The End

ESPN's Chris Mortensen joined us on Team 1380's The ITD Morning After to give us some details on this morning's firing of Rams' Head Coach Scott Linehan and the promotion of Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett to Interim Head Coach.


Here are some tidbits from Mort's Report on Team 1380:


-Haslett is not as disliked at Rams Park as has been reported.


-Haslett got the call as the head coach because of his head coaching resume versus that of Al Saunders.


-Linehan requested to address the team this morning at 8:30. Ownership and management wasn't too high on this move, but they granted it as a final request.


-Nick Saban, who was head coach when Linehan was offensive coordinator at Miami, told Mortensen when Linehan was hired as head coach that he wasn't sure if Linehan was ready for such an important role.


-The Rams are "in play" as far as a sale goes, and that fact contributes to the team having to act deliberately in the manner of rebuilding the franchise.


-The Rams will have a press conference at noon today to detail the decision to fire Linehan and promote Haslett.
 

The Cardinals And Kyle Lohse

The Cardinals will have a press conference today, according to Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch. Derrick Goold and Strauss report the Cardinals and Kyle Lohse are close to a new contract.

Personallly, I'm surprised that the Cardinals are making this move. And, without knowing the exact terms as of yet, I'm not sure what my judgement of the move is. But, I do know this: I'm quite happy the Cardinals are locking up Lohse. I was under the impression that if the Cardinals were going to be locking up anybody, it would be Braden Looper.

Looper, while effective, doesn't have the upside Lohse has. Also, in his numerous appearances on The ITD Morning After and his appearance at The insideSTL.com Third Anniversary Party at Lumen last month, I get the vibe that he's really comfortable and enjoying St. Louis and the Cardinals.

This move goes against the way the Cardinals have done business the last few years...in which they have taken the cheaper way out so many different times. Hopefully, this is a sign that Cardinal fans can actually look forward to deals getting closed this offseason as opposed to hearing about how they were in the mix for so-and-so...but just came up short.

The College Football Polls

Before the polls were released Sunday, I wrote on the insideSTL.com message board that I would vote in this manner if I had a ballot:

1. Oklahoma

2. Alabama

3. LSU

4. Missouri

5. Texas

It turns out that's exactly how the AP Poll...which has no impact on the BCS Standings...came out a couple of hours later. But, the Coaches' Poll is all over the place:

1. Oklahoma

2. LSU

3. Missouri

4. Alabama

5. Texas

Now, it's no secret that I live and die with the Tigers, but I don't know how Missouri can be ahead of Alabama after the Tide went into Athens and beat the hell out of the preseason #1 team in the country. As a matter of fact, I think a case could be made for Alabama as the nation's #1 team based on what they've done so far this year. And, furthermore, I think Penn State has a legitimate gripe if they're unhappy about not being in the top 10 after they beat the hell out of Oregon State (the team that beat last week's #1 USC Thursday night) and handled Illinois Saturday. At least Penn State has played a couple of legitimate teams...unlike Texas.

Here's the bottom line, however: it means nothing.

If any of the above teams run the table, they play for the National Championship.

But, we did learn something from this weekend: no one is safe. No one. As dominant as Oklahoma has looked, USC looked even more dominant going into Corvalis, Oregon.  

The great thing about all of the losses if you're a Missouri fan is that if the Tigers were to lose a game in the next month and still win the Big 12 Championship, they could still play for the National Championship.

The toughest stretch of games this season (with the exception of a potential string of games against Kansas, Oklahoma/Texas/Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game, and, most likely, the SEC Champion in the National Championship Game) begins Saturday night in Lincoln...and then is followed by a home date with #21/#22 Oklahoma State in Columbia...and finally, the showdown in Austin, which could be a #2 vs. #3 matchup if both the Longhorns and Tigers take care of business.

Here's what I know: after this weekend and seeing great teams vanquished, I feel less confident about the Tigers getting through the next three games unscathed. The positive is that, after this weekend, they can afford one slip-up.

What do you think about the Rams, Lohse, and the college football polls? Log-in and post your comments below.