Bright and early on Monday morning, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke fired coach Steve Spagnuolo and GM Billy Devaney.
Rams COO and vice president Kevin Demoff met with the press later Monday afternoon, and players also spoke with reporters.
Kroenke was nowhere to be found. Instead, he released a statement with the expected pablum: “No one individual is to blame for this disappointing season and we all must hold ourselves accountable. However, we believe it's in the best interest of the St. Louis Rams to make these changes as we continue our quest to build a team that consistently competes for playoffs and championships."
Certainly, Kroenke could have showed up in person, read this statement, and fielded some questions. I think he owed the fans of this 2-14 team that much. The owner wasn’t avoiding questions on the football team, though; he was most likely dodging inquiries about where his football team is going to be playing in the future.
Next month, the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission must present its proposal to the Rams as to how the Edward Jones Dome will be in the top 25 percent of the league’s facilities by 2015.
I can answer that: It won’t.
As I’ve been harping on for more than three years, the CVC should have been much more proactive in its approach to this problem. I fear it is now too late. Either that or a lot of backroom negotiating has been going on without anyone getting wind of it.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Kroenke and the CVC announced plans for a new, privately financed stadium? I’m not counting on that. Kroenke, the Rams, and the CVC seem to act like next month’s deadline is the next decade.
In the meantime, the last thing that Kroenke wants to do is answer questions on the team’s lease at the dome and the fact that he holds all the cards.
The football questions would have been easy to answer:
Why did you fire the coach?
The team was 2-14, and I made a change.
Why did you fire the GM?
The team was 2-14 because it was not very talented.
Who are you going to hire?
I don’t know yet.
But answering these larger questions might have proven more difficult:
“Will you guarantee that the Rams will stay in St. Louis as long as you are the team's owner?"
"If you are not satisfied with the CVC's proposal, what action will you take?"
"Will you ask for any public assistance if you were to build a new stadium in the region?"
While I’m anxious to see who will coach the Rams in the future, I think the real fun will begin when we learn what the CVC proposes to do about the Edward Jones Dome.
Commentary by Alvin Reid
