Club shows genealogists how it’s done

Reads Listings: May 30 to June 5, 2014

First Posted: 2/13/2014 ST. LOUIS &#8212; Before hiring Gregg Williams as his defensive coordinator for the second time, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher cleared it with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Williams was part of Fisher&#8217;s first staff with the Rams in 2012, but only for a few weeks before getting suspended for his role in the Saints&#8217; bounty scandal.
After a news conference to introduce Williams Thursday, Fisher said he&#8217;d been in contact with Goodell throughout the process two years ago and &#8220;I wanted to inform him about the direction I was thinking about going.&#8221;
&#8220;He was very excited, and he endorsed it.&#8221;
Before signing Williams, Fisher said the two spent a few days revisiting the 2012 experience. The suspension left the Rams in a bind and they went without a coordinator in &#8216;12.
Fisher said then that the suspension was &#8220;warranted&#8221; and asked if he&#8217;d consider Williams in the future said he&#8217;d &#8220;cross that bridge when we come to it.&#8221; After the 2012 season he fired Williams&#8217; son, defensive line coach Blake Williams.
During his suspension, Williams had no contact with the Rams but said he attended all of the home games. He was a defensive assistant last year at Tennessee and called it a &#8220;good stop.&#8221;
&#8220;His handprint was all over the Tennessee defense, it was obvious that he&#8217;d gone in there and had a significant impact,&#8221; Fisher said. &#8220;I&#8217;d say 60-70 percent of our terminology is his. I just really felt strongly about just pulling together.&#8221;
Fisher initiated contact a few weeks after the season ended, and believes he&#8217;d surprised Williams. He made room by firing Tim Walton after one season, telling Walton he&#8217;d done nothing wrong but that Williams had been his first choice.
The 55-year-old Williams was defensive coordinator under Fisher with the Titans from 1997-2000.
&#8220;Things are in perspective, things are behind him, his past is his past,&#8221; Fisher said. &#8220;The arrow&#8217;s going up with the defense and I just felt like Gregg was the person to make sure that happens.&#8221;
Williams shed no light on the discussions, saying &#8220;Those are things that are between Jeff and I.&#8221; He deflected a question about how he&#8217;s changed as a coach since his suspension, saying every coach must adjust, but thought the familiarity would make this a good fit.
&#8220;It&#8217;s fun to be back with people who think and believe the same way you are,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;So now you get a chance to spend more time with the players, because you&#8217;re spending less time having to sell or defend yourself with your staff before you ever get with the players.&#8221;
Fisher said the hire got a big thumbs-up from players, adding &#8220;my phone was blowing up.&#8221; Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, who was at Rams Park for a workout, anticipates a more aggressive approach.
The Rams have one of the NFL&#8217;s top pass rushes but enter free agency and the draft needy in the secondary.
&#8220;Win or lose, I want to know that we&#8217;re going to go down swinging,&#8221; Laurinaitis said. &#8220;Everyone I&#8217;ve known that has played for him just absolutely loves the guy.&#8221;
Williams, who grew up in Missouri, said he hoped this was his last coaching stop.
Williams scoffed at a claim from a player who said the coach bragged about using a stolen playbook to help Tennessee beat Jacksonville in the 1999 AFC championship game. Williams called the allegation by former Jaguars defensive end Renaldo Wynn &#8220;a joke&#8221; and added he had every team&#8217;s playbook.
&#8220;Every time a free agent walks in a building, he gives you the playbook,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;We all have everybody&#8217;s playbook. When you turn the film on, do you have their playbook?
&#8220;How much traction did &#8216;Omaha&#8217; get when Peyton (Manning) said &#8216;Omaha&#8217; 46 times one game on TV? What&#8217;s that mean? It doesn&#8217;t mean anything.&#8221;
Williams said he&#8217;s watched all of the Rams games from last season but declined to discuss specific needs. Fisher wants his new coordinator to concentrate on improving a defense that was ranked 15th overall.
&#8220;I told Gregg this time around he&#8217;s going to be the mad scientist,&#8221; Fisher said. &#8220;He&#8217;s not going to do a lot of player evaluations, I&#8217;m not going to take up his time evaluating unrestricted free agents and getting ready for the draft.
&#8220;I want him to take this defense and run with it.&#8221;

Fisher cleared Gregg Willliams hire with Goodell