ST. LOUIS (Map, News) - In 1993, the final season of Howie Long's Pro Football Hall of Fame career, one of the Los Angeles Raiders' assistant coaches was Jim Haslett.

Now, Haslett gets a chance to coach Long's son. He believes a lot of the father has rubbed off on Chris Long, the Virginia All-American defensive end taken with the second pick of the NFL draft on Saturday.

"You can tell the guy's been around football all his life," Haslett said.

From the Rams' pre-draft interviews, Haslett also sees a player who's a lot more than the son of a former football star now famous for his work as a Fox TV analyst.

"He doesn't really live in his dad's shadow," Haslett said. "He understands his dad had his time and he's got his time, and I think there's a good relationship. I think Howie, besides being a heck of a player, did a good job raising his family - probably his wife more than him, but they did a good job of raising the kid."

Coach Scott Linehan said Long would be the starter at right end. Haslett's job is to get Long ready after playing as much inside as outside in college.

"It's a little bit of a learning curve, but I don't think it'll be a big transition," Haslett said.

Chris Long is the sixth son of a Pro Football Hall of Fame player or coach to be drafted. Howie Long, a defensive tackle, was a second-round pick out of Villanova by the Oakland Raiders in 1981.

Other father-son combinations are: linebackers Bobby Bell (inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983) and Bobby Bell Jr. (drafted into the league in 1984), running back Tony Dorsett (inducted 1994) and cornerback Anthony Dorsett (drafted 1996), quarterbacks Bob Griese (inducted 1990) and Brian Griese (drafted 1998), running back-defensive back-coach Don Shula (inducted 1997) and quarterback Mike Shula (drafted 1987), and tight ends Kellen Winslow (inducted 1995) and Kellen Winslow (drafted 2004).

Though it's a unique opportunity for Haslett, he wasn't exactly politicking for the pick. He'd have been just as happy with LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, the other player seriously considered for the second pick by the Rams and taken with the fifth pick by the Chiefs.

"I love Dorsey," Haslett said. "He's a monster inside, and he's one of those guys that comes along about once every 10 years."

Notes:@ The first round was concluded in a zippy 3 hours, 30 minutes, roughly half the time it took last year (6:08). Teams had 10 minutes to make their selection instead of 15, accounting for some of the time. The first day also was shortened by one round, with the last five rounds on Sunday. "Wait until tomorrow," vice president of player personnel Billy Devaney said. "Tomorrow is going to be a bear." ... Second-round pick Donnie Avery, a wide receiver from Houston, is the first player the Rams took with the 33rd overall pick since Isaac Bruce in 1994. Bruce's departure to San Francisco, after being released in February, created a need at that position. "This is a good omen," Linehan said. "He has his own style, but this guy is electric and he can really play."