Irony

I'm a fan of irony. A deliciously ironic moment brings laughs more satisfying than almost anything else.

The tacit irony of seeing Jim Haslett hired on as St. Louis Rams Defensive Coordinator was nearly overwhelming:

Haslett joins the Rams after spending the past six seasons as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. His 45-win total is second in team history to Jim Mora’s 93 wins, as Haslett also led the Saints to their only postseason victory in franchise history.

As the Saints’ head coach, Haslett led the team to an NFC West title and their first playoff victory, over the Rams, after the 2000 season, earning him NFL Coach of the Year honors.

The Saints-Rams rivalry in the early part of the decade, at least from a fans perspective, was as intense as any other you'd want to see. My fondest memories of Coach Haslett include the November 2001 meltdown at the Superdome that saw fans tossing beer bottles onto the field and a defiant Haslett insisting that he's see Mad Mike and his squad in the playoffs.

And now he's running the defense?

Even more ironic is today seeing that defense dominate a Mike Shanahan offense at the Edward Jones Dome:

Defense ruled for both sides in a game that bore no resemblance to the last time the Rams and Broncos opened the season, a 41-36 shootout won by St. Louis in 2000. The only touchdown was a 1-yard run by Denver's Mike Bell in the second quarter.