Vermeil AP's Coach Of Year

By displaying his adaptability, Dick Vermeil inspired the St. Louis Rams to one of the NFL's greatest turnarounds. For leading them to the NFC's best record, Vermeil was chosen Saturday as The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year.

At 63, Vermeil might not have been the ideal candidate for change. But his ability to do just that when his bosses and his players demanded it made him an easy choice by a nationwide panel of 50 media members.

"I might not be as intense or insistent as I have been in the past," Vermeil said, "but I still believe deeply in what I am doing. And I believe deeply in this team."

Well he should. The Rams went 13-3 this season after 5-11 and 4-12 records in the first two seasons of his return. They were 8-0 at home, using a devastating offense and an underrated defense.

Quarterback Kurt Warner, in whom Vermeil showed unmitigated faith after first-stringer Trent Green wrecked a knee in the opening preseason game, wound up as the NFL's Most Valuable Player.

Marshall Faulk, for whom Vermeil traded only second-round and fifth-round draft picks, was the Offensive Player of the Year.

And now Vermeil is the third Rams coach to be selected as coach of the year, joining George Allen (1967) and Chuck Knox (1973). He beat out Indianapolis' Jim Mora, whose Colts went from 3-13 to 13-3 for the biggest turnaround in NFL history.

Vermeil received 27 1/2 votes, while his close friend Mora had 18 1/2. Tennessee's Jeff Fisher got 2 1/2, with Jacksonville's Tom Coughlin getting one and the New York Jets' Bill Parcells receiving one-half vote.

"Seasons like this make it all worthwhile," said Vermeil, who guided the 1980 Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl, but two years later was burned out and quit coaching for 14 years. "It's recognition for what the fine plyers on this team and the fine coaches on this team accomplished."

And it's recognition for what Vermeil did:

Faced with a rebellion from the players who believed he worked the team so hard it had nothing left for Sundays, Vermeil took their advice and eased off in training camp and during in-season practices. He even gave them Mondays off following victories.

Told to delegate more of the hands-on work, particularly on offense, he fired coordinator Jerry Rhome and hired Mike Martz from Washington. Then he let Martz implement his wide-open style that best fits the likes of Faulk and receivers Isaac Bruce and Az-zahir Hakim.

He drafted Torry Holt in the first round and saw Holt turn into a superb complementary receiver for the finally healthy Bruce.

Along with the deal for Faulk, he signed guard Adam Timmerman from Green Bay. Timmerman added fire and experience to the line.

Despite a strong faith in quarterback Tony Banks, he traded Banks to Baltimore after signing Green to a huge free-agent contract.

And when Green went down, he simply turned to Warner and told him, "You're the guy. You can do it as well as anyone."

Vermeil probably would have been fired by the Rams had he not displayed such flexibility. He has admitted that his instincts were to work the players extra hard "to turn this into a team."

"I came back to prove to myself I can still do it and do it my way," he said. "We went through some times where you question yourself and everything else, but I knew it was going to be extremely difficult, because all you have to do is study the history of the NFL. I didn't think it'd be quite as difficult as it was. I needed to prove it to myself."

But he was smart enough to realize if he didn't back off a bit, he could lose all of his support in St. Louis.

"It isn't as much fun when you don't coach your own offense or defense," Vermeil said. "You aren't as closely connected with the players and I miss that closeness."

Yet when so many good things happened this season, who was getting hugged and giving hugs? Vermeil.

Who was crying tears of joy? Vermeil.

Who was winning Coach of the Year? Vermeil.

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