Jeff Fisher still getting bearings after Rams' move to LA

INDIANAPOLIS -- For Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher, the last month has been a whirlwind since the team was approved for relocation from St. Louis. How much of a whirlwind?

"The only thing I've adjusted," Fisher joked Wednesday, "is sleep. I'm not sleeping."

That said, there has been one major change. A member of the NFL's competition committee, Fisher revealed that he told commissioner Roger Goodell two weeks ago that he would be leaving the committee "for obvious reasons."

"The time required of me to devote energies to the committee has to be spent on the details of this move and how it affects the players," Fisher said. "I do hope it's just a leave of absence."

Those details are still in the formative stages, with the only current certainty being that the offseason program, which begins April 18 and runs into June with OTAs, will be held in Oxnard at the site where the Dallas Cowboys conduct training camp.

All players will be in Los Angeles on March 4 for a meeting in which they can ask questions and hopefully also learn about where training camp will occur and the site of the temporary facility. Fisher noted that this move is unique because of the size of the Los Angeles area. He said ideas on where to live as well as "traffic patterns" will be part of the orientation.

"These are 22- and 23-year-old athletes that have to be at work on time," Fisher said. "There is still a lot of uncertainty and we hope to be able to deal with that next week. We have to stay focused on the players' needs and have as much stability as possible."

Fisher said it will be a weekend in Los Angeles and that families are welcome. However, if players want to bring family members, they will have to pay for travel expenses.

Fisher did acknowledge the excitement of being in Los Angeles, where he grew up. He recalled being a young boy in 1967 and his father taking him to a Rams-Eagles game.

"I grew up a Rams fan," he said. "So this is an exciting time for me and the franchise. But I do want to thank the loyal St. Louis fans that came week after week after week and supported us. I'm going to miss them; we're going to miss them. But it's time to move on."

--Fisher confirmed that Alec Ogletree will move from weak-side linebacker and be the replacement at middle linebacker for James Laurinaitis, who was released last week.

"He's excited about it, "Fisher said, while adding that he's confident that Ogletree will also have no problems calling the defense and getting players lined up correctly as Laurinaitis did.

The key to the move will be getting weak-side linebacker Mark Barron signed to a new contract. Barron is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 9.