Jeff Fisher

Earlier in the day, it seemed Jeff Fisher was all set to go to South Beach and become the Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins. But as the day went on, it seemed the story changed and Fisher made the logical decision to go to the St. Louis Rams instead.

I think we're all asking ourselves: Why on Earth would he want to go to Miami?

The Dolphins, who haven't won a Super Bowl since the 70's, have been a bottom of the barrel organization since the day Dan Marino hung up his cleats.

They've brought in the likes of Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells and any other "savior" that would to try and rebuild this franchise. But to no avail—the Dolphins have gone nowhere.

As we sit here today, there still won't be much hope for Miami moving forward. The Dolphins, with a meaningless mid-to-late-season surge, ruined their chances of getting a top pick.

In desperate need of a quarterback, unless you believe in Matt Moore, the Dolphins will miss out on the two best quarterbacks in the draft, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. As for the rest of the quarterbacks in the draft, none are of the franchise variety, leaving Miami with no future behind center.

I guess there's always next year.

If he became their head coach, Fisher would be praying that Peyton Manning would become available or he would find himself depending on Moore or free agent, Kyle Orton. If none of those options, it would be on to the 2013 draft.

At running back, Reggie Bush did have the first 1,000-yard season of his NFL career. That might be a nice accomplishment, but that other running back in St. Louis has done it seven years in a row on mostly horrible teams.

No comparison there.

Quite possibly the only place the Dolphins might have had the advantage is at wide receiver. Brandon Marshall is one of the most talented receivers in the NFL, but the Rams might win that battle soon if Justin Blackmon becomes their first-round pick. And don't forget the addition of Brandon Lloyd.

There will be a strong argument from Dolphins' supporters about their defense, which did show vast improvements during the course of the season. At the end of the regular season, the Dolphins were ranked an impressive third against the run—but 25th against the pass.

The Rams were almost the opposite, ranking seventh against the pass but 31st against the run. Clearly, both teams have work to do.

But what it all boils down to is that Fisher made the right decision. The Rams already have a franchise quarterback in place, something that was important to Fisher.

Although they are young and coming off a season in which they were decimated by injuries en route to a horrendous year, St. Louis has a better foundation with better pieces in place.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Dolphins must go back to the drawing board trying to find the next unattractive coaching option to grace their sidelines. Their failure to reel in Fisher is just another example of the ineptitude and lack of success that has characterized this franchise for far too long.

But hey, at least the weather is nice. 

According to Jim Thomas and Kathleen Nelson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jeff Fisher is "really excited" to be the next St. Louis Rams head coach and looking forward to "coming to work."

In addition, the same report suggests that Fisher told Rams owner Stan Kroenke on Thursday that he wanted to take the job in St. Louis.  However, things were far from being finalized at that time, and the Rams' brass continued with due diligence by planning to interview New Orleans Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer in San Francisco.

In the end, though, the Rams got their guy.

The addition of Fisher has St. Louis fans abuzz throughout "Rams-land." 

Sites hosting Rams fan interactive forums such as Rams on Demand and The Original Herd, to name a couple, are exploding with analyses, reactions and, for the most part, a heightened sense of hope and optimism. 

I will write on this in detail later, but in short I believe this hire will go a long way in ultimately changing the fortunes of this franchise for the next decade and beyond while solidifying the organization's long-term future in the city of St. Louis.

This hire has instantly boosted the view of the St. Louis Rams organization around the NFL and should aid in boosting the Rams' on-field performance and win totals in 2012 and beyond. 

By adding the well-respected Fisher as head coach, potential free agents should be more enticed to consider setting up shop under the Gateway Arch.

Things are trending upward in St. Louis after Kroenke and St. Louis Rams' Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff landed their target.

The Rams look to now be putting together the clearest overall organizational vision since the departure of Dick Vermeil.

Fisher adds experience, credibility and the proven ability to win.

It is a promising day for St. Louis fans, and another step toward the Rams "building a winning tradition in and for St. Louis."

And a great birthday present for a certain someone, too.

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year round. To check out the rest of his work, go here.  You are also encouraged to follow him here on Twitter.   

In somewhat of a surprising development, Jeff Fisher agreed to be the next head coach of the St. Louis Rams today. 

This came after ESPN's Adam Schefter sent out a tweet stating Fisher was leaning toward the vacancy in Miami. 

Now that he's taken over in St. Louis, what kind of influence can Rams fans expect the former Tennessee Titans coach to have on their team? 

Defense, Defense, Defense

The Rams had one of the most dreadful and easily exploited defenses in 2011. They allowed 152.1 yards on the ground and 25.4 points per game. 

Their 2010 unit wasn't much better. 

With his vast defensive background, expect Fisher to bring a defensive culture to the team heading into next season.

It doesn't matter how good Sam Bradford and the offense become; if St. Louis cannot stop their opposition's running game with some consistency, they'll struggle to return to relevance in the NFC.

Don't be shocked if the general manager hired is ready to acquire a handful of talented defenders in free agency and the draft. 

Leading me to my next point...

More Draft Picks 

This isn't exactly an influence, but it's an ideology that will go over well in St. Louis.

While intimidating receiver Justin Blackmon will be available when the Rams go on the clock with the No. 2 overall selection in the 2012 draft, there will be a few suitors looking to trade up with St. Louis to pick quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Blackmon would be an ideal weapon for Bradford, but the more intelligent idea, with the long-term in mind, would be to trade back and accumulate more picks. 

There's a great chance St. Louis will still be able to grab South Carolina wideout Alshon Jeffery and go use the majority of their additional draft choices on defensive linemen, linebackers and cornerbacks. 

Fisher's a heady guy, knows his team is still rebuilding and will love to add youthful talent to his defense. 

Improved Play from his Quarterback 

Fisher isn't solely a defensive mind. During his long tenure with the Oilers and Titans, his quarterbacks typically produced. 

Now, some of the success of Steve McNair, Vince Young and Kerry Collins can be attributed to Fisher's offensive coordinators, but he certainly knows which guys will help his quarterbacks flourish.

Fisher's clubs never had premier, All-Pro receivers, but McNair, Young and Collins were always respectable quarterbacks that relied on the run and made plays when needed.  

Expect him to bring a bright OC that can work with Bradford and maximize his potential. 

Entering his third year as a starter, I see the former No. 1 overall pick taking a step forward. 

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Jeff Fisher has agreed to become the next St. Louis Rams head coach, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The long-awaited decision has caused the Miami Dolphins, Fisher's other potential landing spot, to start complaining like a someone just robbed them.

Mike Freeman of CBS Sports tweeted the details:

Is it surprising to hear the losing team start to air its grievances about the decision? Of course not, but you would figure by now teams would see that it's more of an embarrassment than anything else. Nobody from the outside is going to feel sorry for the organization.

By trying to drum up some type of controversy, it comes off sounding like sour grapes. Fisher decided St. Louis was a better option for him; it's time to move on in the coaching search instead of living in the past, which can't be changed now anyway.

Every comment about the Fisher decision, whether it's an actual public statement or a leak like in the case of Freeman's tweet, will just cause people to grow more tired of Miami's whining.

Nobody other than Fisher knows the exactly reason he chose the Rams. It could be the team's potential, family reasons or, like many people are speculating, cash considerations. But it really doesn't matter because he made is choice and the issue is effectively closed.

Another problem the Dolphins are causing themselves by complaining is alienating future coaching candidates. The team's comments about Fisher illustrate just how much they wanted him to coach their team, which makes everybody else feel like they aren't truly wanted.

That's why the Miami brass would have been better off just keeping their opinions behind closed doors. They would have still been able to get their frustrations out, but it wouldn't have gone public.

Now they will have to do some damage control before deciding who their second choice will be. It's really turning into a debacle the Dolphins probably wish they never got involved in since they are basically back to square one anyway.

It's time to close the book on Fisher and move on. The Dolphins have enough problems to address heading into next season when it comes to fixing their roster; they don't need this issue to follow them around for the entire offseason.

Speaking out isn't going to help their cause anyway.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Jeff Fisher has agreed to become the next head coach for the St. Louis Rams.

How does this effect the Miami Dolphins? 

Days ago, there were reports that Fisher was leaning towards the Miami Dolphins. In result, the Rams made a bigger push for the veteran head coach. St. Louis sent their rookie quarterback Sam Bradford to meet with Fisher to sweeten the cause for the head coach to choose their team.

This is a huge sack for the Miami Dolphins. It came down to what team was more put together. Fisher saw a promising future with a No. 3 pick in this year's draft, young quarterback Bradford, and his ability to choose his staff with the Rams.

The Dolphins haven't had a franchise quarterback since Dan Marino and there is a good amount of questions throughout the Miami Dolphins' organization. Fisher ultimately chose the Rams because they have a core for the future and he could choose the general manager. 

The conflict with Miami's decision in waiting for Fisher is losing candidates like Mike Mularkey, who has agreed to be the Jacksonville Jaguars next coach, and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris, who has decided to become the Washington Redskins defensive Backs Coach. There are coaches out there like Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. 

Miami has a lot of questions involving their near future and it isn't looking too bright.

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, a league source says that Jeff Fisher will coach the St. Louis Rams next season. The Rams are coming off of a very disappointing 2-14 season in which Steve Spagnuolo was fired as head coach.

Fisher was torn between the Miami Dolphins and the Rams, leaving both fanbases twisting in the wind all week long.

In the end, Fisher chose the Rams, who seemingly have a better young football team and play in a division that does not feature the New York Jets and New England Patriots. I guess going up against Kevin Kolb and Tarvaris Jackson sounded better than battling it out against Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

The Rams have a young quarterback in place, Sam Bradford, that many talent evaluators believe has elite potential. If Fisher can get Bradford to keep improving, the Rams would be the only team in the NFC West with a true franchise QB.

The Rams also have one of the best running backs in the NFL, Steven Jackson, and that will allow Fisher to employ his run-heavy "Fisherball" philosophy. A sound running game should also help Bradford take that next step as a young quarterback.

The Rams also have some very talented young players on defense including Chris Long, James Lauranaitis, Robert Quinn and Darian Stewart. Fisher has a reputation for building great defenses, so he has to be excited to arrive in St. Louis with such good young building blocks already in place.

At long last, the wait is over. Jeff Fisher has decided where he wants to coach next.

Sports Illustrated NFL guru Peter King broke the news a short while ago on Twitter:

Hats off to the St. Louis Rams. Fisher had everyone confused as to where he was leaning over the last two weeks, but he has chosen the Rams over the Miami Dolphins.

We don't yet know exactly why Fisher has chosen the Rams, but various reports throughout the week painted a pretty good picture of what Fisher was looking for. He was basically looking for a kingly salary and major personnel influence, and I'm going to presume that the Rams gave him an offer that was to his liking.

Offers aside, picking the Rams over the Dolphins is the right choice for Fisher. At the end of the day, it's all about what Fisher can do with the team at his disposal, and the Rams offer all sorts of intriguing possibilities.

Above all, it stands to reason that Fisher is drawn to the idea of developing Sam Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft. He was named the Rookie of the Year after the 2010 season, but his 2011 campaign made it abundantly clear that he still needs work. Fisher is a guy who oversaw the development of Steve McNair during his time with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, so he's not exactly inexperienced when it comes to nurturing a young quarterback.

But the rebuilding process in St. Louis isn't limited to Bradford. The entire team needs a facelift, as there are major weaknesses to address up and down the roster. Don't be surprised if Fisher steps in and starts jettisoning bodies right away.

To that end, having the No. 2 overall pick in the draft will help. In fact, a good haul in the 2012 draft will put the Rams back on the right track. Another good draft haul in 2013 will put them in the playoff discussion.

By comparison, the Dolphins are caught somewhere between not too bad and not good enough. They have some good players, but they don't have a solid foundation that Fisher can build on. Not as strong as St. Louis' foundation, anyway.

Rebuilding the Rams will be difficult, but tearing apart the Dolphins and rebuilding them from the ground up would have been more difficult. The Dolphins are undoubtedly a better team now, but Fisher's focus had to be on what these teams could be, not what they are.

With his help, the Rams could be great again.

According to the NFL Network, former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher will become the eighth head coach of the St. Louis Rams since the franchise relocated to St. Louis in 1995.

Eight represents new beginnings, and that is precisely what this organization needed: a fresh start.  

The Rams went 15-65 over the last five years, the worst five year stretch in NFL history, and sought an experienced, proven winner.

Fisher, the single-most sought after head coach in the NFL this offseason, brings a career record of 142-120 and took his respective teams to the playoffs on six occasions in 16 full seasons with the Houston Oilers-Tennessee Titans organization. 

Individuals around the league assert that St. Louis owner Stan Kroenke's pursuit of Fisher shows that he is serious about winning in St. Louis.  

Fisher's best season came in 1999 when his Tennessee Titans went 13-3 and culminated with a trip to Super Bowl XXXIV before falling to Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and the then explosive St. Louis Rams. 

Fisher chose St. Louis over Miami after both organizations aggressively pursued him.

On Sunday, Fisher flew to St. Louis to tour the St. Louis Rams headquarters, the Russell Training Center, also known as Rams Park, in Earth City, Missouri and to meet with Sam Bradford, among other things. 

Apparently, the tour and meeting went well.

When the Rams introduce Fisher, it will be an exciting day for St. Louis fans amidst an offseason that promises to be extremely interesting and one of the more vital in St. Louis Rams history:

1. St. Louis fired Steve Spagnuolo and will now hire the proven and experienced Jeff Fisher.

2. The entire coaching staff will be replaced.

One specific assistant that may be targeted is New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who Fisher has deep ties to.

3. The Rams possess the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  

With the new team-friendly rookie wage scale in place and potential franchise quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III available, St. Louis will have the opportunity to reap multiple premium picks and quickly retool the roster with elite building blocks via trade if they do not keep the second pick and grab a player like Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State.

4. The all-important lease negotiations with the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Convention begin in earnest on February 1 and will be crucial to the team's long-term future in St. Louis.  

(For the latest on this from a Rams' perspective, click here.) 

However, for the moment, the singular focus for St. Louis fans is the impending addition of Jeff Fisher.

The Rams needed a proven head coach to come in and help stabilize the organization quickly.  Other organizations who have long-term winning traditions in place, like Pittsburgh, could afford to go with a coordinator, as they did successfully with Mike Tomlin.

However, considering the epic struggles of the Rams since the "greatest show on turf" era, Fisher was a necessary and perfect hire for St. Louis.

The Rams swung and missed with their last two hires, Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolo, who were both first-time head coaches.  

St. Louis could not afford the potential third whiff in a row and a strikeout by selecting another coordinator.  This was not the right time for such a move. 

In selective the fiery Fisher, St. Louis is adding a head coach with immense experience and a track record of success that adds instant credibility to the organization.  

The Rams could not afford to hire another head coach to learn on the job.  They needed one who had proven he could win there.   

And that's who they got in Jeff Fisher: a proven winner.  

The organization has stated that it's entire mission going forward is to build a winning tradition in and for St. Louis.  

Today, the organization took a big step towards that objective as both the NFL and St. Louis take notice. 

Fisher and the Rams will begin filling his coaching staff in the days ahead.  It will be interesting to watch that process, and the entire offseason, unfold.

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year round. To check out the rest of his work, go here.  You are also encouraged to follow him on Twitter.