Rams Offensive Coordinator Status

The Rams are not far along in their coaching search but Linehan has made at least one decision about the offense.

Coach Scott Linehan isn't far along in his search for an offensive coordinator. But whoever it is, the new hire will handle play-calling duties for the Rams next season.

"It's hard to be the head coach and immerse yourself as a coordinator," Linehan told the Post-Dispatch on Friday.

It's a lesson Linehan had to learn the hard way, after calling plays for 10 games in 2006 and 12 games in '07. "It's part of the learning process," he said.

Among the 32 NFL teams, only 10 head coaches also called plays entering the 2007 season. Offensive coordinator Greg Olson called plays for the first four games of the Rams' '07 season.

But even before Olson was replaced as play caller by Linehan after the Dallas game, team sources said Linehan was much more involved in game planning and play calling at the start of the season. Much more than he was over the final six games of '06, when Olson took over play calling.

Olson is in a strange sort of limbo for '08. He has been informed by Linehan that he will not be the team's offensive coordinator next season. While Olson is subject to reassignment on the staff, Linehan said, "We wanted him to have the freedom to look around for a job, if he wanted to."

So Olson obviously has been given a professional courtesy that wasn't afforded to fired offensive line coach Paul Boudreau. "I don't know if there is a good way to do any of these things," Linehan said.

Linehan said he has spoken with several potential offensive coordinators on the phone but has held no formal interviews. Those interviews are expected to begin this weekend, first in St. Louis, and then early next week in Los Angeles, where Linehan is headed for the Rams' annual "summit meetings" with team president John Shaw and president of football operations-general manager Jay Zygmunt.

Although team sources say there is a working list of 10 to 12 offensive coordinator candidates, Linehan said he has an "unlimited list," one that includes those experienced and inexperienced with calling plays, as well as NFL and college coaches.

Linehan says he's in no hurry to decide, and the interview process could continue during Senior Bowl week in late January.