Should There Be Concern About Spags?

 I was over at STLTodayearlier on Wednesday to check out Rams’ beat writer Jim Thomas’s most recent chat, I there was an interesting discussion a reader brought up about coach Steve Spagnuolo. I’m not going to post the whole thing here because it’s really long, but the gist of the discussion was whether or not Spags is more of a “turnaround specialist” who isn’t necessarily a great head coach after things have been turned around. More specifically, he is the kind of guy who does a great job taking a team from the bottom and getting them back in contention, but once the team is back, he isn’t necessarily capable of being the strong-handed leader the team needs to take the next step.

Now, I’m not saying this is or isn’t the case, but it did prompt me to think about it. I mean, I know we are only two weeks into the season, but the team’s lack of discipline and execution in those games has been pretty astonishing. You can blame the lockout if you want, and I think that has something to do with it, but the fact is that every team had to deal with the lockout, and most of them aren’t having the problems that the Rams have experienced thus far. Is it possible that Spags doesn’t have that no-nonsense, zero tolerance personality that this team needs to get to the next level?

Again, I’m not saying he’s not the right man for the job. I think he has earned our trust and belief after what he has done so far as the coach of this team. I do, however, think it’s time to at least keep an eye out on the progression of these players and this organization through this season. If the mistakes continue and the discipline doesn’t improve, it’s going to be a long season. And I have a feeling that if it’s a long season for the Rams, it’s going to be an even longer offseason for Spags as he searches for a new job.