It was a good weekend for Rams owner Stan Kroenke.
With the help of COO Kevin Demoff, the Rams landed Jeff Fisher to be their next head coach. That move will prove to Rams fans the team is serious about winning and willing to spend to do so.
That doesn’t mean Kroenke is escaping criticism in St. Louis. In an otherwise positive column Monday, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Kroenke is “flunking” in one critical area as an owner.
The happiness about Fisher is mitigated by the possibility of the team leaving town.
“Fans here are also on edge. They want to fully embrace Kroenke, but he won’t allow them to do so,” Miklasz writes.
Reports emerged last week that Fisher was concerned about taking the job because the team may leave for Los Angeles. While Fisher eventually signed up, his trepidation was telling.
Who is more connected in league matters than Fisher? He was a long-time member of the league’s competition committee and worked for the NFL last year. His concerns about the Rams possibly moving were well-informed.
Kroenke has been reluctant to say anything public about the Rams’ future in St. Louis. The team will reportedly be free to leave after 2014 and Kroenke is using the possibility of moving to L.A. for leverage as the Rams search for improvements to their stadium.
We know that’s all part of the stadium game, but Kroenke’s silence on the matter is not going to help sell tickets, much less ease fears that the Rams leaving town is a legitimate possibility.