The long and winding process the St. Louis Rams are using to find a general manager should end by next week.

Steve Wyche of NFL.com reports that the club is down to “two or three” finalists for the position and a hire could happen soon. A club source told him that the plan is to have the finalists meet with owner Stan Kroenke over the next few days before a decision and hire is made.

It’s getting down to crunch time with the NFL scouting combine less than two weeks away. Rams coach Jeff Fisher is expected to be heavily involved in personnel decisions but a GM needs to be able to get up to speed with the front office staff quickly as free agency opens March 13.

George Paton, the director of player personnel for the Minnesota Vikings, has met with the Rams twice. They also met with Tom Gamble from the San Francisco 49ers this week. Most recently, St. Louis sought permission to interview Pittsburgh Steelers salary-cap manager Omar Khan. Steve Keim of the Arizona Cardinals and Les Snead of the Atlanta Falcons are also in the mix.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune