New Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams says his players should be ready to do things his way, or not at all.
“There will be a culture change here,” Williams said in his introductory conference call.
Williams hastened to add that by saying that, he’s not criticizing the way former Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo ran the defense. But he is saying he’ll do things differently.
“I think the world of ‘Spags,’ but don’t mistake me for that,” Williams said. “I’m not him. And there will be some differences here on some of the things that I expect.”
So how will Williams be different? He said it’s less about changing the playbook and more about changing the way players are motivated.
“I get way too much credit for the Xs and Os,” he said. “But my specialty is handling people, especially difficult people.”
And Williams says his approach to handling people includes a lot of yelling at practice, followed by a calm demeanor on game days.
“I’m going to do everything in the world to put as much external stress on the staff and the players as I can,” he said. “You’ll hear a lot of hollering and screaming, and a lot of intensity come out of me. But on game day you’ll never see that because those players and those coaches that are working in those stressful conditions, they don’t need any more external stress.”
What the Rams do need is someone to whip their defense into shape following last season’s 2-14 record. Williams is the man to do that.