Rams general manager Les Snead knows the way to 4400 Falcons Parkway in Flowery Branch, but it will not look the same as it did during part of his 13-year tenure with the team.
“I got so many texts during our run, especially when I got to Dallas because I have relationships there. It was ‘I hope you get here,’” Snead said Wednesday. “I really think it was that they just didn’t want the Saints in their building.”
Well, the Rams eliminated the Saints in the NFC Championship game Sunday and saved the Falcons from being required to share their posh facilities with their arch-rivals.
Rams defensive line coach Bill Johnson plans to go find his old office. He was with the Falcons from 2001-06.
Rams pro scout John McKay, son of Falcons president Rich McKay, knows his way around the campus, too.
As the NFC team for Super Bowl LIII, the Rams also will dress in the Falcons’ locker room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, according to Brett Daniels, chief operating officer of the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee.
» Read: AJC's complete coverage of the Super Bowl in Atlanta
Daniels spoke about logistics and arrangements for Super Bowl LIII, which is set for Feb. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The NFL controls the facilities and where the teams will practice. The league looked at hosting both teams in the city, with one team at Georgia Tech and the other team at Georgia State.
But since Georgia State does not have an indoor practice facility, the league had to find matching amenities. They had to find a venue with outdoor fields and an indoor facility.
The Falcons or the University of Georgia were options, but ushering one team back and forth from Atlanta to Athens every day would have presented a logistical nightmare.
The issue of sharing facilities came up last season when the Minnesota Vikings were in the hunt to play the Super Bowl at their home stadium. They could have been assigned to the visiting locker room on game day.
But the Vikings lost to the Eagles in the NFC Championship game and eliminated that issue.
Daniels noted that he understood the Falcons were preparing to replace a lot of carpet that has the Falcons’ logos embedded throughout the practice facility building.
In addition to replacing the carpet, the equipment staff, was planning to start the work two days after the Falcons’ season ended.
In addition to the carpeting, the staff had to replace the leather cushions on the locker stalls that had the Falcons logo on them.
Also, the fancy name plates above the lockers had to be removed.
In addition the locker room, the Rams will used the Falcons team meeting rooms, where the Falcons at least had to remove their software and possibly some of the hardware.
The Falcons declined to comment about what they had to do to their facilities for the record.
They didn’t plan to paint the locker room, which has red and black borders on the top of the wall.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn wasn’t too concerned about the facility issue late in the season as he was contemplating firing all of his coordinators.
“Um, whomever is playing for the championship, I guess I’m most disappointed that we won’t be the ones playing and practicing in our facility,” Quinn said.
The New England Patriots are set to practice at Tech and use the visiting locker room for the Super Bowl.
Back in 2012, the Falcons had a chance to reach the Super Bowl and use the Saints’ facilities. The Falcons took a 17-0 lead against the 49ers, but ended up losing as Colin Kaepernick led a rally.
That was the Super Bowl in New Orleans when the lights went out in the Superdome.
Snead joined the Falcons in 1999 as a pro scout. His time dates to the days when the team held training camps at Furman and the team’s headquarters was in Suwanee.
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