Bidwill Stuck in the Past
photo courtesy of Aaron Van Buren
By Walter Mitchell
Why can't Michael Bidwill simply give a new head coach the complete freedom to hire his staff?
Imagine how awkward it is for newly appointed head coach Mike LaFleur to spend his first few days on the job having to interview coaches from a miserably inexperienced and failed coaching staff.
Anyone with a heart can feel for these coaches. Most of them may have to try to hook back on with college programs or hope their agents can get them late interviews with other NFL teams. It's not that these coaches can't be good at what they do. It's just that they were put in coaching positions that were new to them. For example, 2025 LB coach Cristian Garcia --- a DBs coach for the Cowboys turned into LB coach for the Cardinals.
You can tell that Mike LaFleur has a big heart. That's why saddling him with the onerous task of having to interview coaches who are no longer under contract, save for Nick Rallis, because the owner wants him to is another egregious error in the owner's judgement.
What new head coach in his right mind would want to have to interview these vulnerable, inexperienced and mostly underqualified assistant coaches and have to look them in the eyes and say no?
One of the Sean McVay distinctives we talked about yesterday is his #4 SAME LANGUAGE, SAME TERACHING TREE, SAME TERMINOLOGY ALL POSITIONS.
That being the case for Mike LaFleur, if he retains any of Jonathan Gannon's coaches, he is going to have to train them to learn new schemes with a new language.
That's why the ideal and highly practical thing for LaFleur to do is to hire assistant coaches who already have at least an iota of familiarity with the schemes and the language.
The most perplexing holdover candidate is Nick Rallis. Why is Rallis still under contract? Did Michael Bidwill extend him after the 2024 season? Is this yet another Kliff Kingsbury contract situation, albeit presumably for fewer millions?
Was Bidwill's recommendation of Rallis as DC or as a defensive assistant pert of yet another transfer of power quid pro quo that Bidwill is infamous for?
You know, the kind of compromise that always backfires on him, the team and the employee?
If Mike LaFleur is going to hire the most competent and qualified coaching staff, then retaining Nick Rallis as DC when Rallis' defense was #31 overall last season and a pitiful #32 in tackling, would automatically call into question and perhaps even shatter Mike LaFleur's credibility as a decision maker.
Nick Rallis is a likeable and creative coach who could one day emerge as a good NFL DC. But having been forced into the DC role too soon while orchestrating one of the softest "caution and cushion" defensive schemes imaginable, means that, if he is going to grow, he is going to have to be an apprentice for one of the better DCs in the NFL, much the way Mike LaFleur did when, upon being fired by the Jets, he landed the non-playcalling OC role in LA with McVay.
Simply put, Nick Rallis should move on, and Mike LeFleur should hire his own guys.
There should be no pressure for Mike LaFleur to do anything less than that.
As for Nick Rallis, while the temptation may be to rejoin Jonathan Gannon in Green Bay, it could be a very wise career move for him to go back to Philly as an assistant coach, if possible, to learn Vic Fangio's defense. Or latch on with Jeff Hafley in Miami. Or Jesse Miner in Baltimore.
Look what Kliff Kingsbury decided to do by joining Sean McVay's staff in LA. It appears that McVay wants Kliff to groom a potential QBOF (who better?), while, get this, Michael Bidwill will have to pick up the vast majority of the tab.
Agreed. There should be no pressure for Mike LaFleur to do anything less than hire his own guys.
ReplyDeleteSo K2 is the Rams new offensive adviser. Kinda feels like the Rams were upset Lafleur went to coach a division rival.