Rams Hire Two Assistants to Complete Coaching Staff

ANAHEIM —  Ending two months of hiring, the Rams on Tuesday named two more assistant coaches, including a third former member of Buddy Ryan’s Philadelphia Eagle defensive staff.

Ronnie Jones, fired as the Eagles’ linebacker coach last month, was hired as the Rams’ linebacker coach, joining defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher and secondary coach Tom Bettis from the Philadelphia pipeline. Jones, 35, had been with the Eagles as strength coach and linebacker coach for four seasons.

Clarence Shelmon, 38, the running back coach at USC the past four seasons, was hired as the Rams’ running back coach, replacing Gil Haskell, who has been shifted to special teams.

So, after Coach John Robinson fired six assistants, lost two to other teams and hired six more, here is the make-up of the Rams’ staff, with only offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese and offensive line coach Hudson Houck back at the same jobs as last season:

Offensive coordinator, Zampese; running backs coach, Shelmon; wide receivers-passing game coordinator, Jimmy Raye; offensive line, Houck; defensive coordinator, Fisher; defensive line, John Teerlinck; linebackers, Jones; secondary, Bettis; special teams, Haskell.

From the beginning of the Plan B free-agent period, the Rams set their sights on two key former Eagles to run Fisher’s defense: Miami Dolphin middle linebacker Mike Reichenbach and Eagle free safety Terry Hoage. Hoage showed up at Rams Park on Monday for a workout, and Reichenbach, who played middle linebacker for Fisher for four seasons before leaving last Plan B period for Miami, is scheduled to arrive today.

Either would walk into Fisher’s starting lineup the moment they signed with the Rams, and the agent for both, Jim Solano, makes it clear that is each player’s No. 1 option.

“Both guys have other opportunities, but they both tell me they want to be with Jeff,” Solano said. “We’re going to see what happens, but it’s no coincidence that both guys visited the Rams first.”

Another Eagle Plan B possibility is linebacker Ricky Shaw, who worked out Monday, but he would strictly be signed as a backup.

Interestingly, the Rams’ pursuit of Hoage, the perfect kind of intelligent, mistake-erasing player for Fisher’s aggressive system, could complicate any realistic hope of bagging Ronnie Lott, the future Hall of Fame free safety from San Francisco 49ers.