1994 Los Angeles Rams season
| 1994 Los Angeles Rams season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Chuck Knox |
| General manager | John Shaw |
| Owner | Georgia Frontiere |
| Home field | Anaheim Stadium |
| Local radio | KMPC (710 AM) |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–12 |
| Division place | 4th NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did Not Qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | Jerome Bettis, RB |
| Uniform | |
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The 1994 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 57th year with the National Football League and the 49th and last season in the Greater Los Angeles Area until their 2016 relocation back to Los Angeles. After nearly 50 years in the Greater Los Angeles Area, owner Georgia Frontiere announced that the team would relocate to St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 1995. While the owners initially rejected the move, permission was eventually granted therefore bringing an end to Southern California's first major professional sports franchise.
The threat of relocation dominated talk about the Rams from early in the offseason right up to the moment the move was announced and it had a major effect on the franchise's standing in the market. Average attendance for Rams games at Anaheim Stadium was at an all-time low (an average of 43,312 a game) as ownership negotiated with both Baltimore and St. Louis. Leigh Steinberg organized a group known as "Save the Rams" and attempted to reach out to ownership and strike a deal to keep the team in the Southern California market, however, their efforts proved to be unsuccessful.
On the field, the Rams continued their downward spiral and missed the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. Los Angeles only won four games and clinched their fifth losing season in a row on December 4 against the New Orleans Saints and finished the season on a seven-game losing streak. The Rams defense saw some glimmers of hope, shutting out Joe Montana's Chiefs and putting together solid performances against Arizona and New York, but it was not nearly enough to lift the Rams back to the .500 mark. At the end of the season, Head Coach Chuck Knox was fired after three consecutive last place finishes in the NFC West and also relieved John Shaw of his General Manager duties (although he remained with the team as a high-ranking executive).
The final meeting between the two Southern California rivals ended in a close 20–17 victory for the Raiders in Anaheim. The Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Raiders only met five times as cross-town rivals with the Rams finishing with a 1–4 record against the Raiders. The games, however, were generally very close with only one of the meetings being decided by more than one score (the Raiders' 16–6 victory in 1985). The 1994 meeting was a back and forth affair that eventually saw the Raiders ice the game away with a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter.
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