Former Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher seemingly blames general manager Les Snead for losing two key players on defense during the offseason.
When reading between the lines, former Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher blames the team’s general manager, Les Snead, for losing two key players from the secondary.
Fisher, who did an interview on ESPN LA 710, talked about the team not bringing back cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Rodney McLeod. In his response, Fisher all but directly blamed Snead for their departure:
"“I was told that there wasn’t going to be any issues – they were going to be re-signed – and we lost them,” Fisher said. “Janoris got votes for Defensive Player of the Year. That side of it – it doesn’t fall into my lap. … Because of the move, in retrospect and everything, things just got a little out of perspective, and we lost two really good football players.”"
Fisher was supposed to have say over personnel decisions when he took the job, however re-signing players apparently wasn’t part of the deal.
Of course, Jenkins went on to play for the New York Giants and McLeod is in Philadelphia. Jenkins, in particular, has been widely praised for his great play this season and was named to the NFC’s 2017 Pro Bowl roster.
McLeod, on the other hand, hasn’t done too badly himself. The safety has 76 combined tackles, one sack, and a career-high three picks.
It’s safe to say the Rams lost two very good players in free agency and it’s understandable why Fisher is upset about it. Snead, who has made several bad decisions as the GM, might actually retain his job beyond 2016.