Fisher fills Rams’ staff with friends

Posted: Thursday, January 26, 2012 7:00 pm

By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Gregg Williams considers Jeff Fisher one of his best friends. When asked to join the St. Louis Rams’ staff, he had to accept.
“I have a very close and tight circle of friends. Not many people get inside that circle,” Williams said in a teleconference Tuesday, a day after agreeing to become the team’s defensive coordinator. “He needed my help and I couldn’t say no.”
As for new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, there’s the enticement of working with quarterback Sam Bradford, the No. 1 pick of the 2010 draft. Schottenheimer was impressed with Bradford’s enthusiasm for the new regime.
“I was blown away with how excited he is about the upcoming year and he just seems like a terrific young man,” Schottenheimer said. “I obviously spent a little time looking at him when he was coming out of college and things like that.
“But we had a very nice visit and I’m thrilled to have a guy like that that we can build around.”
Williams has 22 years of coaching experience in the NFL, including six as Fisher’s defensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. He left the 13-win New Orleans Saints for the two-victory Rams because of Fisher — and says one of the things he likes most about Fisher is how cool he can be under fire.
Williams promises a culture change with a team that ranked near the bottom of the NFL against the run and often faded late under the pressure of keeping the league’s worst offense in the game.
He said getting the most out of players is more important than whether the Rams play in a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme.
Published in The Messenger 1.26.12