St. Louis Rams Will Reportedly Pursue A.J. Smith If Chargers Fire GM

The winds of change are sweeping through the NFL and may yet entangle the fates of the San Diego Chargers and the St. Louis Rams.

The Rams are considering cleaning house after a supremely disappointing 2011 season, with general manager Billy Devaney and head coach Steve Spagnuolo on the hook for a disappointing 2-13 season.

So how, pray tell, do the Chargers play into this?

According to Sign On San Diego, Rams owner Stan Kroenke may have his eye on Bolts GM A.J. Smith to fill the front-office vacancy if Dean Spanos decides to make wholesale changes of his own. Smith and head coach Norv Turner are thought to be on their way out now that the Chargers are guaranteed to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Should Smith take over in the Gateway City, he may well bring former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden along with him. After three years away from the sidelines, Gruden is rumored to be ready to leave the ESPN booth and is known to have a strong relationship with Smith.

Gruden first became acquainted with Smith back in the late 1990s, when "Chuckie," then the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, was introduced to Smith by Raiders senior executive Bruce Allen.

At this point, the Rams have too many problems for even a duo as smart as Smith and Gruden to fix right away, though there are plenty of pieces in place around which the team can rebuild over the course of a year or two. St. Louis already sports a franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford and a 1,000-yard rusher in Steven Jackson on a team that went 7-9 and nearly won the NFC West in 2010.

Smith would still need to start from scratch with an offensive line that's allowed a league-high 52 sacks and a run defense that ranks dead last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed.

Still, adding football minds like Smith and Gruden to the mix would be a positive development for a Rams franchise in need of a(nother) fresh start. 

Follow @J0shMart1n