Bartell sees 'light at the end of the tunnel'

BasX · Mar 11, 2009

Nothing could have convinced Ron Bartell to remain with the St. Louis Rams if the team hadn't remade its front office following the 2008 season.

That's a strong statement, but one the ascending young cornerback makes freely.

Though he would not turn 27 until February, Bartell had seen enough in his first four NFL seasons to rule out St. Louis as his long-term home, barring meaningful changes.

"To be honest, if the management had stayed the same, it would have been zero [chance]," Bartell said during a phone interview late last week.

Coaches take the fall when organizations flounder, and often rightfully so. Bartell played for four of them in his first four NFL seasons. Mike Martz, Joe Vitt, Scott Linehan and Jim Haslett certainly bore some responsibility for the team's 19-35 record since 2005, but a dysfunctional front office was the common denominator.

Bartell said he had never even met Jay Zygmunt, who preceded new general manager Billy Devaney as the primary decision-maker at Rams Park. The lines of communication simply weren't established from the top. A culture of mistrust pervaded the organization.

"There was no way I was coming back with management the way it was," Bartell said.
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http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nflnation/0-6-293/Bartell-sees--light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-.html

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Bartell sees 'light at the end of the tunnel'

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