St. Louis' long search for defensive coordinator leads to Jauron

After a long courtship with Rob Ryan that finally fell apart, the St. Louis Rams are moving on in their search for a defensive coordinator.

According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rams are eyeing Dick Jauron, who was fired in the purging in Cleveland. Jauron had served as the defensive coordinator of the Browns under coach Pat Shurmur. Previously, Jauron has been the head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions on an interim basis.

Jauron, 62, has also been a defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and a defensive coordinator for the Lions. His first coordinator job came with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1995-98.

It’s fair to say Jauron is a polar opposite of Ryan when it comes to how he works and manages players. He’s not a yeller and screamer and the man rarely swears. Rams coach Jeff Fisher ultimately decided that Ryan wasn’t the right fit in St. Louis. Maybe Jauron will be. The Rams are effectively working to replace Gregg Williams as they never hired a defensive coordinator after Williams was suspended by the NFL a year ago.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune