If first impressions mean anything, the Rams hit a home run with the hiring of their new general manager.
Tuesday afternoon, on Valentine’s Day, Samuel Lester Snead (no relation to the golfing great) addressed the media and displayed the self-assurance that certainly convinced Kevin Demoff and Jeff Fisher that he was the man for the job.
Of course, words mean little when it comes to succeeding in the high-stakes world of the NFL. Winning the press conference doesn’t count for much, but Les Snead certainly has the pedigree from working 16 years in the NFL. But he also knows only results on the field will convince a fan base that has watched the Rams win 15 of 80 games over the last five seasons.
As Snead said when asked how far away he believes the Rams are from turning things around, “Here’s what I think. I think we are not far away at all. Now I will say this, I don’t think I need to sit up here and talk about it. I think we need to start making very sound, very superior decisions and we’ll stack those and I think that will lead to success. I would rather not talk about it, just show you.”
Demoff, who spearheaded the team’s search for a head coach and general manager following the Jan. 2 firings of Steve Spagnuolo and Billy Devaney, believes the decisions to add Fisher and Snead are winning ones.
Said Demoff, “When we started this process in January, to think that we’d wind up with the two men sitting to my left here to run our building and to lead us forward was an exciting thought. I didn’t know if it was attainable, but as we sit here today it absolutely was.
“Les Snead was the first call we made regarding our general manager and the last call we made regarding our general manager position, and that’s a great thought for me. From our first interview, it was clear he was ready to lead our football team and to lead a football team in the National Football League and I know throughout our time after hiring coach Fisher, he impressed that upon us as well.”
What was it that Demoff sensed in Snead? He said, “They (Atlanta Falcons) never had back-to-back winning seasons and all of a sudden you have four straight winning seasons. And that’s the sign of someone who can come into a franchise like ours that seeks stability and provide it. With coach Fisher on the coaching side and Les overseeing our personnel department, we are set up for the future and for future success.”
Snead actually had his first interview with Demoff prior to the hiring of Fisher on Jan. 13. Once Fisher started work, he was heavily involved in the interview process and became equally impressed with Snead.
Said Fisher, “The exciting part about our initial visit and the time we spent (together) was that despite the fact that we both come from two different organizations, a lot of the philosophical things were identical and it was a fit; it was a match. The way they’ve run their personnel department is very similar to what I was used to. I’m just really excited about moving forward, about the innovative ideas and where we’re going to take this team.”
Like Fisher, what excites Snead is the presence of Sam Bradford.
“I like Sam,” Snead said. “I believe he’s a franchise quarterback. Believe me, every team that doesn’t have that spends every waking moment searching for one. There is good young talent on this team. Obviously, when you are last in the league in wins over the last five seasons, there are holes. But at least you’re not looking for a quarterback.”
Snead also understands his relationship with Fisher will be paramount for success.
“The head coach and general manager better be the best team in the building,” he said.
Lord knows, that hasn’t been the case very often in the franchise’s tenure through 17 seasons in St. Louis. After all, it’s not only about acquiring the right players; it’s making them into a team.
Said a confident Snead, “I do want this organization to be an organization that understands how to build, develop, and coach its football team to win division championships consistently, and that’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to hear me say a lot of times that everybody in this building is going to be passionate about winning.
“Every player, every staff member, every coach. We’re going to have a purpose. We’re going to understand what we’re trying to accomplish and why it works. And then we’re going to go thrive.”
Snead was one of nine candidates interviewed and several won promotions with their teams, including some that weren’t interviewed.
Concluded Demoff, “I think we made a lot of people some money and titles over the past few weeks. But the list was taken from talking to a lot of people throughout the league, from working with people in Indianapolis and Mobile and seeing kind of the collective wisdom of a lot of different scouting departments.
“To me, the thing that I love about it is three people wound up being GMs, three people got promoted, and we got the best guy out of the group.”
Now, it’s up to Snead to show us that’s the case.
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