Lofton80 Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 Fewell, who attended South Point High and was inducted into the Belmont Sports Hall of Fame in October of 2001, joined the St. Louis Rams as defensive backs coach earlier this year after serving five seasons in the same position with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rams head coach Mike Martz has been pleasantly pleased with Fewell ever since. "I didn't know Perry and when we made our changes in the secondary," Martz said. "I went to (defensive coordinator) Lovey Smith and told him we needed to search out the top available secondary coaches. Lovey went through this in a meticulous fashion and he came up with Perry as the top candidate. After visiting with him on his visit and talking to him, he was exactly what we were looking for." Martz called Fewell, 44, a "terrific teacher." "He's full of energy, an outstanding motivator and communicator," Martz said. "When you look at the progress of our young secondary players, it's directly attributed to Perry, in my opinion. I just think he's magnificent." FEWELL ADDED TO RAMS FIRE Friday, February 21, 2003 By Aaron Staenberg Perry Fewell has been on the outside looking in for the last five seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Across the state from him in Tampa, Rams’ defensive coordinator Lovie Smith spent five years with the Buccaneers helping mold a Super Bowl Championship defense. When Smith came to St. Louis before the 2001 season, he brought that defensive style of play. Fewell was like the throngs of other NFL coaches, players, and fans alike who have enjoyed watching that style of defense in Tampa Bay and now in St. Louis, and is excited to now help coach in that scheme. “It’s an awesome feeling,” said Fewell. “You’ve watched the Rams on television and gotten a chance to admire their play and when you get a chance to become a part of that, it’s like winning the Super Bowl. “We’ve all admired the Tampa Bay defense and then Lovie brought that style of defense to St. Louis and we’ve watched him and their defense rise,” Fewell continued. “It’s refreshing for me as a football coach. I get to learn something new… I’m in the classroom right now with Lovie and it’s been great.” With the Rams Fewell will not only be helping teach a scheme that’s new to him, but also players that are new to him. “I think Adam Archuleta is a fine football player,” Fewell said. “He loves to run around and get to the ball. He runs better than I do and I like to run and get to the football as a coach. Aeneas Williams, consummate veteran, fine athlete, fine football player. Dre’ Bly can make a lot of plays. I mean he can intercept the ball, he has great hands. So with talent like that, we’ll be fine. And if I have the chance to work with talent like that, I’m sure we’ll be in good shape.” With Bly scheduled for unrestricted free agency at the end of the week, is Fewell lobbying to get the playmaker back? “Oh yeah,” said Fewell while laughing. “I go to Mike (Martz, Head Coach) and Jay (Zygmunt, President, Football Operations). I understand the National Football League, though, and Dre’ is gonna be a hot commodity, so if we can line up with him, then we’re going to be fine. And if we don’t line up with him, then we’re gonna be okay because we’re gonna develop someone to step in and replace him.” In Jacksonville, Fewell had the chance to be a part of a team that won two AFC Central championships, but never advanced to the Super Bowl. Now in St. Louis, Fewell is hoping to get to the league’s championship game, returning the Rams back to NFL prominence, and going farther than his Jaguars teams did. “(When I was packing up and moving here, I was thinking that) I’m going to get a ring and I’m going to learn from one of the best defensive football coaches in the National Football League,” said Fewell. “No question.” For the Rams to return to the NFL’s elite, the secondary needs to stay healthy, something that was lacking in 2002. Fewell knows how injuries can effect not only a position, but a whole team. “Well an injury here, an injury there can really effect the whole scheme of things,” said Fewell. “When you lose a player like Aeneas Williams, you may lose two, three turnovers per game because he’s that type of playmaker. There’s a reason a player makes X amount of dollars and there’s a reason why another player makes Y amount of dollars, we gotta get the second-tier player to step up and produce so we can be more productive and get more turnovers.” So while Fewell was in the classroom learning the Rams’ defensive scheme and obviously has done his homework on the personnel he has a chance to work with here in St. Louis, in order to hire him, the Rams needed to do some research as well. 'We did our homework on Perry,” said Martz. “We spent a great deal of time trying to find the right guy for our secondary and think we have him. It was a very extensive interview. We just had got to make sure that we got the right guy back there that can communicate with the players and had the type of knowledge and fits the philosophy.' Fewell is the Rams’ fourth secondary coach in as many seasons, and in the 18-year coaching veteran, the Rams hope they have found the right coach to get back to NFL prominence. The Bears filled their last coaching vacancy Thursday by hiring Perry Fewell as defensive backs coach. Fewell most recently held the same position in St. Louis, where he worked with Bears coach Lovie Smith while Smith was the Rams' defensive coordinator. Despite Fewell's connection with Smith, his hiring came as a bit of a surprise. The Bears were looking closely at Leslie Frazier, the starting cornerback on the 1985 championship team. Frazier was the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator for two seasons before getting fired earlier this month. Fewell broke into NFL coaching in 1998 as an assistant with Jacksonville. He coached the Jaguars' secondary for five seasons before moving to the Rams. Jacksonville made a franchise-record 19 interceptions on Fewell's watch in 1999. The Rams tied for fourth in the NFL with 24 pickoffs in 2003. LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Lovie Smith added another familiar face to his staff Thursday when he hired Perry Fewell as defensive backs coach. Fewell served in the same capacity for the Rams the past two seasons, working under Smith when he was St. Louis' defensive coordinator in 2003. "I got a chance to work with him for one year and I thought he did an excellent job with the guys," Smith said. "He's a good teacher, he coaches with energy and he knows our system. He's a part of our system with what he really believes in, so it was a natural fit." Bob Babich (left) and Perry Fewell both worked as assistants for Lovie Smith when the Bears head coach was Rams defensive coordinator in 2003. Fewell replaces Vance Bedford, who left the Bears after six seasons to become defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State University. "It worked out well for everyone," Smith said. "Vance has been here a long time. He got an opportunity to be a coordinator and he'll do a great job there at Oklahoma State. And Perry is getting a chance to come here, so everybody won." Fewell is the second defensive assistant who worked with Smith in St. Louis to rejoin him in Chicago. Linebackers coach Bob Babich was hired as part of Smith's original staff a year ago. "I think it's very important," Smith said. "There are a lot of ways to do things and to have someone that really believes in the system as much as you do is really a great situation." Prior to joining the Rams, Fewell coached defensive backs with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1998-2002, working with Dick Jauron when the former Bears head coach was Jacksonville's defensive coordinator in 1998. 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Brack733 Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 I just hope he wasn't the only add wizard to come up with the Bears' scheme to stop Steve Smith a couple weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kultarr Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 Do we really want a guy named Ferry Pewell as DC? Yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kultarr Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 I just hope he wasn't the only add wizard to come up with the Bears' scheme to stop Steve Smith a couple weeks ago. 586579[/snapback] That wasn't a scheme. That was being stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 Like the sound of this guy. Could be the Fewell that ignites an inconsistent defense, and may be a signal that Nate, Troy, and Lawyer have one more year. Fewell's strengths are in improving secondary players--guys like McGee, King, and younger players to be signed later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Stampede Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 I just hope he wasn't the only add wizard to come up with the Bears' scheme to stop Steve Smith a couple weeks ago. 586579[/snapback] Yeah, Im sure he designed his CB to trip and fall down on 2 long TD's and for his saftey and CB to out jumped by a 5'8 guy for the ball. Lets face it, the bears had players in position, they just were made into foold by Seve Smith outstanding plays. The same plays were made by the Smith during the season, they just were able to hold him out of the endzone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 Like the sound of this guy. Could be the Fewell that ignites an inconsistent defense, and may be a signal that Nate, Troy, and Lawyer have one more year. Fewell's strengths are in improving secondary players--guys like McGee, King, and younger players to be signed later. 586622[/snapback] I don't think he is ready for a DC job, although granted I don't know enough about him except what we read in the last day or so. But he may be something we need. If he can quickly shore up the secondary, where we have a lot of raw talent, that would help. Jauron will obviously want to employ his own system anyway, and an inexperienced DC will likely force Jauron to stay away from the offense longer, which is probably a good thing. April clearly should be able to run the special teams virtually autonomously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 I don't think he is ready for a DC job, although granted I don't know enough about him except what we read in the last day or so. But he may be something we need. If he can quickly shore up the secondary, where we have a lot of raw talent, that would help. Jauron will obviously want to employ his own system anyway, and an inexperienced DC will likely force Jauron to stay away from the offense longer, which is probably a good thing. April clearly should be able to run the special teams virtually autonomously. 586633[/snapback] Excellent points! The same could be said for Mike Singletary now that you mention that. Jauron will undoubtedly pay a lot of attention to the D and want someone who he's either supremely confident in or is familiar with his methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 So we get another coordinator who will be learning on the job. Been there, done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffaloed in Pa Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Wow,and he work`s cheap too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 I think we should bring back Filmel Johnson as secondary coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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