Al Saunders brings one of the most innovative offenses in the NFL back to St. Louis as offensive coordinator. Saunders began his second stint with the Rams, after spending the past two seasons with the Washington Redskins as associate head coach/offense. Saunders served as associate head coach/wide receivers coach from 1999-2000, helping the Rams to a Super Bowl title in 2000.

In 2006 in Washington, Saunders’ offense finished fourth in the league in rushing, averaging 138.5 yards per game and recording a league-leading 41 carries of more than 10 yards.

Prior to joining the Redskins, Saunders spent 2001-05 with the Kansas City Chiefs as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator. He previously served a 10-year stint with the Chiefs as assistant head coach/wide receivers coach from 1989-98.

With the Chiefs, Saunders presided over the NFL’s most prolific offense. From 2001-05, the Chiefs scored 2,157 points, and amassed 30,470 net yards (379.3 yards per game) more than any other team in the NFL during that span. The Chiefs led the NFL in scoring in 2002 and 2003.

In 2005, Saunders led the Kansas City Chiefs offense to a No. 1 overall ranking in the NFL for the second consecutive season. The most explosive offense in the NFL led the league with 70 total plays over 20 yards. That season, Saunders was named USA Today’s NFL Offensive Coach of the Year.

In 2004, the Chiefs led the NFL in total offense for the first time in franchise history, accumulating a franchise-record 6,695 yards or an average of 418.4 yards per game. In the process, Kansas City established an NFL record with 398 first downs, breaking the mark of 387 set by the ’84 Dolphins. Kansas City tied a 42-year-old NFL record by registering 63 rushing TDs over the 2003-04 seasons, a two-season mark established by the ’61-’62 Packers. The 2004 Chiefs owned the distinction of becoming the first team in league history to have three different running backs produce a 150-yard rushing game in a season and were the only NFL squad ever to rush for eight TDs in a league contest.

Kansas City also developed a prolific passing attack under Saunders’ direction. In 2004, QB Trent Green boasted a franchise-high eight 300-yard passing games. Tony Gonzalez shattered the NFL single-season receiving record for tight ends with 102 catches. Green finished the 2005 season with a passer rating above 90 for the fourth consecutive year, joining Brett Favre, Steve Young and Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to do so.

In Saunders’ first stint with the Rams, the team paced the NFL in 1999 with 6,412 yards total offense. St. Louis also led the league in passing offense with 272.1 yards per game and topped the NFL in scoring by averaging 32.9 points.

In 2000, Saunders was part of a St. Louis coaching staff which helped the Rams score 540 points (33.8 points per game), the third-highest single-season total in NFL history. The club also led the league with an NFL-record 442.2 yards total offense per game and paced the NFL in passing offense (327.0 yards per game). St. Louis amassed 7,075 yards of total offense and 5,232 passing yards, breaking the marks established by the ’84 Miami Dolphins.

Before joining the Chiefs in ’89, Saunders served as San Diego’s head coach from the midpoint of the ’86 season through the ’88 campaign. He joined San Diego in ’83 as receivers coach in what was one of the most exiting and prolific pass offenses in NFL history. Behind Hall of Fame QB Dan Fouts, San Diego led the league in passing and total offense in ’83 and ’85. Saunders began his career as a graduate assistant under John McKay at Southern California (1970-71), then coached receivers at Missouri (1972) before heading the offensive backfield at Utah State (1973-75). He was assistant head coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at California from 1976-81, leading an offense that set 32 national, conference and school records. In 1982, Saunders was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tennessee.

Saunders was a three-year starter, team captain and Academic All-America as a defensive back at San Jose State (1966-68), Saunders also played wide receiver and is in the school’s Hall of Fame. As a recipient of California’s State Graduate Fellowship for Academic Excellence, he earned a Master’s degree in education from Stanford and was a doctoral candidate in athletic administration and sports management at USC.

In 1996, Saunders competed in the Kansas City and Los Angeles Marathons, as well as the 100th running of the Boston Marathon. He is married to Karen with two sons, Robert and Joseph, and one daughter, Korrin.