Ram assistant coach Bruce Snyder, 46, signed...

Ram assistant coach Bruce Snyder, 46, signed a five-year contract as coach at California, but he won’t officially begin until after the Ram season is over.

Snyder replaces Joe Kapp, who was fired after compiling a 20-34-1 record in five years. Snyder will inherit a majority of the players from Kapp’s last team, which finished 2-9 overall, 2-7 in the Pacific-10.

“The next couple of weeks will be awfully busy,” Snyder said. “But I think I’ll have quite a bit of time that I can get work done here and not short-change the Rams.”

Snyder was coach at Utah State for seven seasons, compiling a 39-37-1 record, before joining the Ram staff in 1983. He played football for Oregon, graduating in 1962, and spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach on the college level.