One thing that has been lacking for Bradford since being selected first overall in the 2010 NFL Draft is a quarterback coach. Most teams have one on hand just so the guys under center have an extra set of eyes and ears to bounce ideas off of or right the ship when things aren’t going so well. Finally that vacancy will be filled for the former Oklahoma Sooner this coming season as the Rams have hired Frank Cignetti, former Rutgers offensive coordinator, to provide Bradford with that added comfort.

After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano to the same position in Tampa, it seemed only a matter of time before his staff would each go their separate directions and find new gigs of their own. Cignetti won’t be a newcomer to the NFL though as he served as the New Orleans Saints’ quarterbacks coach in 2000 and also oversaw the progression of another former number one overall pick with the San Francisco 49ers’ Alex Smith in 2007.

With the demoralizing year that both Bradford and the Rams dealt with in 2011, the need for a quarterbacks coach may be more a mental health move than anything for the man under center in St. Louis. Clearly the lockout as well as a depleted receiving corps and offensive line greatly hindered Bradford a year ago, but the team is attempting to provide its young signal caller with all of the necessary resources to promote success in the coming season.

At 6’6” 325lbs., size certainly wasn’t an issue for Olafioye coming out of school, but a lack of top notch competition definitely had something to do with his going undrafted. His collegiate experience took place at North Carolina Central and that tiny blip on the NFL scouting radar left him without a home in the league forcing him to look elsewhere to further his professional football aspirations.

The BC Lions took a chance on this massive human being and they were clearly the beneficiaries of that roll of the dice. Olafioye earned top lineman honors in the league last season which gets the attention of those at the NFL level and has now inked a deal to play with the Rams. His two-year contract is worth more than six-figures in guaranteed money and will add some much needed competition to the Rams’ depleted offensive front.

With the line figuring to be a focal point for the team heading into the draft, this signing provides the club with even more flexibility in trading down or centering more on other positions of need in both the upcoming free agency period and the NFL Draft. Going young is always a positive rather than re-treading adequate players with very little upside potential left. Perhaps the Rams will get lucky and catch lightning in a bottle with Olafioye and have him develop into a solid starter.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fisher said: “There are going to be teams that have some interest in that pick. What we do will define the future of this franchise moving forward. If we stay there who do we take, if we move down who do we take. What if we move down and come back up. That’s going to define the future.”

In the same interview, Fisher made promises that this would be the last time the team picks in the draft’s top two slots. Those are some lofty expectations considering that four of the last five years have had the Rams with either the number one or number two overall selection.

Until the team finds itself a GM to gauge just which positions are the most important in their draft philosophy, it will be difficult to tell what exactly the Rams are looking for. A franchise left tackle in Matt Kalil will likely be sitting there when the team is placed on the clock as will a play-making receiver like Justin Blackmon, but the question will be what can best benefit the franchise in the long-term.

There has been no shortage of big names landed by the Rams throughout this process of assembling a new staff and management team. One of the biggest is new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams who came over from the New Orleans Saints to rejoin Fisher in the same capacity as their time spent from 1997-2000 with the Tennessee Titans. During that time, the Titans defense saw a marked improvement in turnovers forced, sacks, and points allowed which are all three areas where the Rams could use significant help.

Many believe that Williams’ schemes are high-risk however leaving the secondary vulnerable to big plays should the blitzes he sends not get home in time. Fisher was quick to dismiss this misconception according to ESPN as he said: “Gregg has a reputation of hitting the quarterback, but it’s not at all costs. There is a method to the madness and it’s a very sound scheme.”

Certainly the belief is there that Williams can duplicate that success with this Rams unit which has been less than stellar of late ranking in the league’s bottom third in points allowed and yards against which are two very telling statistical categories. Fisher’s expectations are clear however as he said: “The flexibility on defense is extraordinary. We are going to build this defense around the players we have, and as we get better, we’ll continue to reshape it.”

Officials have said that no public money would go toward funding the project unless approved by voters. The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) outlined a plan which would include the following upgrades:

•A 96-foot wide by 26-foot high scoreboard would be hung over midfield to ensure that fans would have a clear view of all replays, scores, and stats while not interfering with the game.

• Baer Plaza would be connected to the Dome with a bridge running over Broadway. This structure would feature a 20,000 square-foot lobby, a beer garden on the rooftop, and an entrance for fans destined for the club seats and luxury suites.

• A series of large glazed window panels would be installed to allow more natural light into the facility which has been sighted as quite dark by critics.

• 1,800 existing seats and four suites would be replaced with 1,500 new club seats.

• The final safety measure would place retractable bollards on Broadway allowing the CVC to shut down the street to vehicles which would make it safer for fans to enter and exit the Dome. The Committee also believes this would address concerns that the NFL has about large crowds outside of the dome being potential terrorist targets.

The Rams have until March 1 to reject the proposal or May 1 to make a counteroffer. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement by June 15, both parties will enter into arbitration. Rams executive vice president of football operations, Kevin Demoff, said of the Committee’s offer: “The lease provides certain terms, a timeline and process for this matter. We are reviewing the proposal and look forward to responding accordingly.”

As of right now, any news if good news for keeping the team in St. Louis beyond 2014 and the picture should gain more clarity over the next two to three months.

Oakland Raiders special teams coach John Fassel had outstanding seasons with the club in both 2009 and 2010. 2009 saw the coverage units excel in pinning opponents with difficult field position while 2010 featured then rookie Jacoby Ford returning three kicks of touchdowns. Ford’s return abilities combined with two of the league’s best kickers in Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler make for a special teams coach’s dream in terms of personnel at his disposal.

As for 2011, the Raiders were abysmal to put it mildly. Ford still had one return for a score while the kickers still did their parts, but the coverage units were atrocious. Oakland allowed three returns for scores last season and finished 27th in kick coverage while taking dead last in punt coverage. Lechler’s big leg is notorious for out-kicking the coverage at times, but that type of ranking is more than just a punter gone wild.

The other coaching positions assumed to be filled thus far include Paul Boudreau as the team’s offensive line coach, Mike Waufle as defensive line coach, and Blake Williams (Gregg Williams’ son) to coach the linebackers. Also Rob Boras is thought to be hired as tight ends coach and Tim Walton to a defensive spot, most likely assistant defensive coordinator-passing game. Ray Sherman is believed to be the wide receivers coach, but nothing has been finalized.

Now that the Rams have basically put the finishing touches on their staff, they remain the only franchise without a general manager. They will have their pick of the litter at this point and should be inclined to make a choice sooner rather than later with the true offseason quickly approaching.

Monday the Rams hosted two candidates for the gig in St. Louis as Joey Clinkscales (vice president of college scouting for the New York Jets) and George Paton (director of player personnel for the Minnesota Vikings) had their respective chances to impress the organization in the interview process.

The Rams list of potential candidates has been somewhat whittled down from the original nine mentioned as possible fits from the beginning with only Clinkscales, Arizona Cardinals director of player personnel Steve Keim, Miami director of player personnel Brian Gaine, and Indianapolis director of player personnel Tom Telesco left un-hired or un-promoted at this point. Both Gaine and Telesco are expected to be in for interviews at some point this week as the process heats up.

Fisher’s hiring certainly brought some new input to the progression of finding a GM and Paton was an additional of his liking. There is no telling just how quickly the search and subsequent employment of a GM will move along, but with Fisher’s attention solely devoted to that task along with the Rams’ front office at this point, don’t expect it to be long before the team has its new personnel guru in place.

One player in particular is very excited about the prospect of playing for Fisher and his importance to the Rams is arguably the highest of anyone. Running back Steven Jackson has been the workhorse in St. Louis Rams for the better part of a decade now amassing quite a resume in the process. His versatile style with the strength to go between the tackles while still possessing the speed and agility to hit the edge is highly adaptable and will work quite well under Fisher’s new regime.

Jackson has been the only bright spot among the Rams’ futility over the last half decade and his continued success is vital to the team turning its fortunes around. When asked about his new head coach, the back told the WCFCourier: “I have played against his teams a lot and they all come with that attitude and a certain level of play. They have that ‘it.’ It’s hard to explain what that ‘it’ is to a fan. But it’s just something about (the way they play) when they go between those lines. Coach Fisher’s teams have a certain something that’s hard to put a finger on. But I have to assume it’s (his) leadership.”

The optimism is palpable from Jackson and he says that it is a universal thing throughout the team’s locker room now. He went on saying: “The teammates I have had a chance to speak to, Sam (Bradford), (James) Laurinaitis and Chris Long, everyone’s excited. We hate that Sam has to learn a new offense, but we all believe in what coach Fisher brings to this team. He brings attitude, he brings an edge. He’s also going to bring winning back to the city.”

There is no doubt the team has turned its mental make-up around in just the few short days since Fisher was hired. That has to be a positive sign for the future of the franchise and bringing a winning team back to the city of St. Louis.

Given the consensus that the Indianapolis Colts will take Peyton Manning’s heir apparent Andrew Luck from Stanford with the first pick, the second quarterback in line would be Baylor’s Robert Griffin III. Many scouts tout Griffin as just as good as Luck with perhaps even a bit more upside potential which could entice teams like the Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, or Miami Dolphins at picks 4, 6, and 8 respectively to move up in search of their signal caller of the future.

The Rams will be fielding plenty of offers over the course of the next three months regarding that second selection, but the team could always choose to stand pat and take a stalwart left tackle in Matt Kalil of USC. Luck (pun intended) hasn’t been on the side of the Rams when it comes to drafting offensive linemen high in recent years with both Jason Smith in 2009 and Alex Barron in 2005 not exactly working out.

There is a clear need for some help along the offensive front if the Rams want to regain relevance in the fluid NFC West and this draft could be their opportunity to achieve that goal. The question that remains is how highly they value Kalil and whether or not they would be just as happy to accumulate additional picks to fix their shoddy offensive line and other areas of the team as well in the process.

Wednesday, February 1 is the deadline for the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission to provide a plan as to how it the Edward Jones Dome can be transformed into a top-tier stadium by 2015. If the commission cannot come up with such an outline, the Rams are free to break their lease and possibly move the franchise following the 2014 season.

Reports linking the Rams to Los Angeles have already been en vogue even prior to Kroenke’s connections to the Dodgers, but now the decibel level will likely get a bit higher. Kroenke has been very evasive when it comes to questions about moving the team in the past and these less than forthcoming responses begin to hint at what fans in St. Louis have feared.

Once upon a time, the thought of moving the Rams from St. Louis was far from anyone’s mind during the days of the Greatest Show on Turf when the team won a Super Bowl and appeared in another. Since then the decline has been well documented with a 15-65 record over the past five years and one of those seasons was a 7-9 campaign.

A multi-million dollar renovation is needed to get the dome back into the upper echelon of NFL stadiums and if the city of St. Louis fails to do so, the Rams will be free to bolt town. Given the current economic climate, it seems highly unlikely that a taxpayer funded renovation would be financed.

After the commission reveals its plan, the franchise will have until March 1 to come to a decision. If no agreement can be reached, the arbitration process would begin June 15 and could last through the end of the year.