It is widely known that the St. Louis Rams have Jeff Fisher at the top of their coaching list. They are hoping for an answer as to whether he will take their job or the job with the Miami Dolphins Tuesday or Wednesday. However, what happens if Fisher picks Miami? Do the Rams have a backup plan in place or will they start all over again?
They might already have interviewed their backup plan.
That would be Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton.
Because of the "Rooney Rule," the NFL requires that at least one minority coach be interviewed before a job can be offered. When Horton interviewed, the Rams met that requirement. They got that out of the way so that Fisher could be hired if he chooses them.
Over at Turf Show Times (the Rams blog), they say this:
According to DeMarco Farr of 101 ESPN radio in St. Louis, the Rams' brass came away very impressed with Horton. Farr even seemed to think that if Fisher leaves them standing at the alter, they would instantly hire Horton.
The team has yet to conduct any further head coach interviews, which is pretty telling.
It could be telling, or it might not. The reason they have not interviewed anyone else may simply be because they only interviewed him because they had to. After, it has been reported that the Rams intend on interviewing other coordinators on playoff teams.
Then again, after Horton's interview, they may have decided that if Fisher spurns them that the coach with only one season of experience as a coordinator is the guy.
It would be a huge loss for the Cardinals and honestly a surprise. The Cardinals defense did not perform well until the second half of the season and he is quite inexperienced.
Regardless, Cardinals fans are still not out of the woods. Todd Haley is not a sure thing and Horton could still leave. That would be a disappointing turn of events, as most are hoping for an All-Star coaching staff of Whiz, Russ Grimm, Haley and Horton.
These important questions are likely to be answered soon, and we will keep on top of it.
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