LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Rams personnel flew to Massachusetts and Florida over the weekend, continuing the interview process for their vacant head coaching position. And in the midst of their travels, they came to terms with something: their coaching staff will indeed require a complete overhaul.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams left to join Cleveland on Sunday and is expected to take several of the Rams' assistants with him.

Former Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will have the same role in Cleveland, and is expected to take several of the Rams' assistants with him. AP Photo/Tim Ireland

On the very first day of their offseason, the Rams informed all coaches -- even the ones they were interested in retaining -- that they were free to seek alternative opportunities. One potential scenario could've involved the Rams hiring a young, offensive-minded head coach and retaining Williams and his defensive staff, thus allowing the new coach to focus on one side of the ball. But the idea was always far-fetched, and perhaps Williams' departure was for the best.

A clean slate might be necessary right now.

The day of Jeff Fisher's firing on Dec. 12, Rams COO Kevin Demoff stressed that the organization would remain open-minded in its search and would not simply gravitate toward offensive-minded coaches. They have held true to that so far. Yes, the Rams have interviewed several offensive coordinators. They sat down with Harold Goodwin of Arizona, Sean McVay of Washington and Josh McDaniels of New England. They were going to interview Kyle Shanahan of Atlanta over the weekend, but weather in Boston altered their plans, so they'll reschedule, probably for some time this week.

On Saturday, the Rams also interviewed Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. On Sunday in Florida, they interviewed Buffalo's Anthony Lynn, who went from running backs coach to offensive coordinator to interim coach in a span of five months, and Jacksonville interim coach Doug Marrone, who came up coaching offensive linemen. This week, they'll probably sit down with a couple more defensive coordinators -- Teryl Austin (Detroit) and Vance Joseph (Miami).

Their first interview -- after incumbent interim coach John Fassel, a long-time special teams coordinator -- was with Carolina assistant head coach Steve Wilks, who specializes in defensive backs.

The average age of the aforementioned names: 43.

Of the 26 full-time NFL head coaches, 24 are older than that. McVay is 30 -- yes, 30! -- so he brings the average down significantly. But Shanahan is 37, McDaniels is 40, Patricia is 42, Goodwin is 43 and Joseph is 44. The oldest, Marrone, is 52. The Rams are not afraid to go young. And unlike their last search, when they basically zeroed in on Fisher, they're trying to maximize their options.

Those options are nonetheless limited to the realm of NFL assistants. Demoff said last week that he probably won't bring in a college coach. A current NFL head coach seems even more far-fetched. New Orleans made sweeping changes to their coaching staff on Friday, all of them signaling the return of Sean Payton. Trades for either Pete Carroll or Ron Rivera are also unlikely.

Shanahan and McDaniels have been deemed favorites from the start, but Shanahan reportedly prefers Denver and McDaniels reportedly prefers San Francisco. The Rams also like McVay, who has been instrumental in Kirk Cousins' ascension and might do the same for Jared Goff. But any one of the Rams' interview candidates remain a possibility at this juncture. Another interesting one is Lynn, who would bring former Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley with him to any head coaching opportunity, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

That might be appealing to a Rams team that suddenly needs a defensive coordinator.

Speaking two days before the season finale, Williams sounded open to staying with the Rams but cognizant of the fact that he probably wouldn't.

Williams, a 15-year defensive coordinator, re-joined the Rams in 2014, shortly after serving a suspension for allegedly administering the infamous bounty system with the Saints. Over the last eight games of that season, the Rams' defense ranked fifth in fewest points per game. In 2015, they finished seventh in DVOA despite injuries to key starters. In 2016, Williams got a lot out of a defense that was thin in the secondary after the departures of safety Rodney McLeod and cornerback Janoris Jenkins. Towards the end, though, the unit broke down, giving up an NFL-worst 34.5 points per game over the last six weeks.

Now it will have a new voice.