vermeil and Martz went into the film room together and Martz made Green's case from the tapes. Vermeil was sold.

How did Tony Banks fit into this picture? The agonizing part for Vermeil had nothing to do with choosing Green. Vermeil was already sold on Green. They had a marathon negotiating session with Trent and his agent Jim Steiner over that first weekend of free agency. They basically worked out a contract, the reservation for Vermeil came when Green insisted that Banks be cut out of the equation.

Up to that point, Vermeil's expressed intentions were to bring in "competition" for Tony, and apparently that is the plan he was still working under. Steiner is a St.Louisan, however, and he was well aware of the relationship and the history between Banks and Vermeil. He wanted to protect Green's interests and ensure him the starting job, so they insisted that the Rams assure him that Tony Banks would be playing elsewhere in 1999.

That's when the talks reportedly broke down and Green was scheduled to leave the next day on a Monday. The Rams continued to discuss the situation and Martz and Army convinced Vermeil that they could not afford to let Green leave St.Louis without a contract. So they called Steiner at his hotel like around midnight that night if I recall correctly and told him they needed to meet again to complete this deal. The next morning they held a press conference to announce Green's signing. As everyone knows, Banks was later traded to Baltimore on the second day of last April's draft. 
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