Kirwan: Rams need coach who has ‘done it before successfully’

Pat Kirwan thinks the Los Angeles Rams need to follow a very specific profile for replacing Jeff Fisher as their head coach.

The Rams fired Fisher and named special-teams coach John Fassel as their interim coach.

‘I’m using Tom Coughlin as an illustration’

For the long haul, Kirwan thinks the Rams need an accomplished head coach who is capable of heading their entire football operation. At least, that is the advice he offered to team owner Stan Kroenke on Movin’ The Chains.

“He needs someone that has the vision of building this thing that he’s done it before successfully,” Kirwan said. “He can go out and hire some kid, for all I know, but my instincts tell me this is a job for someone with credentials, someone that’s been there and done that. I’m using (Tom) Coughlin as an illustration. There’s a guy with two Super Bowls. The guy wants to coach again, the guy has been a GM/head coach. He can come in and clean up that draft process. He’ll bring someone with him like a lot of these guys do — bring a GM under the head coach.

‘It’s important to shape this thing up fairly quickly’

“(This should be a situation where) the head coach is overseeing it. Pete (Carroll) does that; John Schneider has a lot of power. (Bill) Belichick does it that way, Andy Reid does it that way. You’ve got to get that kind of guy in there. I think that’s important to shape this thing up fairly quickly. I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t go that way, and it’ll be interesting to see how many guys like Coach Coughlin line up for that and want that job.

“I don’t think they’ll take someone who gets fired at the end of the season, even if he had credentials from the past. I think they’re going to take someone that is available, that’s got a tremendous track record that you can put in front of the LA media and create the new vision for the LA Rams.”