Jeff Fisher is a proven winner. So when he says, “a lot of the philosophical things were identical, and it was a match” I trust him. Let’s get one thing straight: this is Jeff Fisher’s football team. Les Snead has a huge title, but his role to Fisher is monumental.

 SNEAD IS 37 YEARS OLD.

Les Snead is creative. Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin saw it when he hired him as a scout in 1995 for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars. Snead stayed with the Atlanta Falcons despite 6 head coaching changes (2 interim), 1 GM change, and a new owner over 13 seasons. It’s both a positive and a negative.

“When the new leadership comes in, you adhere to their program, and you try to execute what their program asks you to do.”

 Snead knows success. Three words repeated during Tuesday’s press conference: innovative, stability, and resiliency. “This is not your average scout in the NFL, he thinks a little bit different and approaches problem solving in a unique way,” said Kevin Demoff, the Rams C.O.O.

According to Demoff, Snead offers “the most advanced metrics and scouting in the NFL.”

His role is to find players that fit Fisher’s scheme: tough, mean, physical, and most importantly, winners.

Snead’s resume includes Michael Vick, Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez, Harvey Dahl, Julio Jones, Sean Weatherspoon, and Michael Turner. 

For Snead, the opportunity is “a dream come true.”

“I used to skip school back when the draft was held on a weekday to watch it. So personally, to go from eighth grade skipping school to be sitting in this chair to be a steward of this organization partnered with Kevin and Jeff, that’s a personal goal. That is one of 32.”

Instead of talking about the teams potential, Snead says, “I’d rather just show you.”

FINAL SAY?

“This is a three-part team,” according to Fisher. It remains unclear who will have final say over personnel decisions. “We don’t anticipate differences of opinion, and in the event that there are, then we will move to the next player. There will be a consensus, and as I said, it’s a partnership.”

JEFF FISHER Y’ALL

So now Fisher has influenced Gregg Williams (DC), Dave McGinnis (A/HC), Brian Schottenheimer (OC), Paul Boudreau (OL), Chuck Cecil (DB), Frank Cignetti (QB), and Snead to jump aboard a franchise that has 10 wins over their last 3 seasons. None of these names are possible without Fisher.

It’s unusual for a team to hire a head coach prior to the GM. But Fisher was the cream of any potential head coach. Hiring Fisher was like picking Jessica Alba over Rosie O’Donnell.

So in hiring Alba, you get a ton of sexy assistants, instead of hiring O’Donnell’s…well, uh, you get the point.

CLOCK’S TICKING

The window to prove oneself in the NFL is tight. Snead’s clock is already ticking. I’ve now covered four press conferences introducing new head coaches at Rams Park, and two for general managers in 6 years. It’s time to end this non-sense. Let’s just hope their success doesn’t happen in California.

Snead: Why the Rams? 

Snead on his personnel philosophy:

Snead: Proudest personnel decision: