5 NFL Teams That Need to Call Jeff Fisher About 2012 Head Coach Opportunities

According to Jason La Canfora of NFL Network, Jeff Fisher has already been contacted about returning to the sidelines in 2012:

"At least two teams already have reached out to former Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher about head-coaching positions, a source with knowledge of the situation said Monday."

"With Jon Gruden staying in the ESPN broadcast booth, Fisher is expected to be the most in-demand coach this offseason."

That being said, there's surely to be some good competition for Fisher this offseason. So to get ready for it, here are five teams that could use Fisher in 2012.

It's certainly an interesting position in Cleveland.

Although Pat Shurmur's just in his first season, he's struggling to adapt in a league where defenses will eat the offense alive without it. Cleveland's offense ranks No. 24 in passing and No. 30 in rushing and has scored just 175 points all season (average of just of 14 points per game).

Now, it also doesn't help that they've had some injuries and there's really no weapons for Colt McCoy to target. In addition, the rush defense is arguably the worst in the NFL.

Another thing that may save Shurmur is the NFL lockout. The West-Coast offense isn't something such a young offense can learn with limited time. That being said, however, the AFC North doesn't play finesse football.

All that said, if Jeff Fisher is willing to come to Cleveland, they need to ax Shurmur and bring in a more established and respected coach. Fisher knows how to succeed, and with Mike Holmgren in the drive seat, it's a much better situation for Browns fans.

Yes, Cleveland will be better if Shurmur has time to develop his system this offseason, but so would Jeff Fisher. The question is whether the Browns want to make a quick change and get Fisher, or continue with Shurmur and hope for the best.

When Jim Caldwell took over, Peyton Manning was still under center.

Needless to say, the Colts still had success and Caldwell had inherited a legendary QB. Now, we're seeing the aftermath of how unprepared a coach can be.

In addition to the lockout not helping (but everyone is in that boat), before and just after the lockout, the Colts could have signed someone not from the stone age (Kerry Collins). However, they decided to go that route, and now it's gotten so bad that they put Dan Orlovsky in to run the show.

Apparently, they were unaware of Orlovsky being under center when the Lions went 0-16 in 2008 and he also ran out of the back of the end-zone. If there's anything a QB needs, it's awareness of your surroundings.

To that end, with a potential 0-16 seemingly inevitable, Jeff Fisher would be a great fit to replace Caldwell. The man knows the AFC South and how to win, period.

Also when Fisher was at Tennessee, the Titans were really the only team that could compete with Indianapolis against a healthy Peyton Manning. Not bad considering Vince Young was his QB.

Monday night against the Jaguars in Jacksonville was a snapshot of exactly how much talent the Chargers have.

Unfortunately, though, San Diego has not been able to play like that all season. And after winning three straight AFC West division titles, the Bolts have begun to slowly crumble under Norv Turner.

Not to mention they haven't won a playoff game since the 2008 Wild-Card round against the Colts and haven't gotten further than the AFC title game (once in 2007).

This season has just been a disaster, and it's time for a change in San Diego. Turner held up the fort that Marty Schottenheimer built for three more strong years, but it wasn't built to last.

Losing Darren Sproles was extremely tough, and not being able to replace him with a solid rushing attack has been proof that the Chargers aren't good enough anymore to solely rely on the passing game. Turner had his opportunities to get San Diego to the big dance, but has failed.

And with impatience playing a big part in teams needing to win and turn things around quickly, the sun is setting Southern California. As for Fisher, with a team as talented as the Bolts, he'll quickly pick up the pieces and put the puzzle back together.

Can't go wrong with Philip Rivers as the QB for Jeff Fisher. It would be quite a complementary football match.

This late-season surge by the Dolphins is clearly making Tony Sparano look good. But the reality is, he needs to go.

It's evident that Matt Moore should have been the starter on day one and we knew sooner or later that the Wildcat wasn't going to last. However, beginning 0-7 and then somewhat turning things around to 4-8 doesn't blind anyone from how bad Miami was playing under Sparano.

Part of this late-season surge is because some teams are playing the Dolphins scared, as in not to lose. Additionally, it's not like the Dolphins have anything to lose, so they're just putting everything out there.

At the moment, it's basically become the motivation of ruining someone else's season and somehow salvaging what was a dismal start. Bring in Fisher and an already solid defense gets even better as well.

For as solid as Matt Moore has been playing under Sparano, the man has shown potential despite being on the No. 23 ranked passing offense. Give him a head coach like Fisher and draft a stud WR to complement Brandon Marshall, and the Miami offense will soar.

With Jack Del Rio out, Jacksonville will obviously be hiring someone new this offseason, whether it's interim head coach Mel Tucker, the veteran Jeff Fisher or someone else.

Thing is, next to Larry Fitzgerald, wouldn't Maurice Jones-Drew be another player to feel much sympathy for. The man has virtually zero help on offense and the defense is banged up. MJD should be an sleeper MVP candidate for his numbers this year with no one else around contributing.

Anyway, can you imagine how much better the Jags become with Fisher in charge? They've played a tough schedule this season and have been in some close games with Super Bowl contenders almost every week.

Not to mention they beat Baltimore and Tennessee. Get Blaine Gabbert a stud WR and Fisher, and Jacksonville is back on the rise in 2012. The defense becomes exceedingly better, and once healthy, arguably a top five or Top 10 defense in the league.

Sure, it's another AFC South rival he'd be going to from the Titans, but the Jaguars will surely see ticket sales increase if Jeff Fisher is on the sidelines.

Follow John Rozum on Twitter @ Sportswriter27