Should the Rams fire Gregg Williams?

It has been a busy week for the Rams, with many debating who they will trade the second overall pick in the upcoming draft to. The Rams were involved in the news once again on Friday, but not so much in a good way. Details are sketchy right now, but all indications are that a previous Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is in deep trouble right now for allegedly operating a continuous "bounty" scheme in New Orleans. The bounty scheme rewarded players for injuring opposing players with cash or other incentives. Williams supposedly also ran this type of scheme in Tennessee and Washington, although details are not clear on that just yet. Williams, who is now the current defensive coordinator for the Rams, has already admitted to and apologized for his actions. However, commissioner Roger Goodell is sure to come down hard on Williams, as well as the "22 to 27 players" who participated in the scheme. Among others, general manager Mickey Loomis may also be in trouble for lying to owner Tom Benson about the bounties. All in all, the Saints are in a real mess right now.

But then again this blog is about the St. Louis Rams. So, despite the fact that Gregg Williams is currently the Rams DC, what does this whole controversy have to do with his new team? Well for starters Williams is sure to face some sort of suspension from the league offense, so the Rams' short term loss will include not having their DC for a couple of games (or more). Added to the fact is that Williams is now Public Enemy #1 in most of the NFL, and even moreso in the NFC West. The 49ers just played Williams' Saints defense in the NFC Divisional last year and are sure to be looking to exact some revenge on Williams and the hapless Rams defense. The Cardinals are involved in this controversy due to the fact that Williams and the Saints may have had the bounty in place when they met Kurt Warner and the Cards in the 2009 playoffs. Warner was knocked out of the game by a nasty hit, but at the time it was viewed as a clean, hard hit. Now their are questions regarding whether the Saints' championship run was compromised by so-called bounties. Either way, the Cards will not be pleased with Williams, and the Rams must suffer from that extra motivation because of it. This begs the question: should the Rams fire Williams before he even has the chance to work with the team? This seems unlikely for two reasons: the first is obvious given the fact that Williams was just hired and thus has no past history with the team. He should be given the same chance that everyone else gets. The second is that Williams is actually very good friends with new Rams head coach Jeff Fisher. It would be unlikely for Fisher to fire Williams given the relationship and the fact that Fisher is running the show. However, it is possible that Fisher could eventually be dragged into this entire mess, given that he oversaw Williams in Tennessee during several of these bounty schemes. Personally for me, it would be somewhat gratifying to see Williams given the boot considering the allegations against him. Then again, it seems unlikely that he will be let go, so at the moment I've got to reluctantly back him up until the punishments are handed out.