National Football League

Rams keep it in-house with Cignetti but it's Fisher who assumes risk

Published Feb. 13, 2015 7:28 p.m. ET

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ST. LOUIS -- A stubborn insistence to avoid making any big changes to his rebuilding project ensures Jeff Fisher must make progress in 2015.

The Rams made Frank Cignetti's promotion from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator official Friday, confirming their offense won't look significantly different next fall. But if results don't improve for a group that failed to crack the top 20 in yards or points per game in Fisher's first three seasons, he'll likely be searching for a new place to coach next year.

"Continuity, stability is very, very important to me and the organization," Fisher says. "The same system for Sam (Bradford). The same system for the rest of his teammates was very, very important and it was about how we get better."

It's hardly a new message from Fisher, who has often made in-house hires throughout his accomplished career. Even as West Coast and spread offenses have gained popularity, Fisher has never shown any desire to stray far from a strong rushing attack and emphasis on play-action passing.

Cignetti fits conveniently into that model and it's unlikely any big names were especially interested in the St. Louis job anyway, considering the team's recent struggles along with an uncertain quarterback situation. But even though he's one of just two new offensive coordinators out of 12 lacking NFL experience at the position, it would be unfair to call Cignetti underqualified.

He led offenses at five different Division I schools and drew interest from the Cleveland Browns before they hired former Oakland Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo in January. Fisher says Cignetti narrowly beat out tight ends coach Rob Boras after a series of lengthy conversations, and both were leading candidates from the beginning of the search in early January.

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"The thing that most attracted me, it's not calling the plays because we're going to game-plan together and we're going to put a great plan together," Cignetti says. "But I'm looking forward to creating ownership, getting everyone bought in and having fun."

Some changes will be made, many of which won't be determined until coaches finish reviewing what happened last season and finalize their 2015 roster. Fisher says simplifying the offense should be a priority, and Cignetti doesn't plan to be as involved in coaching the quarterbacks as Schottenheimer.

That could mean more responsibility for the new quarterbacks coach, who Fisher says could be hired next week. He confirmed former 49ers QB Jeff Garcia visited for interviews Thursday and Friday, and "several others" are also in the mix.

No position will be more important to the Rams -- and subsequently the job security of Fisher and Cignetti. They'll work together with the rest of the staff to find another option either in the draft or free agency, but barring any setbacks in his recovery, Bradford will be the top option.

"It's not as much from the standpoint of challenging Sam," Fisher says. "It's to have options. We don't know what that looks like right now."

Bradford also supported the decision to hire Cignetti, and he should certainly benefit from a familiar leader calling the plays. Injuries have kept him from playing in 25 of 32 games the past two seasons, providing some reason for optimism if he can finally stay healthy.

Fisher also deserves some leeway thanks to his obvious progress in developing a strong, young core, particularly on defense. He led the Rams to an impressive five-win jump in his first season, but they haven't been able to match that 7-8-1 record since.

"We know our strengths and weaknesses," Cignetti says. "We're looking to make changes for the better. We've worked with the players now for three years and we have a great group of players."

Past success for Fisher with the Tennessee Titans franchise shows his model can work, but he's running out of time to replicate that quality execution in St. Louis. Realistically, NFL coaches simply don't last more than four seasons without a winning record, regardless of how many different strategies they try.

Fisher might as well stick to what he knows best.

You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.

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