Jim Haslett Changing Culture in St. Louis

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With this afternoon’s surprising 34-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the St. Louis Rams are now — amazingly — a team to watch out for in the NFC. Just three weeks ago, the Rams were in total disarray at 0-4 and, without question, they were playing the worst football of any NFL team. After dismissing then-head coach Scott Linehan, the Rams named defensive coordinator Jim Haslett the interim head coach and he has not only submitted a strong bid to serve as the future head coach of the Rams, he has put his winning stamp on the entire organization in just two short weeks:

“As a coaching staff, I told our guys our job is to change the culture. Maybe we get a shot here, maybe we get a shot somewhere else. If nothing else, I want to leave the building in better shape, and if the team does sell, the (new owner) feels better about it, the city feels better about and the players feel better about how they stand in the community ….. It’s not just players that win championships, organizations win. I asked them to come eat with the coaches, the players, come to practice ….. Let’s have some fun and be positive. We have to change the culture. If we have anybody who gets negative around here, I want them fired.”

I like coach Haslett’s style. The question that remains is whether the Rams can maintain this pace. I know they just beat the Redskins and Cowboys back-to-back, but are they really this talented? At 2-4, they’re tied for second place in the NFC West, only two games behind the Cardinals. And they still play the Cards twice. It could be shaping up for a wild finish in the STL.

Source: ESPN.com, Photo: Newscom