Rams News

Shaw stays with Rams - at least this season

Wednesday, March 25, 1998

By Jim Thomas\
Of The Post-Dispatch
ORLANDO, Fla. After giving strong consideration to leaving the Rams, or severely curtailing his duties, President John Shaw has decided to stay with the club for at least another season.
"I think it's safe to say that I did consider it, and decided that I wasn't going to leave at this time," said Shaw, slightly irritated Tuesday when the subject was broached. "As to how long I'm staying, I have a contract for 2 1/2 more years. If I choose to leave prior to that, I'm sure we can make a story about that."
Shaw said his decision to stay was not influenced by a pay raise or a new contract. He said he is still working under a prior contract that called for him to stay with the club through the 2000 season. "No raise, no contract extension," he said.
Shaw was evasive when asked if he would fulfill all of the remaining 2 1/2 years of his contract.
He made his original comments about stepping aside on Nov. 10, the day St. Louis lost its antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League. Shaw insisted at the time that the legal setback had nothing to do with his contemplation of a career change.
"At the time that the Rams moved here in '95, I saw myself as getting the organization going, getting everything in place in St. Louis, and then kind of `transitioning' out," Shaw said. "I felt the lawsuit was really the last piece of business that kind of completed the transition - other than the team's performance, which is greatly disappointing to me.
"We are the St. Louis Rams. We're fully transitioned in St. Louis. We are St. Louis' football team."
So why stay on? Shaw said club ownership - namely chairman Georgia Frontiere and vice chairman Stan Kroenke - persuaded him to continue.
Those close to Shaw believe that if he leaves, he would like to leave with the appeal process in the lawsuit completed, and the team's on-the-field fortunes reversed.
Chief U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton ruled in favor of the NFL last fall, throwing out St. Louis' $130 million lawsuit against the league. She ruled that there was no evidence that the league directly deterred teams other than the Rams from bidding to play in the Trans World Dome.
St. Louis appealed that ruling, and according to Shaw, all the briefs have been filed in the appeal process.
"There will be probably an oral argument, I would think in the next three to four months," Shaw said. "Once the arguments are made, there should probably be a ruling three to four months after that."
Legal skirmishing aside, Shaw said, "It is my No. 1 priority, to the extent that I can help, to get the organization to be a winning football team."
The team has posted three consecutive losing seasons since moving to St. Louis. Its victory total has decreased each season - from a 7-9 record in '95, to 6-10 in '96 and 5-11 this past season. That track record, coupled with early setbacks in free agency, have led to more grumbling by fans about the team than at any time since the franchise moved to St. Louis.
"I think the fans, like us, would like to see some results," Shaw said. "I don't blame them for that.
"I'm hopeful. The defense, I think, played well enough last season to be a playoff team. We need a lot of offensive improvement. We need Eddie Kennison to return to the level that he was in his rookie year. We need the offensive line to improve significantly. . . . Obviously, the growth of the quarterback (Tony Banks) is a very important issue. And we're going to have to address the running back situation."
Shaw said the team's three major offseason goals, in no particular order, were re-signing cornerback Ryan McNeil, and signing unrestricted free agents Gabe Wilkins and Joe Patton. But Wilkins, a defensive end from Green Bay, signed with San Francisco. Patton decided to re-sign with his old club - Washington. McNeil remains unsigned, although the Rams have greatly restricted his opportunities to sign with another team by giving him the franchise player designation.
Nonetheless, Shaw believes the team already has improved itself with the free-agent signings of wide receiver Ricky Proehl and middle linebacker Eric Hill.
"Obviously, we have high draft picks and there'll be another round of free agency after June 1," Shaw said. "So it's way too early to say that we didn't improve ourselves."
Copyright (c) 1998, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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