Jim Hanifan Jim Hanifan ( born September 21 , 1933 in Compton , California ) is a longtime American football coach and former head coach of the St . Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons . He compiled a career record of 39 - 53 - 1 . Playing career . Hanifan played college football at the University of California , where he was an All - America n and led the nation in receiving in 1954 . He played professionally for one season with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League . Coaching career . From 1959 to 1965 , he coached at the high school ( Charter Oak High School ) and junior college level , he developed a reputation as an outstanding teacher and an offensive line guru . He was an assistant coach at Utah from 1966 – 1969 , California from 1970 – 1971 , and San Diego State in 1972 . During this time Hanifan joined the NFL in 1973 , serving as offensive line coach for the St . Louis Cardinals until 1978 . He was recognized as the NFL ' s Assistant Coach of the Year in 1977 . After one year with the San Diego Chargers , Hanifan returned to the Cardinals and was their head coach from 1980 - 1985 . Hanifan went 39 - 49 - 1 in his six season with the Cardinals , leading St . Louis to the 16 - team playoff tournament during the strike - shortened 1982 season . The " Gridbirds " went 8 - 7 - 1 in 1983 with a victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Raiders , and in 1984 , St . Louis was in position to win the NFC East championship with a victory in the season finale against the Washington Redskins . But Cardinal kicker Neil O ' Donoghue missed a game - winning field goal attempt , giving the Redskins a 29 - 27 victory and the division title , while St . Louis was left out of the playoffs despite a 9 - 7 record . In 1985 , St . Louis started the year 3 - 1 but would win only two of its final 12 games and finished at 5 - 11 . Hanifan was fired that year by having the locks to his office changed during halftime of a game against the Redskins . Hanifan resumed his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons ( 1987 – 1989 ) , and he served as the interim head coach when Marion Campbell was fired . He spent seven season as offensive line coach for the Washington Redskins ( 1990 – 1996 ) and St . Louis Rams ( 1997 – 2003 ) before retiring . Commentator career . From 2004 - 2008 , he was a color commentator for the Rams radio broadcast team and hosted a weekly show on St . Louis station KLOU . During his time in the booth , Hanifan was known for praising and critiquing players , a style that was described as a " refreshing , straight - from - the - gut manner rarely heard anymore " . Effective for the Rams ' 2009 move to 101 ESPN , Hanifan has been replaced as the lead color commentator by former Super Bowl champion D ' Marco Farr , and has been relegated to the analyst role on the pregame and postgame shows . The move has caused quite a stir among St . Louisans , inspiring several negatively - toned articles by St . Louis Post - Dispatch columnist Dan Caesar , begging the Rams to reinstate Hanifan to the broadcast booth , his argument being that Rams fans will not listen to the broadcasts if Hanifan is not there . In August 2011 , Hanifan ' s role was reduced further to a Thursday evening piece and a taped preview played during the pre - game . Autobiography . Hanifan wrote an autobiography recounting his career titled " Beyond X ' s and O ' s : My Thirty Years in Football . " He also produced a series of instructional videos on offensive line play .