Rams News

Inside Slant
June 24, 1998

St. Louis Rams coach Dick Vermeil has been acting more like a foreman and less like a CEO.

Vermeil, 61, is taking a more active role with the team.

"I'm much more aware," Vermeil said. "I'm more demanding on my assistant coaches now because I know for sure that the game hasn't changed that much. The things it takes to win are the same things it took to get to the Super Bowl and the Rose Bowl.

"Your players have to be fundamentally sound, disciplined and tough. And, we're not tough enough yet, but we're working on it."

Vermeil, who hadn't coached in 14 years when he was hired by the Rams in January, 1997, is feeling more comfortable after 1 1/2 years on the job. He walked around the field during minicamp, stopping often to make suggestions to his assistant coaches.

"Sometimes they go beyond suggestions," Vermeil said. "I want things done the way I want them done. I believe in myself more than I did a year ago. I was unsure of myself a year ago."

Vermeil said he has learned that the basic strategies in the NFL haven't changed.

"I talked to (former San Francisco coach) Bill Walsh the other day and he said he found his 1983 offensive notebook, opened up," Vermeil said. "He said, `It isn't any different. If I was a coach tomorrow, I'd line up and run this stuff.' It gave me a good feeling."

Vermeil is happy with the progress his team has shown since it ended the 1997 season with a disappointing 5-11 record.

But not everything is rosy with the Rams.

Starting right cornerback Ryan McNeil is holding out for a long-term contract.

McNeil's agent, Brian Ransom, is asking for $27 million over five years, including a $10 million signing bonus. The Rams have offered $13 million over four years, including a $3.6 million signing bonus.

Vermeil doesn't expect an agreement anytime soon.

"If you study the Ransom and McNeil relationship in contract stuff, it has always taken a long time," Vermeil said. "If you go back to when Ryan was a second-round pick, wasn't he the last player signed? That's just part of their business profile. That's just how they do things. That's their way, fine. I'm not going to hold it against them, but I'm not going to sit here and hold my breath, I tell you that. We're going on."

Second-year players Dexter McCleon and Taje Allen and free-agent acquisition Willie Clark all worked at McNeil's spot during minicamp.

"I have two young corners, for sure, out there who can play," Vermeil said. "Taje Allen can play. Dexter McCleon can play. I can't tell you which one is the best, but they both can line up and start and play well. And Willie Clark has looked good. But, hopefully, Ryan will be here."

Vermeil said he wasn't going to fret over whether McNeil will show up for training camp like he did with No. 1 draft pick Orlando Pace last season.

"I'm not going to worry about guys who are not here," Vermeil said. "It's not going to aggravate me; it's not going to bother me. I'm going to coach some guys who are here and want badly to line up and help and us win. If Ryan's here, he certainly can make that kind of contribution. It isn't going to be a distraction."

McNeil's bargaining power is weak right now. He led the NFL in interceptions last season, but also he led the Rams in pass interference penalties.

The Rams' scouting service, The Mike Giddings Pro Scout service, rates McNeil as the 24th-best cornerback in the NFL.

None of the Rams' eight draft picks are signed yet, but that doesn't seem to bother Vermeil.

"I'm more optimistic that we'll get our draft picks signed and into camp because the people that we are negotiating with, beginning with our top choices, are people that normally deliver people to training camp," Vermeil said.

The Rams' top two draft picks, defensive end Grant Wistrom and running back Robert Holcombe, are both represented by Tom Condon, one of the more respected sports agents.

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