Coach Vermeil retiring will always be the missing part of the dynasty that should have been. What if Walsh would have walked away from the 49's after winning the first one? That's what happened to us. The glue that held it all together went off into the sunset only to realize it was a mistake.
I think two things happened....Vermiel got wrapped up in leaving the game on a high note. I also think we would have lost Mike Martz if Vermiel would have stayed, which is odd because Martz had the complete package here to showcase his schemes, but his ambition and ego would have led him down the trail thinking he could have the same success with any other group. As we have learned from Martz stints with Detroit ( although Kitna ran the offense quite well) and S.F. (injuries and Singletary derailed any success there) and Chicago where he got Jay Cutler murdered along the way to a 28th ranked passing attack, Martz's scheme was really dependent on excellent slot recieving and a great running back. He only had that luxury while he was with the Rams.
But Vermeil was a different kind of leader and I aggree the team would have been better if he had stayed.
Eric Dickerson leaving hurt me bad. We decided Jim Everett was going to be our leader and that bothered me.
Issac Bruce being allowed to leave was criminal.
Despite all of the above...I thought we completely lost our teams idnetity when Wendell Tyler left. So to me, at the time, that was the biggest.