Professor

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Starting Monday, a meeting of the minds takes place in Los Angeles in the Rams' annual West Coast summit meetings.

Team president John Shaw, president of football operations-general manager Jay Zygmunt and coach Scott Linehan will review the just completed Rams season and begin mapping out the offseason. Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom, the son of ailing owner Georgia Frontiere, is expected to participate in some of the meetings.

"I'm looking forward to it," Linehan said Friday.

It remains to be seen whether Linehan will feel the same way a week from now. The Rams conduct their summit meetings a couple of weeks after every season, through good times and bad. But they can be grueling affairs for a coach on the hot seat.

Injuries or not, Linehan will have lots of questions to answer after a 3-13 season. Shaw and Zygmunt will want Linehan's slant on what went wrong this season. Why did the offense struggle? Why did the defense take a nose dive late in the year? Why can't the Rams cover a kick?

Shaw is aware of the grumbling by several Rams veterans about Linehan and the team's stagnant offense. And he's aware that it goes much deeper than an eye roll on the sidelines, or an emotional outburst caught on camera.

One team source said more than one informal players-only meeting took place behind closed doors over the final few weeks of the season to air gripes about Linehan. In addition, several players were upset that Linehan didn't fly back with the team from Arizona, yet still called a mandatory team meeting that Monday at Rams Park.

Several players skipped the meeting, which was reminiscent of the 1998 finale in San Francisco when several Rams either didn't fly back with the squad or skipped Dick Vermeil's final team meeting that Monday.

(Linehan flew directly from Arizona to visit his 85-year-old mother in Washington. Linehan figured it would be the only time he could have his entire family see her — at least until late June — because his children were still on Christmas break.)

So there almost certainly will be questions about Linehan's relationship with quarterback Marc Bulger, wide receiver Torry Holt and other veterans. There may also be more general queries about Linehan's ability to lead the team.

To this day, Vermeil still grimaces at the thought of his summit meetings with Rams brass. The meeting after a 4-12 finish in 1998 has taken on near-legendary proportions. As the story goes, Vermeil wanted Mike White as his offensive coordinator and Jeff Hostetler as his quarterback. He got Mike Martz and Trent Green instead, with the help of some arm-twisting from team management.

Linehan says he isn't expecting to have changes forced upon him in LA.

"I've never felt that way, from the time I interviewed (for the job) to now," Linehan said. "To me, that's what I like or respect the most about this place. And that isn't the case everywhere."

Nonetheless, Linehan may be subject to some persuasion on several fronts, particularly when it comes to hiring a new offensive coordinator. As he told the Post-Dispatch on Friday, Linehan already has decided that the new coordinator will call the plays.

Among the names that have been mentioned as possible candidates through league and team sources are Bill Callahan, Cam Cameron, Chan Gailey, Mike Mularkey and Ken Zampese. But Linehan says he has a lot of names in mind and is looking at this hire from all angles.

There is thought to be support from club management for Cameron — and the Rams are known to have expressed formal interest in him. But Cameron seems to be getting lots of play for various job vacancies. For example, one league source said just about every candidate for the Baltimore Ravens' head-coaching job wants Cameron as his coordinator.

Also, Cameron may want to bring an assistant or two with him to St. Louis, which Linehan might resist.

But given the team's 3-13 finish, Linehan has little leverage if management insists on one candidate over another. Linehan realizes if the team doesn't show noticeable improvement in 2008, he's gone. And that cold reality of life in the NFL could work against him in hiring a top-tier coordinator. At least one potential candidate told the Post-Dispatch last week that he would be leery of taking a job with the Rams because of Linehan's tenuous job security.

That security may or may not improve based on what comes out of the West Coast summit. And keep in mind — having a plan in place is one thing. Carrying it out is another.

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