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The St. Louis Rams hired Miami offensive coordinator Scott Linehan on Thursday, the sixth first-time NFL head coach to land a job in the last two weeks.

During his introductory press conference this morning, Linehan promised to build an aggressive team with an offense that dictates the pace of games -- and that will make opposing defenses very nervous.

"We want to be one of those feared teams -- one of those teams nobody wants to play," he said.

As Associated Press sports writer R.B. Fallstrom noted, it's the first hire outside the organization, however, since Dick Vermeil was lured out of retirement in 1997. That move produced the franchise's only Super Bowl victory after the 1999 season.

The 42-year-old Linehan impressed the team in two interviews. Then, he passed a final test with a meeting with team majority owner Georgia Frontiere in Arizona.

Linehan helped the Dolphins finish 9-7, winning their last six games. He had been one of three finalists along with Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

As SportsLine.com senior writer Clark Judge noted on Wednesday, the Rams were expected to hire a defensive assistant, largely because of problems the club had on that side of the ball this year (only Houston allowed more points).

But the more team officials tossed around the idea the more they decided an offensive head coach might be the ticket -- largely because they believed they could straighten out the league's 30th-ranked defense by choosing a candidate from a reservoir deep with solid defensive coordinators.

In the end, ESPN.com insider Len Pasquarelli reports the decision came down to Linehan over Cameron. Rivera met last week with the Rams and, while he was said to have been impressive, he was not as detailed as the others in his ideas for staffing.

The consensus around the NFL earlier this week was that Linehan and Cameron were very close in the running as the Rams continued to deliberate the strengths and weaknesses of all the candidates. But during an informal brainstorming session among team officials last week, Pasquarelli advised readers that Linehan already rated as the most impressive candidate.

Despite reports that new Redskins -- previously Chiefs -- offensive coordinator Al Saunders might be a late entry into the St. Louis coaching derby, Rams sources told Pasquarelli he was never interviewed.

In all, the Rams interviewed seven candidates. The only candidate with previous head coaching experience was Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, the onetime head coach of the New York Giants.

Linehan, of course, replaces Mike Martz, who was fired one day after the Rams finished a 6-10 season. That move also came one day after Martz received medical clearance to return to the job after missing most of the season with a bacterial infection of the heart.

Linehan has never been a head coach at any level. He's been in the NFL for four years, the first three as offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings where he helped produce the top-ranked offense in 2003.

Last season, the Dolphins improved from 29th in total offense to 14th, and went from 31st in rushing to 12th. Linehan shuffled Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown successfully at running back, and coaxed a career-high 18 touchdown passes from Gus Frerotte.

Also, receiver Chris Chambers had his best season and was picked for the Pro Bowl for the first time.

Linehan moved from the press box to the sideline for games midway through the season. Players raved about him though he didn't speak to the media, in accordance with coach Nick Saban's rule that assistant coaches are off limits.

According to Palm Beach Post staffer Jeff Darlington, Linehan's departure will be a significant loss for the Dolphins, especially after the team saw improvements in its offense throughout the season.

By the end of the season -- which included a six-game winning streak -- the offense averaged 324.9 yards per game. Last season, the unit was 29th in the NFL, averaging 275.3 yards.

For the final six wins, Linehan moved from the coaches' box to the sideline to call the plays. The Dolphins averaged 22.6 points during the streak, an improvement of 6.4 points from the first 10 games.

And as Miami Herald beat writer Jason Cole pointed out, the Dolphins also improved drastically in terms of big plays under Linehan. They had 59 plays of 20 yards or longer, including 43 by pass. Of those big plays, 10 were for 50 yards or longer.

Those numbers for plays of 20 yards or longer and 50 yards or longer are higher than at any point during the previous five years under former coach Dave Wannstedt.

The Rams were also impressed with how he managed the Minnesota offense when the Vikings had Randy Moss and Daunte Culpepper.

As St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz reminded readers Thursday, Linehan received glowing praise for his creative work with the Vikings' attack in 2002.

Culpepper called Linehan "a godsend."

Moss, in a reversal of his usual unhappiness, declared, "I love Linehan. He knows his stuff."

Linehan deflected the praise.

"That's very nice of the players," Linehan said at the time. "But I don't even begin to say that I'm in any league with guys like Mike Martz."

But Linehan is no one-dimensional pass master. As Miklasz further noted, he likes to rely on the Joe Gibbs system of offense, which includes powering up with two tight ends in a dedicated mission to run the football.

Linehan also likes to confuse opponents by running the ball out of passing formations. He spreads the field with wideouts, loosens the defensive alignments and then slams the ball inside -- prompting Miklasz to suggest: "It's easy to imagine Steven Jackson doing a lot of damage in this style of offense."

"You have got to be able to run the football to be successful at any level," Linehan said last year. "I love to throw, but if you can't run the football, you're stuck."

Expanding beyond his fondness for offense, Linehan has a vision for the entire team. This is no offensive coordinator wearing a head coach's headset and disguise. Linehan made this clear in his first round of interviews with team president John Shaw and director of football operations Jay Zygmunt.

He showed up with detailed opinions on what the Rams were doing wrong, what they needed to do better.

Linehan stressed the need to revamp the defense, vowed emphatically that defense and special teams would be a priority. Linehan expressed his intention to hire an "A"-list defensive coordinator, and offered several names as candidates. Linehan already had mapped out tentative plans for a coaching staff. And this was in the first interview.

While it's premature to pick favorite, local observers expect Jim Bates, who was the Packers' defensive coordinator last year, or just-fired Jets' coordinator Donnie Henderson to be among the candidates.

Of course, when you look at the Rams' roster, their best players generally are on one side of the ball: The offense. And Linehan will certainly take advantage of their presence.

Wide receiver Torry Holt and offensive tackle Orlando Pace both made the Pro Bowl, and the offense also features 1,000-yard running back in Jackson, quarterback Marc Bulger and wide receiver Isaac Bruce.

Look for Holt to emerge as the same kind of threat Moss and Chambers did under Linehan. It's also safe to assume a healthy Bulger would post impressive totals, too.

Linehan, who will call his own plays in St. Louis, last played a Rams team in 2003, when he was offensive coordinator for Minnesota. He still likes the talent level in St. Louis.

"I think it's excellent," he said Thursday. "There's a great foundation, obviously, looking at it selfishly from the offensive side because of what they've done with the players that are in place.

"I know if [Bulger] doesn't get hurt last year, they're a much more competitive team. That's part of the ups and downs and the breaks of the NFL. But I'm very excited about it."

For what it's worth, Chambers doesn't think Linehan would have a hard time shifting from coordinator to head coach.

"He's actually the head coach of the offense," Chambers said. "He talks like a head coach. I can see a lot of his terminology going over to defense and special teams just the way he goes about his business. ..."

Meanwhile, in Miami, the Dolphins will start searching for Linehan's replacement.

With the annual Senior Bowl next week, which typically draws dozens of assistants, head coaches and scouts, Saban is expected to meet with several candidates throughout the week in Mobile, Ala.

According to Darlington, Saban also could look for a candidate in-house, which would minimize the transition for his players. Wide receivers coach Charlie Baggett or quarterbacks coach Jason Garrett could be among the candidates.

Names outside the organization that could be mentioned are Martz or Jumbo Fisher, who served as Saban's offensive coordinator at Louisiana State. It is unknown whether Fisher, who stayed at LSU after Saban departed, would consider the job.

Other potential candidates to include offensive coordinators Mike Heimerdinger (New York Jets), Mike Sheppard (New Orleans Saints) and Joe Pendry (Houston Texans) and quarterback coaches Bill Musgrave (Washington Redskins) and Terry Shea (Kansas City Chiefs).

Linehan's departure could put in jeopardy quarterback Frerotte's future with the team. Frerotte, who worked with Linehan during the assistant's previous stint with the Minnesota Vikings, was often praised for his knowledge of Linehan's system.

Without that advantage, it is unknown whether Miami will look to go another route for a quarterback.