The Rams have fired 52-year old head coach Steve Spagnuolo.  The Rams finished tied with the Colts for the worst record in the NFL with a 2-14 record.  The Rams only averaged 12.1 points per game and they have gave up 25.4 points per game this year.  That was not all Spagnuolo’s fault to to the massive amount of injuries the Rams suffered this year, but NFL is a bottom line business and that is why he is looking for a new job.  The Rams were 10-38 (20.8%) in Spagnuolo’s three years with the team.

The Rams have waived 25-year old CB Nate Ness.  Ness played in 2 games for the Rams this year but he didn’t have any tackles.  Ness has now played in 6 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 8 tackles.  This is not much of a loss for the Rams as Ness didn’t do much in his stint with the team.

The Rams have waived 32-year old LB Ben Leber.  Leber played in 7 games for the Rams this year and he had 15 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.   He has now played in 143 games in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has 498 tackles, 36 tackles for a loss, 24 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries, 29 passes defensed and 5 interceptions.  Leber didn’t do much for the Rams this year, so they aren’t going to miss him too much going forward.

The St. Louis Rams have waived 22-year old rookie LB Jabara Williams.  Williams played in 2 games for the Rams this year and he didn’t have any tackles.  Williams was a 7th round pick out of Stephen F. Austin, so the expectations weren’t that high for him.  The Rams won’t miss him at all as he didn’t do anything in the two games he did play in.

The Rams have released 26-year old WR Mike Sims-Walker.  Sims-Walker played in 4 games for the Rams this year and he caught 11 passes for 139 yards (12.6 avg) without a TD grab.  Rams’ QBs only completed 11 of 26 passes (42.3%) thrown in Sims-Walker’s direction, so things just weren’t working out with him.  The Rams won’t miss him at all with Brandon Lloyd coming aboard.

The Rams have released 33-year old center Hank Fraley.  Fraley played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Rams last year.  He has now played in 142 games (123 starts) in his first 11 years in the NFL.  The Rams wanted to go with a more physical offensive line in 2011 which led to Fraley’s release.

The Rams have released 27-year old WR Donnie Avery.  Avery didn’t play at all last year due to injury.  He played in 31 games (28 starts) in his three seasons with the Rams and he caught 100 passes for 1,263 yards (12.6 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Avery also carried the ball 14 times for 99 yards (7.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Avery’s injury issues have ended his career with the Rams, but if he can get healthy, he can help another team down the road.

The Rams have released 25-year old WR Mardy Gilyard.  Gilyard was a 4th round pick (#99 overall) out of Cincinnati in the 2010 NFL Draft, but he really failed to adjust to the NFL.  He played in 11 games (2 starts) for the Rams as a rookie last year and he caught 6 passes for 63 yards (10.5 avg).  He also returned 16 kickoffs for 356 yards (22.3 avg) last year for the Rams.  The Rams shouldn’t miss Gilyard at all moving forward as they have added talent to the WR corps in the offseason.

The Rams have released 24-year old TE Fendi Onobun and 24-year old RB Keith Toston.  Onobun played in 3 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Rams last year and he caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg).  The Rams have better options than Onobun at TE this year and that led to his release.  Keith Toston played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Rams as a rookie last year and he carried the ball 19 times for 54 yards (2.8 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 29 yards (14.5 avg) last year.  The Rams loaded up with veteran RBs in free agency, which led to Toston’s release.  The Rams won’t miss either of these guys in 2011 or down the road.

The Rams have released 24-year old DE George Selvie.  Selvie played in all 16 games as a rookie for the Rams last year and he had 21 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks.  Selvie is a pure pass rusher and little more, but he will still likely get a chance with another team.  Still, the Rams are set at DE, so they likely couldn’t have used Selvie much in 2011 anyways.