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There appears to be a disagreement between legendary Rams running back Eric Dickerson and current Los Angeles head coach Jeff Fisher.
Dickerson said on AM 570 LA Sports radio Monday that he wasn’t welcome on the Rams’ sideline anymore, and it’s because of public criticism he’s directed at the team.
"Someone with the Rams told me I'm not wanted on sidelines at games, that what I've said makes the players uncomfortable," Dickerson said.
He did not specify who made the call until later Monday night when he appeared on The Jason Smith Show on Fox Sports Radio. Then Dickerson admitted it was Fisher who didn’t want him around anymore.
Dickerson didn’t explain to Smith why he decided to name Fisher after all. However, earlier in the day, Fisher was asked about Dickerson's comments and denied the claims, saying Dickerson was always welcome with the Rams.
“He’s always welcomed, yeah. I’d welcome him in the building,” Fisher said. “I’d love to have him come in. I’d love to have him come to practice. I’d love to have him in come in the meetings. Eddie George has been in my meetings more than Eric Dickerson has. I’d love to have him here.”
Rams COO Kevin Demoff tried to smooth over the situation on Monday too. Demoff tweeted that Dickerson was “welcome at our games and practices.”
On Monday evening, Rams beat reporter Alden Gonzalez said he spoke to Dickerson, who was “fuming”:
Just spoke to Eric Dickerson. He is fuming. Said it was Jeff Fisher who told him not to come around the team 2 weeks ago, then backtracked.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) November 29, 2016
In his radio interview with Smith, Dickerson mentioned that he was informed at the Rams’ groundbreaking ceremony for their new LA stadium that he would be receiving a call. According to Dickerson, he received the call, from Fisher, 10 days ago, which would have been the day after the ceremony. That’s when Fisher told him he wasn’t welcome and they didn’t want him “talking about the team,” i.e. criticizing them, on the radio.
In addition, the Hall of Famer said that he had asked for passes for his friends to get on the sideline, and Fisher didn’t want that to happen, saying, “We’re not going to do that.”
Dickerson also said he would never go to another Rams game again as long as Fisher was the head coach.
The Rams have already had a poor season. They’re 4-7, and coming off of a 49-21 beatdown from the Saints in which Sean Payton ran up the score on his former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams.
Los Angeles’ offense has been atrocious this season as well. They have the second-worst offense and have scored the fewest points in the league. It even took them 12 weeks to start quarterback Jared Goff, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
The Rams have enough problems. Upsetting one of your franchise’s Hall of Famers doesn’t make anything better for anyone.