According to our sources, unlike Jacksonville and the Bills, the Rams' head-coaching search is likely to be much more protracted and involve a number of top candidates.

The Way We Hear It, that search will absolutely not involve Jim Harbaugh or Pete Carroll, in spite of what a number of wishful thinkers continue to write for various other outlets.

We have not spoken directly to Harbaugh but we do know that his love affair with the University of Michigan is genuine. While it would not be at all surprising to see him take a run at another Super Bowl down the road, he is definitely not going anywhere before beating Ohio State, winning Big Ten Championships and taking a real run at a national title with his beloved Maize and Blue.

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Harbaugh has plenty of time left for the NFL, but it won’t be coming any time soon.

Carroll is perfectly content in Seattle, under contract through 2019 on a deal he just extended this past summer, and considering the Raiders got two first-round picks, two second-rounders and $8 million for Jon Gruden 15 years ago, what exactly do you think Carroll would cost the Rams, who don’t have a one or a three in 2017 thanks to the Jared Goff deal?

What we are hearing right now is that the early leader in the clubhouse for the Rams job is Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

Shallow as it may seem, Shanahan is young, good-looking and energetic, which will be job requirements in Los Angeles.

More importantly, he has impeccable coaching bloodlines from his Super Bowl winning dad. At the age of 37, he already is one of the most experienced offensive coordinators in the league, having run the show in Houston, Washington, Cleveland and now Atlanta. He also has a reputation as the kind of quarterback whisperer that Goff badly needs.

Shanahan happens to be represented by Marvin Demoff, whose son Kevin is in his fifth season as Executive V.P. Football Operations and COO of the Rams, so negotiations can be conducted at the dinner table over the holidays with no fear of tampering violations going public.

We’re not accusing, we’re just saying.