Les Snead is a human being.
He’s got a winning smile. He’s got a fabulous hairdo. But more importantly, he’s made for one heck of an offseason for his Los Angeles Rams.
But things, aside from his stunning looks, have been far from perfect since taking the job with the Rams back in 2012 — the same year they inked Jeff Fisher as their head coach. And there’s always been some ambiguity as to just how much of the successes and blames fell on the shoulders of each.
The list of questionable offseason moves is lengthy.
Who orchestrated the 2012 blockbuster trade that earned the Rams a boat load (eight, to be exact) of picks from the Washington Redskins? And why is only one of them still a Ram?
After missing more than half the 2013 season with a torn ACL, whose idea was it to head into the 2014 season with Shaun Hill being the primary backup for Sam Bradford?
Who made the final call to take Greg Robinson with the 2nd overall pick? Is it the same person who pounded the table for Aaron Donald at 13?
Who ultimately pulled the trigger on a 4-year, $42M extension for Tavon Austin? Is it Fisher or Snead who are responsible for the team’s inability to lock up some of their own stars in free agency, all while doling out some of the league’s worst contracts to less valuable players?
I’m not certain that we’ll ever get definitive answers to these questions, and it’s fair to assume the successes and failures involved both parties. The one thing I think we are comfortable stating at this point is that it was indeed the coaching, not talent, that held the team in a sub-.500 state for five consecutive seasons.
But, in what has been a very exciting 2018 offseason for the Rams, Les Snead appears to be in favorable standing not only with the fans, but with agents around the league. In a recent poll conducted by USA Today – in which 25 agents weighed in on which coaches, GM’s, and owners they had the most respect for and which they had the least trust in – Les Snead tied for 4th in the category held in higher regard.
It’s good to be liked and respected, and it appears that agents/teams enjoy doing business with Snead — which might help explain how they’ve been stacking up bonafide studs, to include Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Ndamukong Suh, and Brandin Cooks this offseason.
It’s probably also fair to assume that Bruce Allen would be forced to take a back seat to the rightful owner of the league’s most untrustworthy head coach had he still been employed by the Rams. Luckily for Snead, the Rams, and all their fans, he wasn’t even a consideration.
Here’s to you, Lester. Despite the ups and (mostly) downs that oftentimes come with Rams’ fandom, you’ve done a stellar job of getting this team to a point where we’re even mentioning a run at a Super Bowl title. Respect is earned, and it appears you’ve garnered quite a bit of it.