Posts tagged ChipRosenbloom at FanHouse

While sports talk radio in St. Louis and the entire internet are abuzz with Scott Linehan dissenters, going back to this preseason and late in the year of '07, we hadn't heard anything at all of substance from the Rams' front office. That all changed yesterday. Owner Chip Rosenbloom, who took the reins when his mother (Georgia Frontiere) died this past January, has been forced to speak out after only two embarrassing weeks.

"It is the job of the head coach, Scott Linehan, to figure out how to motivate and give some urgency to this team," Rosenbloom told the Post-Dispatch on Monday. "I believe in these players and I believe in this coach."

That sounds like he's ready to start apologizing for Coach Linehan, but as he continued, things became a little clearer ... and it wasn't confidence-inspiring for any Linehan supporters.

"Obviously, the game of football is about winning," Rosenbloom said. "The level of play is not acceptable to me or anybody in the organization."

"Things will get better, and if they don't, changes will be made."

Will they get better? Well, it's hard to see how they could get worse than losing 79-16 in the first two games combined. The team hasn't shown any signs of life, though.

Chip Rosenbloom disputed a report by Michael Silver that the Rams are up for sale and maybe headed out of St. Louis, saying, "We are not shopping the team." It's in Rosenbloom's best interest currently to say that, but I believe him. Sort of.

Forgive me while I mince words. I don't believe Rosenbloom literally -- Silver is better than to pull a Tomase on this scoop. The new owners have at least looked for interested buyers. I just think they haven't found any.

First, there's all of this CBA uncertainty (you may not've heard about it, it's sort of flying under the radar). Forbes estimated the value of the Rams' franchise at $908 million. Though I'm sure peace will be brokered before all hell breaks loose, I'm also not willing to bet $908 million on it, and I don't think any potential buyers are either. That investment doesn't make sense when the league's fiscal forecast can be much different in a couple of years.

And besides a roster, coaching, and front office overturn that can happen as soon as '09, the team can opt out of its lease with the Edward Jones Dome in 2015 (not 2012) if it is not considered one of the top eight stadiums in the league (which it will not be). By that time, Los Angeles will probably be occupied, leaving upgrades to the Dome (at hundreds of millions of dollars) or a new stadium in St. Louis as the only viable options. That's a choice I'm not sure many owners are going to want for a team whose local support is already dwindling, especially if the economy hasn't turned itself around by then.

So no, I don't see the Rams being sold -- until these uncertainties crystallize, anyway. 'Til then, Rosenbloom's words are merely spin control.

Despite what we may have been led to believe, new St. Louis Rams owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez have put the team they inherited from Georgia Frontiere up for sale. The duo indicated that they were dedicated to keeping the team in the family, yet we're still months from their first training camp as owners and the sign is already up on the lawn.

A few parties have expressed interest in buying the team, including Eddie DeBartolo, who used to own the division rival 49ers. But there's an interesting "B" plot to all of this -- Los Angeles.

It's natural for relocation to be at least a passing issue whenever new ownership is up in the air, but with the development plans for a new stadium, a history between the team and city (it was Frontiere who moved the Rams from L.A. in the first place), and a team lease with the Edward Jones Dome that lasts only until 2012, any potential suitor is going to have to address his/her long term plans for the team.

This is actually good news for the team and its current owners -- by all accounts it was clear that Rosenbloom and Rodriguez were ill-prepared to run a team; having a proven owner like DeBartolo would be a great add. It's the fans in St. Louis, as is always the case, who are dealt the short straw, having to sit through this entire process wondering whether the expiration date on their team is 2012.

Of course, the league will probably collapse on itself like a dying star before then, anyway.