St Louis sack Spagnuolo

Rams waste little time in sacking head coach and general manager

Just hours after the end of the regular season and the NFL saw its first head coaching casualty as Steve Spagnuolo was fired by the St Louis Rams.

The former New York Giants defensive coordinator spent three years in St Louis but their disappointing 2-14 season this year was a big step backwards from a promising second year.

After taking over a poor outfit, Spagnuolo managed to drag his team up to an improved 7-9 finish and much was expected heading into the start of the 2011 campaign.

However, a combination of a brutal schedule and massive list of injuries did not help matters and the Rams lost their first six games in a row en route to a woeful season.

General manager Billy Devaney also paid the price for not making the most of having so many first and second round picks in recent drafts as he too was fired by the Rams.

Thanks

“I would like to personally thank Steven and Billy for their dedication to the St. Louis Rams over the past several seasons,” said owner Stan Kroenke in a statement. “This was a difficult decision for many reasons. We have tremendous respect for Steve and Billy as people and football professionals.

“No one individual is to blame for this disappointing season and we all must hold ourselves accountable

“However, we believe it’s in the best interest of the St. Louis Rams to make these changes as we continue our quest to build a team that consistently competes for playoffs and championships.”

Spagnuolo went 10-38 in his three years with the Rams, and this season was probably the worst with injury to starting quarterback Sam Bradford leading to them finishing with the NFL’s worst offence.

A surprise victory over the New Orleans Saints was the highlight of the season, while running back Steven Jackson again carried the team as he became just the seventh player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in seven straight years.

Ultimately the Rams had yet another poor year and their next coach will have it all to do to turn things around – with former Tampa Bay coach John Gruden and former Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher the early names in the frame.