Coury to Leave Rams for Job With Patriots

Dick Coury, the Rams’ quarterback coach, is scheduled to be named the New England Patriots’ new offensive coordinator today, ending five seasons of personal work with Jim Everett.

Coury, 61, was offered a multi-year deal by Patriot Chief Executive Officer Sam Jankovich Monday, and barring an 11th-hour surprise, expected to sign a contract with New England Monday night.

Monday, the Patriots announced they would have a press conference this morning naming new Coach Dick MacPherson’s offensive coordinator, making it clear that Jankovich assumed it was a done deal.

“I think those assumptions are right,” Coury said Monday afternoon from his office at Rams Park. “I can’t say much about it, but I’ve basically been offered the job and I’ve basically taken it.”

Coury said he discussed the situation with Ram Coach John Robinson on Sunday, after MacPherson officially offered him the job, and Robinson conceded that it was an opportunity too good to pass up. Coury said he does not expect Robinson to hire anybody to replace him, since offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese does most of the game planning with Everett, anyway.

“He wants me to stay,” Coury said of Robinson, “but he knows I just can’t turn it down. You know, he said, ‘It’s a nice contract, MacPherson’s a good person, (you’ve) got a chance to do something back there that you’ll enjoy doing.’ ”

A few weeks ago, Coury briefly accepted, then turned down an offer to coach the Orlando entry in the new World League of American Football. Coury said he wanted to get on track for landing an NFL head coaching job, but also wanted to stay in the NFL, where he has coached for 14 years without ever having a coordinator’s title.

The Patriots’ opening, despite the team’s 1-15 record, was the perfect situation, Coury said, since he was the head coach of the USFL Boston Breakers for one season (1983), and is familiar with the area. The Patriots have the No. 1 pick in this year’s college draft, and speculation has centered on them selecting Houston quarterback David Klingler, if he decides to leave school early.

“I really enjoyed it, had good relationships with the people out there,” said Coury, who added he wasn’t going to sell his house in Orange County and eventually expected to return to Southern California.

Coury said what he will miss most is working with Everett, whom he coached from the quarterback’s first day as a Ram.

“I’m going to miss him a lot more than he’s going to miss me,” Coury said of Everett. “He’s a helluva guy. Like I’ve always said, he’s one of the top three quarterbacks in the league.

“My deal with Jim is fundamentals as much as anything, and I’ve enjoyed it, especially that first year he was here when we worked a lot. I was on the field with him a lot.”

Recently, Coury has been working more and more with Executive Vice President John Shaw, performing administrative work, and he conceded he has gotten itchy to do more coaching.

Ram Notes

With Dallas Cowboy Coach Jimmy Johnson running into unexpected difficulties finding an offensive coordinator to replace recently demoted David Shula, Ram receiver coach Norval Turner has emerged as a possible candidate. Johnson’s first choice, Dolphin quarterback coach Gary Stevens, surprised Johnson when he turned down the job. Johnson’s second choice, Charger assistant head coach Ted Tollner, was denied permission by San Diego to talk with the Cowboys. Johnson interviewed Turner in Mobile, Ala., last week during the Senior Bowl workouts.