Rams Thriving With Change They Sought

The first year of the Jay Norvell era, the goal was to lay some groundwork, gain a comfort and attempt to move forward with a tectonic shift of the roster. Naturally, speed and strength coach Jordon Simmons was doing as much policing as he was teaching.

Players were late. They wore the wrong gear. It reached a point where Simmons threw them all out prior to a scheduled work out. Last summer, the football program instituted accountability groups – 12 of them – each with a leader at the top. In the locker room, the teammates each of the leaders "drafted" were grouped together.

There were still some misfires. Tardiness, messy locker spaces, not matching for workout sessions. Not as much, but still more than Simmons would prefer. For good reason.

"It's invaluable. Then you don't have any distractions," he said. "You can focus on what you need to focus on. You don't worry about if guys are showing up on time, or if they're doing the right things in and out of the building. That's a distraction, and quite frankly, it's exhausting."

The turnover on the roster heading into the third season for Norvell has not been as massive as the prior two years, leading to more continuity. The players and coaches voted on who would lead each group, and there are some familiar faces at the top once again. A Paddy Turner. A Jacob Gardner. Henry Blackburn. Jack Howell.

There are some newbies to the role, too. More to the point, a new outcome.

The first three weeks of summer training, not one person was late. There was only one faux pas, -- a player wore his personal socks to a workout, not what is team issued.

In short, a remarkable turnaround.

"I have never had a group – and I'm being 100 percent honest – do as well as these guys have throughout the first three weeks," Simmons said. "Normally you have a handful of guys who are pushing the envelope and showing up a little bit late, they're forgetting their post-workout shakes, but it's been unreal. It's a huge testament to the leaders who are in place. It makes our lives so easy. They listen, they're coachable and they understand the way we do things and why we do that. It's been great."

Exactly the type of culture a team wants to build, one which polices itself, one were teammates – leaders or not – are keeping the others in line. Where members of the group are taking as much ownership as the heads they selected.

Which for Dane Olson, in his first year in the role, is great. One, he felt he selected a great group when the winter started, and among the skills groups, they avoided strikes better than the rest.

"I want to be a relaxed leader," Olson said, looking very much like one. "It's important for the new guys coming in, especially with the transfer portal. There are freshman coming in, and you have to make sure the standard is upheld every day."

Being selected was a point of pride for Olson, the last remaining remnant of the Mike Bobo era. Same for defensive lineman James Mitchell, back in the role for a second season.

This offseason, Mitchell said his role doesn't resemble the one he held a year ago.

"It's very different. It's good to know that not only are we holding other people accountable, they're holding everybody accountable," he said. "Instead of just having an accountability leader for a group, it's spreading through the whole team. We know a slight mess up will cost us big time, so it's nice to know it's only been the one."

Simmons credits the first wave of accountability leaders, guys who started to set a tone, the people who had to get nasty when the moment called for a bit of discipline. At first, it's not easy to call out your fellow teammates, but for the Rams to build a winning culture, it had to happen.

Those who are new to the role had mentors to mimic, and people to go to for advice still.

Olson appreciates what he learned by watching, but also by helping. Being in a group last year, he learned to not just take care of his part, but to watch out for the group as a whole. An individual mistake is felt by the entire unit. To him, there's a bigger picture, not just within the framework of a football team, but what awaits each and every one of them as they head out into the world.

"It's life skills really. It's leading and management," he said. "You want to instill characteristics into your younger guys so you don't have to check up on them every single day; they should know what they have to do. It's not something I worry about every day, because I have trust in them. I don't want to be looked at as a superior. I'm among them, but also leading them."

They also know it is vital for a team and program intent to turn a corner. A 5-7 record left the Rams one win shy of the postseason. Three games last season, they surrendered leads in the waning moments.

The concept is simple: If you can do your job in the offseason, wear the right T-shirt, show up for your lifts and conditioning early and not just beating the clock, it will translate on a host of Saturday's (and a few Friday's) in the fall.

"It tells me a lot. It tells me there's a foundation being laid for the future," Mitchell said. "Knowing the young guys can hold the leaders accountable, that's a great sign. It's bound to mean good things are going to happen. The same thing is going to carry over, on the field, off the field. Accountability is the No. 1 thing which helps teams out during a season. It will translate perfectly and go hand in hand. All the communication which is needed is going to happen."

Just one strike. It's a massive shift the Rams can live – and win – with this season.

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Henry Blackburn

Jacob Gardner

Jack Howell

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Dane Olson

Paddy Turner

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