The Rams didn't fire Jeff Fisher two weeks before Christmas to do something mundane. You don't make that move in that market under these conditions unless you intend on making a splash.
That said, I'm not buying Nick Saban or Jim Harbaugh at all. And there is no doubt in my mind that this hire will be a leading offensive mind, as this franchise is all-in on making first overall pick Jared Goff a successful quarterback.
This market demands a certain sizzle and sex appeal and to me there is really one way to go -- Jon Gruden. Team president Kevin Demoff worked with Gruden in Tampa, he has the rock star persona and Q rating to generate real buzz and he's a savant when it comes to moving the football. This guy won a Super Bowl with Brad Johnson and won a lot of games with guys like Shaun King and Bruce Gradkowski and Jeff Garcia (at the end of his career).
The Rams know this is about football, but also more than football, and they need to land the kind of coach that entire region can rally around. I would make Gruden an offer he can't refuse (and my Plan B would be trading for Sean Payton).
Brady stands out in a bad week for QBs
Talk about a brutal week for NFL QBs all around. Dak Prescott finally had a bad week. Derek Carr had his worst game of the season, as did Matthew Stafford and Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck. And then you add in the injuries to Stafford and the exacerbated injury to Carr (that pinkie was a problem last week, I don't care what anyone says), and the injury to Aaron Rodgers (and Ryan Tannehill as well), and Week 14 simply was not kind to many of those who make a living at this craft.
Philip Rivers and Carson Palmer and Drew Brees look like older QBs totally hitting a wall, the Giants won despite Eli Manning and wunderkinds Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston did close to nothing in their victories. No one will be putting this week in any time capsule of NFL quarterbacking, that's for sure.
Then there's Tom Brady. Of those in the MVP discussion, Brady took a major leap forward, and Matt Ryan had a splendid day as well (albeit against those fading Rams). Brady shredded the NFL's top defense for 406 passing yards and the Pats racked up close to 500 total yards with no Rob Gronkowski and no Danny Amendola and despite losing two possessions to special teams turnovers. Brady is the greatest quarterback I have ever seen and I believe the greatest of all time.
NFL's D-League proposal gaining steam
The NFL football operations department is making a strong push for a developmental league or academy at the ongoing league meetings. From what I gathered some of the initial proposals didn't wow the general managers that the league met with Tuesday, though a more wide-ranging pitch to owners is scheduled for Wednesday.
Some teams would prefer to have expanded practice squads with additional spring practice time, but I wouldn't discount the NFL's initiatives here. It has strong support within 345 Park Avenue and this is something that could be brought to an ownership vote in the spring, I'm told.
More notes from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals really do have a QB dilemma on their hands for next year. Palmer isn't going to get any better at this stage of his career, and the real concern has to be how quickly he continues to deteriorate. I wouldn't be bringing him back at his current contract.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens defense really does live or die with the availability of corner Jimmy Smith. When he leaves games due to injury, Baltimore's defense folds up more often than not and ends up getting gashed for big plays. Monday night was the latest example.
Buffalo Bills
I continue to hear the end is near for Rex Ryan in Buffalo. That fact is hardly lost on him and he won't exactly be sobbing if it ends up being the case. I would bet big money on him being in someone's broadcast studio by the start of the postseason.
Cleveland Browns
Browns coach Hue Jackson is doing himself no favors with this Robert Griffin III experiment, and he's doing the quarterback no favors, either. It's a total debacle. The gimmick-filled attempt at generating offense isn't fooling anyone, and more injuries will follow. They're finding ways to make an all-time brutal season look even worse.
Here's how one scout who dissected the game on film put it: "He is not an NFL quarterback. He looks like a deer in the headlights and he takes so many unnecessary hits. The ball should be out of his hands way before they make contact with him and, man, does he take some crazy hits. I know he missed a lot of time, but this is what it looked like Week 1, too [before Griffin got hurt]. They aren't running an NFL offense and he's not an NFL quarterback. And Hue is going to say after the game that he looked the part? Who does he think he's fooling? He looks the part of what? A CFL quarterback? Maybe?"
But everyone is going to keep their job in Cleveland, eh?
