The Los Angeles Rams have undergone a remarkable transformation in the past year, going from a four-win team in 2016 to a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2017. For that, the Rams should thank Jeff Fisher and Dave McGinnis, according to Dave McGinnis.

McGinnis, who worked under Fisher as the Rams' assistant head coach from 2012-16 and is now a first-year radio analyst for the Titans, told the Tennessean that he and Fisher "built" the roster of the 2017 Rams:

"First of all, Jeff Fisher and I, we built this roster, you know what I'm saying? So I know these guys very, very well. This defense and special teams of the Rams has been playoff-ready for two years, ability-wise and performance-wise. The last two years, the offense has been historically bad. The offensive line was not good, was underperforming, could not get any stability at quarterback. The receivers, that was the issue. And we knew if we could ever just get, when we drafted Jared Goff, Jeff Fisher did the Rams organization a huge favor by not playing him right away because he would have ruined the kid just like David Carr got ruined when he had to play at Houston when they drafted him and got him 76 sacks his first year. He never recovered from that."

He did, at least, give credit to new coach Sean McVay:

"But anyway, what Sean McVay has done is bring a tremendous offensive system in there. They traded the worst-performing left tackle in the league, Greg Robinson, who is now out of the league, and paid money for the best-performing left tackle, Andrew Whitworth. Brought a center in from Washington (John Sullivan) that was familiar with their system. Added three really, really good wideouts. And then Todd Gurley, who Jeff Fisher drafted even with an ACL coming out of Georgia because Jeff knew how special Gurley was. I mean, he knew this was a building block. He was Rookie of the Year without even starting. Had a down year last year, he wasn't healthy and the offensive line was bad. The whole offense wasn't good. This year, he's an MVP candidate."

But he concluded by saying Fisher "left them a lot of talent."

"Todd Gurley is the real deal, and Jeff Fisher could envision him being his Eddie George for the next seven or eight years. That's how it was put together. This defensive group we left for Wade Phillips to inherit is extremely talented, especially the front seven. I mean, Aaron Donald could be the defensive MVP of the league. Michael Brockers, who we took No. 1 out of LSU, is as good as there is. Robert Quinn is a No. 1 pick. It's a really good defensive line. And then Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron are two of the best behind-the-line linebackers going right now. Especially the way Wade is using them. ... It's a talented team. It's a well-coached team. We left them a lot of talent.

I'm glad McGinnis mentioned McVay and the new players that the Rams' front office brought in this offseason, because that's the real story behind the Rams' turnaround. A year ago, the Rams got outscored by 170 points largely because their "middle-school offense" finished dead-last in scoring (14 points per game) and DVOA. Entering Week 16 of this season, the Rams have outscored their opposition by 166 points largely because they're tied for first in scoring (31.3 points per game) and sixth in DVOA.

They made the leap from the league's worst to arguably the league's best offense because of both an upgrade in coaching and talent. Let's start with coaching: Despite his age (31), McVay was hired in the offseason because of his work with Kirk Cousins as the Redskins' offensive coordinator. It ended up being the best move of the offseason as McVay has provided Goff with the necessary development and play-calling to succeed. Goff isn't just one of the league's top quarterbacks because he's been in the league for two seasons now. He's one of the best quarterbacks because he's being put in a position to succeed -- something Fisher's Rams didn't do.

Take it from Gurley, the MVP candidate, himself:

And then there are the offseason additions that have helped make Goff and Gurley's life easier. Whitworth  is a shut-down left tackle. Rookie Cooper Kupp and free agent addition Robert Woods have been two reliable pass-catchers. Sammy Watkins has seven touchdowns. The Rams aren't winning with last year's roster. This is a completely revamped group.

Even if the Rams were winning because of the talent Fisher brought in, that wouldn't reflect well on Fisher. If the roster was so talented last year, why did Fisher only manage to go 4-9 before getting fired? Why was his winning percentage with the Rams 40.9 percent?

The answer, according to McGinnis, is that they were too young.

"It's just, we were the youngest team in the league four years in a row. This team has grown up together. This is one of the better teams in the league right now, personnel-wise and the way they're playing."

Fisher can get some credit for the drafting of Goff, though it's not like he would've been wrong if he had picked Carson Wentz instead. He can get credit for helping draft Gurley. But he can't get credit for anything that has happened since he's been fired.