Les

Snead

Snead first joined the Rams in 2012 and has been with the team through the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. His fortunes took a turn for the better when he hired Sean McVay in 2017, as the Rams have gone 92-57 in the regular season over that span, making two trips to the Super Bowl and winning a championship in 2021. Snead has hit on recent picks like Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, and Byron Young — to name a few, and has repeatedly had them in contention for the better part of the last decade. The combination of Snead and McVay, who also received an extension, should continue to terrorize the NFC West for the foreseeable future.

The Rams ultimately decided on a deal with the Falcons, which landed them a first-round pick in 2026 in exchange for this year’s 26th overall pick. The deal also gave the Rams a pick in tonight’s second round. “To be able to get a future (No.) 1 is a big deal,” said Rams HC Sean McVay, “to just move back 20 spots.” Rams general manager Les Snead added “The value going up there, teams were asking too much — more than we would give.” The Athletic’s Dianna Russini earlier reported that teams which received calls from the Rams believed they were targeting wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who eventually went to the Panthers at No. 8.

Unfortunately for the general manager, he was between his first and second doses of the vaccine when he contracted the virus. “Definitely know there is a virus trying to attack the body,” Snead said when asked how he was doing. “Right now, in a good spot.” It should not affect the Rams’ draft plans. Visit the link below to help plan your vaccine for COVID-19.

Snead and coach Sean McVay both landed extensions on Friday, keeping the pair together for at least the next five seasons as they come off an NFC title and head into the new stadium in a couple years. Snead’s resume was iffy prior to McVay’s arrival, but a good chunk of that can be chalked up to Jeff Fisher’s terrible coaching and propensity to call the shots in terms of roster construction. McVay turning Goff into a top-half-of-the-league quarterback has given Snead new life. The Snead-McVay draft history has yet to really unfold after they’ve yet to pick in the first round. The duo needs top 2018 pick G/T Joe Noteboom to be a hit this year.

The Rams just hired a 30-year-old head coach, who evidently won’t be hand-picking his own general manager. Snead was handpicked by Jeff Fisher, though the two eventually began to butt heads. Snead has made some nice draft picks, but also had plenty of whiffs. It’s unclear how much of the blame he deserves for the Fisher era.

Per Glazer, even head coaches who have stability elsewhere want the Rams job. Jeff Fisher truly ran this organization into the ground, but there’s a ton of talent, especially young talent, on the roster. On top of the young talent and big market, owner Stan Kroenke showed extreme patience with Fisher, sticking with him for nearly five years when most teams would have canned him after around three. It wouldn’t be a shock to see this team turn around quickly if the Rams can get a coach who has the ability to develop talent, instead of suppress it like Fisher. This roster needs a coach that enforces discipline, instead of being okay with personal foul penalties and mistakes. There are rumors (strictly rumors) that the Rams could pursue Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.

Like (ex-)coach Jeff Fisher, Snead was also handed a two-year extension through 2018 after the Rams moved to L.A. earlier this summer. Snead was hired along with Fisher in 2012 and has overseen a team that has probably gotten worse since Fisher-Snead’s first year at the helm. However, it feels like Fisher had more say in personnel than Snead probably would have liked. It could be argued he’s deserving of a chance to run this show with Fisher now gone.

It’s certainly a valid complaint. The Rams have severe depth issues on both sides of the ball, with the “top heavy” roster struggling at even being top heavy. The question is whether GM Les Snead will get the blame. Ex-coach Jeff Fisher had a huge say in personnel, but the power delineation between the two was never quite clear. Ultimately, we’d bet against Snead getting to choose the next head coach. He’ll probably be pink slipped in January.

As we noted over the weekend, both coach Jeff Fisher and Snead received extensions before the season. Fisher was hired in 2012 and handpicked Snead as his right-hand man. It’s anyone’s guess as to how much control Snead actually has over the roster, but the two definitely work hand-in-hand. Fisher deserves much more blame for the Rams’ lack of progress, but the Snead-Fisher regime has whiffed on a ton of draft picks despite having 16 top-75 picks over the past five drafts. They also handed Tavon Austin one of the worst contracts in recent memory this summer, giving him a four-year, $42 million extension in August. Snead and Fisher are tied at the hip. If one goes, the other will likely join him.

The deal works out to two first-rounders, two second-rounders, and two third-rounders for a fourth-rounder, a sixth-rounder, and a 14-spot jump in this year’s first round. One of the second-round selections is the pick Los Angeles acquired in last year’s Sam Bradford trade. With the top pick in hand, the Rams will almost certainly target either Cal’s Jared Goff or North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz. Despite consistently -- and ridiculously -- talking up Case Keenum this offseason, the Rams have finally taken the steps necessary to secure a true franchise quarterback.