on defense and seven special teams tackles as the Rams lost 38–19 at the San Francisco 49ers in a Week 17. Fletcher earned the Rams Rookie of the Year Award. He finished the season with 14 combined tackles (11 solo) in 16 games and one start. 1999 Throughout training camp, Fletcher competed against Charlie Clemons and Lorenzo Styles to be the starting middle linebacker after the Rams chose not to re-sign Eric Hill. Head coach Dick Vermeil named Fletcher the starting middle linebacker to begin the regular season, alongside outside linebacker Todd Collins and Mike Jones. On October 3, 1999, Fletcher collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) and made his first career sack during a 38–10 win at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. Fletcher sacked Bengals’ quarterback Jeff Blake for a ten-yard loss during the third quarter. In Week 9, Fletcher recorded five combined tackles and earned his first career safety during a 31–27 loss at the Detroit Lions. Fletcher earned his safety after tackling running back Greg Hill in the endzone for a one-yard loss during the first quarter. Fletcher started in all 16 games in 1999 and recorded a total of 138 tackles on defense and special teams combined. His 138 tackles were the most by a Ram since Roman Phifer collected 149 tackles in the 1995. Fletcher recorded 90 combined tackles (66 solo), with three sacks, and one safety on defense. The St. Louis Rams finished first in the NFC West with a 13–3 record and earned a first round bye. On January 16, 2000, Fletcher started in his first career playoff game and recorded 11 combined tackles (eight solo) and made one sack during a 49–37 victory against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Divisional Round. The following week, he made nine combined tackles as the Rams defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11–6 in the NFC Championship Game. On January 30, 2000, Fletcher started in Super Bowl XXXIV and recorded 11 combined tackles (nine solo) as the Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 23–16. He also was named to the All-Madden team and as a second alternate to the Pro Bowl for the first time. 2000 On February 2, 2000, St. Louis Rams’ head coach Dick Vermeil announced his decision to retire. The St. Louis Rams promoted offensive coordinator Mike Martz to head coach. Martz retained Fletcher, Collins, and Jones as the starting linebackers.