EARTH CITY, Mo. — The stage was set Friday afternoon for the St. Louis Rams to officially introduce Frank Cignetti as their new offensive coordinator, replacing Brian Schottenheimer, who left for a similar job after the season with the University of Georgia.

And while Cignetti, who was the team’s quarterbacks coach the last three seasons, exuded passion for the job in his comments, the biggest news to emerge was the team’s strong belief that Sam Bradford will be the team’s quarterback in 2015.

Shortly after the season ended, head coach Jeff Fisher said the team’s plan was to bring Bradford back, but with competition for his job from a quarterback not currently with the team. Bradford missed the team’s last 25 games with two torn ACLs, and is scheduled to be paid just under $13 million in what would be the final year of the six-year, $78 million contract he signed after being the first overall selection in the 2010 draft.

Speculation has been persistent that the Rams want Bradford to accept a pay cut for 2015 after starting a total of just 49 of a possible 80 games with the Rams. Bradford said after the season he would have no issues with having competition when asked about Fisher’s comment.

However, when asked if Cignetti would have input into whatever quarterback the Rams add, Fisher said, “He’ll have significant input on that. As I mentioned, that most likely is going to happen. It’s not as much from the standpoint of challenging Sam; it’s to have options. We don’t know what that looks like right now. We don’t know if that’s draft, free agency or what that looks like. But, when we line up in September, we’ll have somebody there.”

As the efforts to be made in improving the offense were discussed, Cignetti was asked about the importance of having consistency at the quarterback spot. He said, “We’re looking forward to Sam moving forward. He’s doing a great job in his rehabilitation. When you go back to last year, he had an outstanding offseason. He had a great training camp. Unfortunately, in Cleveland he got injured. Moving forward, getting Sam back healthy will greatly increase our chances of winning.”

Fisher also acknowledged that he talked with Bradford about the decision he would make for the coordinator hire. He said, “I had a lengthy discussion with Sam prior to making the decision. It was part of the information gathering process. Sam was very forthcoming. He had some firm opinions. I really enjoyed and appreciated his input.”

When asked about the confidence level of having Bradford back and whether that was his expectation, Fisher concluded, “That’s correct, yes. He’s been in the building since the season ended. He’s doing well.”