Tag: Kevin Demoff

Rams president Kevin Demoff will oversee Nuggets, 3 other teams in new role

Rams president Kevin Demoff will remain with the team, but he’ll now oversee 4 other franchises in his new role

Kevin Demoff is moving into a new role as an executive within Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, the company owned by Stan Kroenke. Demoff remain with the Rams as the team president, but he’ll have more responsibilities within Kroenke’s brand.

Kroenke Sports and Entertainment announced Thursday that Demoff has been named President of Team and Media Operations. He will now oversee operations of all KSE teams, including the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids and Colorado Mammoth.

Per the news release:

As President of Team and Media Operations, Demoff will oversee operations of all KSE teams including the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Colorado Rapids (MLS), and Colorado Mammoth (NLL), as well as operations of all KSE Media properties including Altitude Sports and Entertainment, KSE Radio, and Outdoor Sportsman Group. In this role, he will report to Josh Kroenke.

Demoff will continue to serve as President of the Los Angeles Rams, reporting to Los Angeles Rams and KSE Owner/Chairman E. STANLEY KROENKE. Demoff will be based both in Los Angeles and Denver.

This is a big move for Demoff, who has been the Rams’ COO since being hired by the team in 2009. He’s a key front office executive for the Rams, working closely with general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay, as well as VP of football and business administration Tony Pastoors.

Rams COO Kevin Demoff believes that Steve Spagnuolo should be a head coach again

Things didn’t work out for Steve Spagnuolo with the Rams, but the Rams’ COO thinks Spags deserves another chance to be a head coach.

Say all you want about Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ amazing secondary, but the Chiefs wouldn’t have their second straight Super Bowl win — and their third in five years — without the efforts of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Spags was especially in his bag in the biggest game, throwing stuff at Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers that they had no way to expect.

From 2009 through 2011, Spagnuolo was the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, and that didn’t go so well — he compiled a 10-38 record in those three seasons. But Kevin Demoff, currently the COO of the Rams, who started that role in 2009, thinks that Spagnuolo got a bit of a raw deal back then, and is more than deserving of another chance.

That’s a remarkable statement for any executive to make, but the Rams were in a bad way back then from a personnel perspective, and sometimes, you find yourself in a situation that just doesn’t work.

Spagnuolo didn’t have any opportunities in this head coach hiring cycle, but as he said last week, he wouldn’t shy away from the right situation.

“I would love doing it, just because I think you always want another chance. And I Love having a whole team. But listen – I’m blessed. I work for a great coach – a Hall of Fame head coach. I’ve got great players. I’m enjoying it right now, and I’m okay with continuing to go to Super Bowls.”

Fair enough, but it would be nice for the NFL’s best defensive mind to get one more shot at the biggest possible job.

Rams’ Kevin Demoff: ‘Well past time’ for Steve Spagnuolo to get another head coaching chance

Kevin Demoff says former Rams HC Steve Spagnuolo deserves another shot to be a head coach after inheriting “a mess” in St. Louis in 2009

Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes get a lot of well-deserved credit for the success of the Kansas City Chiefs in recent years, but defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been a major part of it, too.

Spagnuolo has been the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator for the last five years, winning three Super Bowls as the play caller on that side of the ball. Add in his Super Bowl win with the Giants as their defensive coordinator in 2007 and he’s now the first coordinator in NFL history to win four rings.

Spagnuolo has ties to the Rams after being their head coach from 2009-2011 – a difficult stretch where the franchise went 10-38 in three seasons, with seven of those wins coming in 2010 alone.

It was the first and last time Spagnuolo got the opportunity to be a full-time head coach but Rams COO Kevin Demoff believes it’s long overdue for him to get another chance to lead a team. Demoff replied to Tyreek Hill’s question on Twitter asking why Spagnuolo isn’t getting any head coaching interviews, endorsing the former Rams coach with some high praise.

Demoff didn’t mince words when he said the Rams were “a mess” when Spanguolo inherited the team in 2009, saying “nobody could have had success.” Demoff would know because he was hired by the Rams that same year, so he inherited the same thing that Spagnuolo did.

The job Spags did with the Chiefs in 2023 was remarkable, helping them rank second in points and yards allowed this past season. They also never allowed more than 27 points in a single game and gave up just 19 points in regulation to the 49ers in the Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime win.

Spagnuolo isn’t getting any looks as a head coaching candidate but after the performance Kansas City’s defense had in 2023, he certainly seems deserving of getting another chance to be a head coach.

Matthew Stafford contradicts Kevin Demoff, says Rams did ask him to restructure his deal

COO Kevin Demoff said the Rams didn’t ask Matthew Stafford to restructure his contract, but the QB said just the opposite

So, did the Rams ask Matthew Stafford to restructure his contract or not? If you ask COO Kevin Demoff, the answer is no. He said that very clearly earlier this month, denying any reports that the Rams tried to trade Stafford or that they asked him to redo his contract.

“There were no discussions with Matthew about restructuring his contract,” Demoff said.

Stafford has a different take on the situation, however.

During his first training camp press conference on Wednesday, Stafford said the Rams did approach him about restructuring his contract, which directly contradicts what Demoff claimed less than two weeks ago.

“I’m always in contact with them again on everything in those regards. They did and I’ll keep all that kind of stuff, those kinds of conversations in-house. I’ll just leave it at that,” Stafford said.

He later added: “I don’t know what the technical term of it is, but we had conversations on that kind of stuff, and I’ll leave it at that.”

In this matter of “he said, he said,” it’s hard to take Demoff’s side. From his perspective, he doesn’t want it to seem like the Rams are having buyer’s remorse over the contract they just gave Stafford last offseason. If they were perfectly fine with the structure of his contract, why would they need to ask him to renegotiate it?

Put simply, it would make much more sense for Demoff to lie than it would for Stafford to.

The question now is what the Rams asked Stafford to change about his deal. Did they want him to take a pay cut? Did they want him to forego guaranteed money in future years to make it easier to move on from him? We’ll probably never know the details of those conversations, but it sure wasn’t a basic restructuring that they were considering.

Stafford would have no reason to decline a simple restructure like the Rams did with Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen. All that does is convert a portion of his base salary into a signing bonus, which actually gives the player more money up front and lowers his cap hit in the upcoming season.

Sean McVay was also asked Wednesday whether the Rams approached Stafford about renegotiating his contract, but he didn’t exactly give an answer.

“We always really just keep some of that stuff in-house,” he said. “There’s always constant dialogue between Matthew and myself, and I think he knows how appreciated he is from this organization and that we’re ready to move forward with him leading the way just like he’s done. And I feel really good about that.”

The Rams haven’t denied that they got calls from teams inquiring about a potential trade. Demoff indicated that none of the offers were good enough to even consider, but the team also didn’t immediately shut down those conversations. In other words, they would’ve moved him for the right price.

McVay said the Rams didn’t entertain any of the offers that came in, but there were “certainly some teams that had reached out.”

“No, I think that was addressed earlier. What happened – I wasn’t a part of those specific conversations, but I do know this,” McVay said. “There was a consistent and unanimous dialogue and understanding of when that March deadline came in, in terms of him being due the bonus that he’s deserved and that he’s earned, we were all in unanimous agreement that we wanted him to be the quarterback. There were certainly some teams that had reached out, as Kevin and both Les (Snead) had mentioned, but there was not anything that – I know I can certainly speak for all of us and say we’re excited as hell about Matthew Stafford. It’s been great to see him feeling good and I’m certainly really glad he’s our quarterback and that’s where we’re at.”

Stafford tried not to pay much attention to the trade rumors and other teams’ inquiries, but he was aware of them. And while he wasn’t on the calls directly, he did learn of the details from the Rams.

He takes it as a compliment that other teams would want to trade for him, but added that he’s happy where he’s at with the Rams.

“I don’t react to it at all, to be honest with you. I’m too busy chasing around four kids,” he said. “But, no, I hear that stuff. I have contact with them all the time. I’m not sitting in on all those calls, but I get to know most of the details. I see it as flattering, I guess, that other teams would want to reach out and have me come play for them. I just know that I’m really happy where I am playing for this team, playing for this coach and these fans.”

We won’t go as far as saying there’s trouble in paradise, but the team and the quarterback are clearly not on the same page when it comes to all of this. And if Colin Cowherd’s report was right, as Stafford’s comments suggest, perhaps the Rams really were frustrated by the quarterback declining to redo his contract.

The Rams showed commitment to Stafford by picking up his option bonus this offseason, which guaranteed him $62 million. But the fact that they approached him about renegotiating his contract – and seemingly lied about it – isn’t exactly a great sign.

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COO Kevin Demoff shares disappointing news on Rams’ plans for new uniforms

Rams’ COO Kevin Demoff shared an update on the team’s uniform plans for the coming years and it’s sure to disappoint fans

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Los Angeles Rams fans have been anxiously waiting for the team to release new uniform sets, but they’ll have to wait a bit longer. On the most recent “11 Personnel” podcast from Rich Hammond and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, COO Kevin Demoff went on to update fans about the team’s future uniform plans.

“We’re not going to introduce a new jersey this season. We looked at a lot of different concepts over the past year and none of them felt like the right jersey to introduce,” Demoff said. “At this time, at this moment, whether it was looking at true alternates or throwbacks from different concepts historically, there was nothing that seemed like a great fit. We’ve always made it clear that we have the ability to add new uniforms. We also said we’re not going to add a uniform for the sake of adding a uniform.”

The Rams made the change last season to deploy their white “modern throwback” jerseys as their primary road uniforms. Demoff proceeded to say that the organization feels comfortable with their current uniform sets that are available, and a change isn’t necessarily coming in 2024 either.

“I think that’s really where the group landed this year and I think we feel very comfortable with the uniforms we have in the closet right now. Especially with last year’s change of making the white uniform our primary away uniform. I don’t think next year we’re necessarily on a different track. I think we’ll continue to explore. A different idea would have to pop up next year than what we’ve already explored. I think the earliest we’re probably looking at is 2025.”

Since the Rams moved back to Los Angeles in 2016, they’ve worn a handful of different uniform combinations. The franchise has made it clear that they intend to continue updating the uniforms to fit the team, but fans who were hoping for a new set of jerseys soon could be disappointed with Demoff’s recent update.

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Kevin Demoff shares message with fans about Rams’ plan amid roster shakeup

Despite losing several key players, Kevin Demoff assured fans the Rams plan to contend in 2023 – and that a “total rebuild” isn’t coming

Based on their offseason moves – or lack thereof – it would seem like the Rams have no plans to compete for a championship in 2023. COO Kevin Demoff refuted that claim in a letter to season ticket holders on Friday, making it clear that the Rams’ goal is to win the NFC West and make a deep playoff run.

Whether they can make that happen with their current roster remains to be seen, but this is part of a bigger project being handled by the front office and coaching staff. Demoff acknowledged the Rams’ roster-building approach has changed, realizing it had to during the trade deadline last year when they were unable to compete with other offers because of their lack of draft capital and cap space.

“During the trade deadline this past year, it was clear that in a new era where teams were willing to be as aggressive as we were that we had neither the draft capital nor the salary cap space to win trade conversations and be able to take on top players at the salaries they would command,” Demoff wrote in his letter.

The Rams pursued Christian McCaffrey and Brian Burns before the trade deadline, hoping to acquire one of the two stars from the Panthers. They reportedly offered more than two first-round picks for Burns but were denied, likely due to the fact that neither of those first-rounders was in 2023.

And so, the Rams were left with a choice this offseason, Demoff says: restructure contracts again for “one last shot with our core roster,” or “focus on replenishing our draft capital and improving our long-term salary cap situation”?

They chose the latter, knowing restructuring contracts for one last push “would mean a total rebuild would be necessary over the next few seasons.”

The Rams are set up well in 2024 and beyond, having 11 draft picks this year and almost all of their picks next year, including that all-important first-rounder.

“As we sit today, we have 11 draft picks in this year’s draft, including three in the top 77. We have nearly all of our picks in 2024 to both build next year and have as capital to make trades at this year’s trade deadline,” he continued. “From a salary cap perspective, while we have had to move on from players who helped us lift a Lombardi Trophy at SoFi Stadium, we have taken all of our salary cap pain in 2023 and project to have more than $60 million in space in 2024, the most salary cap space we have had since our move to Los Angeles.”

In the immediate future, Demoff is excited about younger players stepping up for the Rams. He named Cam Akers, Cobie Durant, Van Jefferson and Ernest Jones as guys who will take on more prominent roles. Jefferson’s inclusion in that group is interesting considering he’s already been a starter for the Rams, but perhaps they’re planning to move on from Allen Robinson and elevate Jefferson’s role.

They’ve torn down much of the roster and parted ways with players such as Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd, but the goal is still to contend for a Super Bowl ring.

“While this year may feel different given the first two weeks of the offseason, make no mistake, we expect to compete for the NFC West division title this season and make a run towards Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas,” Demoff wrote.

You can find his full letter to Rams fans below.

Rams COO not ruling out Jalen Ramsey trade this offseason

Kevin Demoff won’t rule out a trade involving Jalen Ramsey and says the Rams get calls about all of their good players “all the time.”

There’s rampant speculation about the possibility of the Los Angeles Rams trading Jalen Ramsey. It primarily started with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler talking to league executives, who believe the Rams could shop Ramsey this offseason.

It would seem like a foolish move for a team whose Super Bowl window is closing a bit, but they also need draft picks and cap relief in order to build for the future. Ramsey is their most tradeable asset and could probably recoup a first-round pick or two in return.

Rams COO Kevin Demoff spoke on Wednesday night and he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of moving Ramsey. He mentioned how important Ramsey has been on defense, but also added that the Rams have to figure out “what’s best moving forward” with all of their players.

“I think anytime you go from Super Bowl champions to a disappointing year, everybody’s always wondering what’s next,” Demoff told NFL Network. “For us, it’s getting our players healthy, it’s getting back to playing at the caliber. Jalen’s been a huge piece of what we’ve done and I think for all of our players it’s going to be about figuring out what’s best moving forward.”

Then Demoff mentioned something very interesting. He said the Rams get calls about all of their good players, “not just Jalen.” That suggests teams could be inquiring about players such as Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Bobby Wagner.

“But when you are a team like the Rams who’s had success, we have a lot of great players, people are always inquiring about our talent and it’s not just Jalen,” he continued. “We get calls on all of our good players all the time. The next few months, we’ll see what direction this team goes but could not be more grateful for Jalen for what he’s done for the Rams leading this defense.”

If the Rams do trade Ramsey before June 1, they’d only clear $5.6 million in cap space this year. If he’s a post-June 1 trade, they’d save $17 million, which is a significant amount for a team that’s currently $14 million over the limit.

The team would still be better off keeping Ramsey, especially when it comes to the 2023 season, but nothing the Rams do should ever surprise anyone.

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Rams’ Kevin Demoff says team has contingency plans ‘ready to be enacted’ if Sean McVay leaves

Rams COO Kevin Demoff says the team isn’t giving Sean McVay a deadline and there are contingency plans in place if he leaves

If Sean McVay decides to step away from coaching, the Los Angeles Rams are prepared. It remains unclear what McVay will do, giving no indications of whether he’ll be back in 2023, but the Rams will be ready no matter which path he goes down.

Chief operating officer Kevin Demoff told Gary Klein of the LA Times on Thursday that the Rams have “contingency plans in a situation like this that will be ready to be enacted.” Demoff didn’t specify what those plans are or who would step in for McVay in the event that he does leave, but this isn’t new information that the coach suddenly dropped on the front office.

“We’ve known for some time that he was going to wait until after the season to make a decision about whether he wants to coach in 2023,” Demoff said. “We’ve always told Sean we’d give him that space to make that decision and we’ll support him in whatever direction he goes.”

McVay said himself that this contemplation goes years back and we saw just last offseason that he considered leaving coaching for a job in broadcasting. This decision is about more than just the boatloads of cash TV networks are willing to throw at him; he’s thinking about the life he wants for his family in the immediate future.

Just as McVay isn’t putting a timeline on his decision, the Rams aren’t going to hold him to a deadline, either.

“We view it however he sees it,” Demoff said. “There’s no deadline or answers we’re seeking aside from making sure we want the best for him.”

The most logical contingency plan for Los Angeles would be an internal promotion, even if only temporarily. Raheem Morris is a head coaching candidate already, landing two interviews with the Colts and Broncos this offseason. Promoting him to head coach from defensive coordinator would make the transition away from McVay’s regime as seamless as it could be.

Thomas Brown, another head coaching candidate who will interview with the Texans, would make sense as a replacement for McVay, too.

Of course, the Rams could always seek an outside candidate, especially if Morris and/or Brown leaves this offseason. Might they trade for Sean Payton? Could they bring in Frank Reich?

Regardless, the front office is prepared for whatever McVay decides, even if he chooses to walk away after six seasons.

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Rams COO Kevin Demoff cracks joke about Tom Brady-‘Masked Singer’ theory

There’s a theory that Tom Brady left the Bucs to film “Masked Singer,” and Rams COO Kevin Demoff hopes he’s still filming into November

Tom Brady set off some alarms recently when Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles announced that the quarterback was taking a leave of absence “to deal with personal things.” Bowles said just this week that there’s “no definitive date” set for Brady’s return, but he did mention that Brady would miss Week 2 of the preseason against the Titans.

Speculation ran rampant about where Brady might be or why he’s taking a leave of absence right before the season, but the craziest theory popped up on Reddit. One fan believes Brady is off filming for FOX’s show, “The Masked Singer”, which is why he had to be secretive about his whereabouts and reason for leaving.

Long story short, Brady already signed a deal with FOX Sports, which draws a connection to the show because it’s carried by FOX. If Brady revealed he was on the show, it would ruin any potential surprise when it eventually airs. And the Reddit user discovered that there’s supposedly a filming session on Aug. 20, which is the date of the Bucs-Titans game Bowles said he would definitely miss.

Rams COO Kevin Demoff caught wind of this wild theory and joked about it during the Rams-Texans broadcast on Friday night.

“Hopefully Tom Brady will still be on the ‘Masked Singer’ by the time we go to Tampa in November. So, if that’s the case, maybe we’ll have a chance,” he said.

Andrew Siciliano then asked Demoff if he believes everything he reads on Reddit.

“I do believe everything I read on Reddit. It says ‘The Rams are excellent’ on Reddit all the time,” Demoff joked.

Brady will probably be back soon, and barring injury, he’ll be on the field against the Rams on Nov. 6 when these two Super Bowl contenders square off in Tampa Bay. It is fun to speculate about where Brady might be, and the “Masked Singer” theory makes a lot of sense.

Kevin Demoff is ‘optimistic’ Rams will re-sign Odell Beckham Jr.

Kevin Demoff spoke about Odell Beckham Jr. recently and he believes the Rams will come to terms with the veteran wideout.

When the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl back in February, amid the celebration, fans wondered if the team would be able to bring back their mid-season acquisitions of Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. While Miller signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency, Beckham remains a free agent. But COO Kevin Demoff said on The Athletic’s “11 Personnel” podcast that he believes the Rams will be able to re-sign him still.

“The one variable that hasn’t changed is how much we love him and want him to be there,” Demoff said. “I think he’s expressed, over social, his desire to be here. Am I optimistic we can get a deal done over time? Yes.”

Demoff is the COO of the Rams, and he’s one of the top executives in the organization, so he understands what’s going on behind closed doors more than most. With Beckham rehabbing a torn ACL he suffered in the Super Bowl, Demoff thinks that the Pro Bowl wide receiver is understandably more focused on his recovery than rushing to sign with a team.

“With Odell, I think, given the rehab [and] the timeline of coming back probably mid-to-later in the year, I just think that the sense of urgency both from his side and probably from our side—and maybe other teams—is not right there, for him,” Demoff said.

Beckham played an integral role in helping the Rams win the Super Bowl, totaling 19 receptions for 236 yards and a touchdown entering the pivotal contest versus the Bengals. He was on track to put together a special performance in the Super Bowl before he tore his ACL in the first half as he had two catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.

The signing of Allen Robinson this offseason may have led some to believe that the Rams have lost interest in retaining Beckham. But with Los Angeles looking to defend its title, Demoff and the rest of the organization continue to be confident that they’ll have Beckham back in 2022 — and potentially beyond.