Jim Hanifan, the outspoken and passionate analyst who was the most animated man broadcasting a team in this market since the days of Harry Caray more than four decades ago, is being replaced by D’Marco Farr.

Hanifan will appear on the pregame and postgame shows this season but Farr will be the analyst alongside play-by-play broadcaster Steve Savard, who will be in his 10th season. Farr has a featured slot on the afternoon drive-time show on WXOS (101.1 FM), the team’s new radio home, and program director Jason Barrett wants to showcase the man he hired in January. Plus Farr has been a member of the Rams’ radio crew since 2006, six seasons after his playing days as a defensive tackle with the team ended, and was worked in more and more as the No. 3 man in the booth as last season progressed.

"The thing people love about ‘Hanny’ is his ability to tell stories and give insight, and he’ll get more opportunity to do that in his new role,’’ Barrett said. "Instead of 15-second bites between plays, he’ll get to do a lot more of what he’s good at on the pregame and postgame shows. He’ll be able to break down what’s coming up pregame, then he can give his reaction after the game to what happened, tell listeners what he would have done differently and He will offer a lot of opinion.’’

"And D’Marco’s energy is awesome, he’s quick. I love the way the guy analyzes football. This is about the evolution of D’Marco and putting ‘Hanny’ in a spot where he’ll excel.’’
But Hanifan, 75, already was excelling in the booth and is philosophical about this move.

"I’m not going to worry about it,’’ said Hanifan, who is perhaps the best offensive line coach in NFL history, including a stint here with the Rams, and once was a head coach of the St. Louis football Cardinals. "(Broadcasting) is not my calling. I’ve already spent about 50 years of my life doing the profession I chose to get into so it’s not like I’m trying to make it in this profession. I’ll do that little (pre- and postgame) gig and see what happens."

But he will miss his old role.

"I got comfortable with it, enjoyed doing it with Steven so it’s going to be a change,’’ he said.

Farr and Savard would have been fine with the status quo.

"I liked it when we did the three-man (booth), when I was sitting there as kind of being the backup and Steve would bring me in,’’ Farr said. "I think all of us together do a great job of breaking down the game. ‘Hanny’ never misses a trick on offense and I feel the same way about defense. ... The banter was always great.’’

But he’s eager for the solo slot.

"It’s something I feel comfortable with, I’m very excited to do it,’’ he said. "I’m so fired up for the season it’s hard to contain myself.’’

Savard liked the old setup, too.

"It would have been fine doing a three-man booth because I love working with ‘Hanny,’ and D’Marco and I have developed a friendship and a good working relationship,’’ he said.

End of an era

Hanifan took over in the booth after Jack Snow became ill late in the 2005 season. When Snow died a few months later, Hanifan had the job on a full-time basis.
"I kind of got thrown into it, but I really enjoyed it,’’ Hanifan said.

He brought a coarse, no-nonsense approach that led to a delay being added to the broadcasts because he sometimes forgot he was in the booth and not on the sidelines. "Jiminy Christmas!’’ he’d mutter in frustration, biting his tongue when he wanted to say something much stronger. But he didn’t always catch himself. When Rams quarterback Marc Bulger lost a fumble in the fourth quarter of what turned out to be a 20-13 loss to San Francisco in 2006 he exclaimed, "Oh, #%$*!’’

Then when Frank Gore had a key gain to help the 49ers run out the clock that day, Hanifan exclaimed in disgust, "Terrible job by (defender) Travis Fisher. He’s there, he’s standing right there and here comes Gore outside and Travis Fisher doesn’t make a play on him. Make a play! Gee whiz!’’

Listeners got a kick out of that enthusiasm and honesty.

"Part of the reason Rams fans loved hearing him because of that unfiltered emotion,’’ Savard said. "I think Rams fans appreciate his candor even if the FCC doesn’t always appreciate it.’’
Hanifan said it was difficult to make the transition from field level to the booth.

"It was tremendously hard for me,’’ he said. "I had a couple faux pas because I was so used to being involved on the sidelines where you express yourself rather vehemently and you’re not concerned about the language being uttered. So it was tough to go from that to (broadcasting) where you want to let the people know you’re really ticked off — or really happy — without getting into that other area. It was a bit of a strain.’’

Pulling a hamstring

Savard’s favorite Hanifan story involves a game at Arizona in 2006, when Bulger fumbled late in the contest to apparently set up the Cardinals for a winning field goal.

"It looked like the Rams were going to lose in excruciating fashion,’’ Savard said. "During the timeout ‘Hanny’ says, ‘Marc Bulger fumbled, (Arizona QB) Kurt Warner could fumble it right back.’ I was thinking to myself, ‘There’s no way that’s going to happen.’ But sure enough it happens ... and the Rams got it back I made a terrible (play-by-play) call, I got caught up in the emotion especially after that ... just as ‘Hanny’ had just predicted. He got so excited he jumped up and said, ‘I told you! I told you!’ Then all of a sudden he grabs his hamstring and blurts out over the air, ‘I’m cramping up, I’m cramping up!’

"If he had grabbed his heart it would have been another thing. But he grabbed his hamstring, so I thought he’d be OK.’’

Hanifan fondly recalled the incident and said that Dan Dierdorf, one of his prized coaching pupils, heard the broadcast and told him, "I almost had an accident driving off the road’’ he was laughing so hard.

Things such as that helped Hanifan set Rams radio productions apart from other broadcasts in the market, and his presence in the booth will be sorely missed.

"The guy is beloved not only in St. Louis because of his connection to football fans here that go back to the mid-’70s, but you should see how he’s treated on the road when we’re in a booth in another stadium,’’ Savard said. "Whether it’s Bill Bidwill or Dan Reeves or any number of NFL VIP’s, they climb over us to get to ‘Hanny.’ His reputation across the league is sterling.’’