There's one game left in the season, and while it might have meaning for coach Jim Haslett and the Rams' players, it is taking a backseat to the major changes already taking place within the organization.
Season-long speculation came to fruition this week as club president John Shaw stepped aside to take an advisor's role to owner Chip Rosenbloom, president of football operations-general manager Jay Zygmunt reached a mutual agreement to depart and executive vice president of player personnel Billy Devaney was elevated to general manager.
That will set the stage for a coaching search that will begin next week and will be spearheaded by Devaney. With 23 years of personnel experience, this will be Devaney's first opportunity to be in charge of the football side of a team.
He said, "I am very grateful to Rams ownership for giving me this opportunity to help return the team to an elite position in the National Football League. This is an organization that has historically had a winning tradition and it is our goal to get back to that level."
The Rams are 5-26 since the start of the 2007 season, and Devaney was hired last February. Said owner and chairman Chip Rosenbloom, "One of the best things that happened to the Rams during this difficult season was the hiring of Billy Devaney to our front office team. We are very fortunate to have someone with Billy's character and intelligence taking control of the football side of this organization."
The official announcement of Devaney's promotion and Shaw's new role came Wednesday, two days after Zygmunt's departure occurred.
Zygmunt said, "I think I'm primarily responsible for what's happened on the field. I'm very disappointed in our performance the last few years. There were also some years where we were pretty good. But obviously right now I've been very disappointed. And I do believe in accountability and responsibility."
The last 12 months have certainly been tumultuous for the Rams. The team was 3-13 in 2007, then owner Georgia Frontiere passed away in January. Frontiere wanted Scott Linehan retained as coach, but Rosenbloom fired Linehan after an 0-4 start.
The team has won two of the next 11 games entering the season finale at Atlanta.
SERIES HISTORY: 74th regular-season meeting. Rams lead, 47-24-2. The Falcons were one of only three teams the Rams beat in 2007, but that game was played in St. Louis.
