Fisher instills confidence in Rams - Chicago Tribune

EARTH CITY, Mo. â€" Several hours after Steve Spagnoulo was dismissed as head coach of the Rams, Sam Bradford, Chris Long and James Laurinaitis marched up the stairs at Russell Athletic Training Center and knocked on the door of team vice president Kevin Demoff.

"If we have a vote," Long told Demoff, "we vote Jeff Fisher."

The trio had spoken with players who had been coached by Fisher in Tennessee. And they liked what they heard.

"Guys love playing for him," Long said. "He treats players with respect but works them hard. He knows football."

When Fisher first stood in front of the Rams, it was the first time in his 17-year head coaching career he did not know every player he was addressing, and every player did not know him.

But he had a captive audience.

"Within three minutes, it was his team," assistant head coach Dave McGinnis said.

After a year away from football in which the 54-year-old Fisher recharged by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and watching his sons play and coach, the former Bear has been embraced in St. Louis. He regularly receives standing ovations from fans and high praise from players because he is perceived as the antidote to losing.

And the Rams have proven they can lose with the best of them. Or the worst of them.

They have averaged 13 losses a year for five years.

"When you can introduce someone who is (tied for) the third active winningest coach (with 142 wins), it carries some weight," Demoff said.

Fisher, who will bring his team to Chicago in the third week of the regular season, has been working at changing the way the Rams think.

"You have to learn how to win before you win," he said. "That's what we talk about. It's a mindset, an attitude, an expectation. It requires work."

And so these Rams, who you might think would be downtrodden, walk around their training facility with pep in their step.

If they don't believe in themselves, they are pretty skilled con men.

"To instill confidence in a 2-14 team is tough," Long said. "(Fisher) has done it from Day One. He has exhibited the ability to win in one place (Tennessee) for 17 years. So when he gets up and says something, we believe him."

Said Bradford, "Everyone in this building expects to go out and have a much better year."

The expectations go beyond the arrival of Fisher. One of the reasons the Rams were so inept last year is their players spent a cumulative 145 games on injured reserve.

They are healthy now. And it looks like they will have perhaps nine new starters, not including a new kicker and punter.