Jeff Fisher

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher has finally decided to become the head coach of the St. Louis Rams, according to a report from ESPN. 

Jeff Fisher coaching the Rams is an excellent move. It's the best possible move that they could have made. Fisher will bring a year-in, year-out consistency to the Rams that they haven't had since Kurt Warner's departure. 

Tennessee made a terrible mistake in getting rid of Fisher. In the era of parity, not many coaches have brought their team six playoff appearances and 10-win seasons. As impressive as that is, it's even better when you consider four of those seasons came when the Titans shared a division with Peyton Manning's Colts. 

Although the 49ers went 13-3 in 2011, the NFC West remains a wide open division. Between a tougher schedule that the 49ers will face and improvements from the other teams through the draft and free agency, the division will not be a runaway in the preseason.

That's not to say that the 49ers won't win again in 2012. But that division is not going to belong to them in the same way that the AFC South belonged to Indianapolis during Fisher's reign in Tennessee. Even if if does, winning records will bring Wild Card appearances more often than not. 

What this ultimately comes down to is a sparkling record. There's no way that you can argue that 142-120 is anything but successful. That goes for any era, but especially this one. 

Fisher also showed that he can adjust to different players. When your tenure spans parts of 17 different seasons, it's going to be with a different group of players. The Titans won with Steve McNair, Kerry Collins and Vince Young. They rode Eddie George and Chris Johnson to success.

The differences in those players shows that their coach could adjust. Even mobile quarterbacks McNair and Young had many differences. Kerry Collins was certainly dramatically different than either of those two, while George and Johnson's style of running couldn't be any different. 

In St. Louis, Fisher is walking into a situation where he has a solid young quarterback in Sam Bradford. On the other side of the ball, he has an elite young pass-rusher in Chris Long. In addition to that, Steven Jackson is still a strong back, even if his career is coming to an end. 

What this team needs is some offensive line help, some help in the secondary and receivers. Fortunately, where the Rams are picking in the draft, plenty of that will be available. What they can't get there will be available in free agency. 

Fisher will make this team a winner again. Steve Spagnuolo would have made them a contender in 2012, but they decided to fire him. The team endured too many injuries this year. But with outside help on the way and good players returning for a full year of action, the pieces are in place.

Fisher is not the coach that will mess a team up with players in place. Quite the opposite. One thing that Fisher has done all throughout his career is to get the most out of the talent he has.

If you need to have any proof that this is a good move, just look at his record. There's a reason he lasted that long in Tennessee. People don't change that much in one season away from the game. In the case of Fisher, that's a great thing.

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(UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that Fisher has decided to become the next head coach of the St. Louis Rams.) 

After an agonizingly long deliberation period, Jeff Fisher still has not announced whether he will become the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins or the St. Louis Rams. 

Recent speculation suggests that Fisher is leaning towards Miami, but until an official announcement is made, all rumors should be treated as, well, rumors. 

Now, let me preface this article by explaining that I would be ecstatic if the 'Fins hired Fisher. In a year where the candidate pool is dominated by unproven—and largely underwhelming—assistants and coordinators, Stephen Ross is on the brink of luring in the best and most qualified coach on the market. 

Not only would Fisher attract fans, elite assistant coaches and blue-chip free agents, but he could also bring stability and credibility to one of the most dysfunctional franchises in the NFL. 

But, empirical evidence suggests that hiring Fisher is an extremely risky move. For evidence, let's take a look at other prominent NFL coaches who retired, took a hiatus and later returned to the sidelines—much like Fisher is about to do. 

Mike Ditka cruised to a championship with the Chicago Bears but later ran the New Orleans Saints into the ground. Jimmy Johnson built a dynasty in Dallas, but only propelled Miami to two playoff wins. Mike Shanahan brought a pair of Lombardi Trophies to Denver but is already on the hot seat in Washington D.C.

And don't forget about others like Joe Gibbs, Mike Holmgren, Bill Parcells, George Seifert and Tom Flores.

All of these coaches were immensely successful in their original head-coaching tenures, but failed to duplicate their success with new teams.

This should serve as a caveat to anybody seduced by name recognition. Remember, Sean Payton, Mike Tomlin and Mike McCarthy were all anonymous assistants before they received their first head-coaching jobs. Look at them now.

However, there is good news.

Unlike all of those aforementioned names, Jeff Fisher has never won a Super Bowl (Yes, this is actually a positive). 

Consequently, Fisher belongs under a small list of coaches who lost a Super Bowl game with one franchise and later coached for another. The full list of such coaches includes Dick Vermeil, Don Shula, Sam Wyche, Dan Reeves, Bobby Ross and Forrest Gregg.

Why is this good news?

None of the 12 NFL coaches who won a Super Bowl and then moved on to coach another team managed to capture a championship with their second team. 

Meanwhile, two of the six coaches who lost a Super Bowl game and then moved on to coach another team captured championships with their second team. 

The batting average of the latter makes Fisher's lack of a championship comforting.

Still, though, the odds are stacked against him. 

So, can Jeff Fisher break the trend of big-name coaches flopping in new locations?

Time will tell.

But the man has to make a decision first. 

UPDATE: Fisher may have chosen St. Louis over Miami, but this could be a blessing in disguise for the Dolphins. The evidence shows that big-name coaches struggle in their returns to the sidelines, and the 'Fins must now settle for a "young and hungry" coordinator. 

Fair warning: If you see Jeff Fisher on the street and offer him a cookie, he's probably going to want a glass of milk. 

I wouldn't worry about running into Fisher, though. These days, he's a little preoccupied with going back and forth between Miami and St. Louis, mulling whether he wants to be the next head coach of the Dolphins or the Rams.

Various reports over the last week or so have had Fisher leaning towards one team or the other. At last check, a source told NFL Network's Michael Lombardi that the Dolphins appear to be the frontrunner.

Better yet, sources also told Lombardi that a decision could come as soon as today. 

Whoever Fisher chooses to coach, it will be because the team agreed to meet his laundry list of demands, which has been steadily revealed by members of the media.

For example, Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com reported this early Thursday afternoon:

This is reasonable enough. If Fisher is going to be in charge of a team, he should have his own people in place on the coaching staff. He should also definitely have a say as to which players he gets to have at his disposal.

But landing Fisher obviously isn't a simple matter of granting him this one request. 

Go back and check out the Lombardi report, and you'll see that Jason La Canfora has managed to get a hold of a couple other key demands. Fisher is supposedly looking to earn a salary of roughly $7 million a year, which would put him in Mike Shanahan and Bill Belichick territory.

In addition, La Canfora notes that Fisher "likely will command" the title of executive vice president wherever he ends up. That will effectively give him a major presence in the front office, making him a czar of sorts with control on and above the gridiron.

For lack of a better example, I daresay Fisher wants to be Bill Parcells.

If so, he's overestimating his worth just a little bit.

Actually, he's overestimating it by a lot.

Fisher is a good football coach. He was in charge of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans for parts of 17 seasons, making the playoffs six times and going to the Super Bowl once. There aren't many coaches out there who can match Fisher's resume point for point.

But Fisher is not a great football coach. Though he came agonizingly close once, he's never won a Super Bowl, and his teams were mediocre more often than they were good. It's not like he's some kind of mad football genius, a la Belichick, Parcells, Bill Walsh, et al.

Yet that's clearly what Fisher wants the Dolphins and Rams to think of him, and it goes without saying that he's making the most of the fact that there really aren't any better options out there.

Fisher is going to get what he wants, make no mistake about that. The Dolphins and Rams are both desperate, and in the end, this whole thing will come down to which team is more desperate.

Then the pressure will be on Fisher to live up to the tremendous deal he's going to get.

I'll jump the gun right here and now and wish him luck with that.

Last night, as I went to bed, whispers were circulating that Jeff Fisher was all set to be named the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Half a day later and things are still up in the air. 

Originally, Fisher seemed to be favoring the St. Louis Rams, who have also been pursuing him. However, last night it looked like he was set to land in Miami.

It now appears that he is "torn" between the two jobs.

While I personally believe Fisher will end up in Miami, the longer this thing goes on, the worse it is for the Dolphins. If Miami was indeed in the lead for his services, the longer this plays out, the more time the Rams have to up their offer or swoop in with some kind of incentives to sweeten the deal. 

St. Louis has a franchise quarterback in place, a Pro Bowl running back and also has the No. 2 pick in the 2012 NFL draft to help address its issues along the offensive line or at receiver. While the Rams were a dismal 2-14 this season, they really aren't that many pieces away from competing at a high level. 

While Matt Moore had a decent year in Miami, few people see him as the long-term solution at quarterback. Reggie Bush finally emerged as an impact option at running back and receiver Brandon Marshall can be productive when properly motivated. 

Defensively, the Dolphins need a lot of help against the pass. Miami finished 25th in passing defense this season, allowing 249.5 yards per game. That is likely where the team needs to focus in the upcoming draft. 

Both teams could be contenders with the right coach and a few smart personnel decisions. However, the longer Fisher waits to make a decision, the worse things look for the Dolphins.

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher currently holds the NFL in suspense as many are awaiting his decision about his next job.

Initial reports indicated that he was leaning towards taking the head coaching position with the St. Louis Rams, but now the Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Miami Dolphins hold the edge in the race for the coach’s services.

Fisher is the top coaching candidate available this season and it is pretty apparent that he is aware of it.

He seems to be in no hurry in his decision and is keeping the two teams involved guessing and waiting as he ponders his future.

Fisher was the head coach for the Titans from 1995 through 2010. However, in January 2011, the Titans and Fisher mutually agreed to part ways after 16 seasons together.

Fisher is ranked third in wins among active head coaches with 147, trailing only Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan.

On one hand, it’s not surprising that Fisher would choose Miami. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to live there?

On the other hand, St. Louis has a distinct advantage from a football aspect because they already have a franchise quarterback. 

It’s no secret that even the best coaches will fail miserably if they don’t find a guy to lead their offense.

Miami either has a plan to gain the services of a quality quarterback or Fisher is confident in the talent of Matt Moore to lead his team.

Fisher will make his decision soon, leaving one of these teams very happy and one scrambling to plan B.

The latest word from NFL's Jason La Canfora says Jeff Fisher's looking for a massive payday from either the St. Louis Rams or Miami Dolphins.

Fisher's reportedly looking for something in the $7 million annual salary range to re-enter the coaching ranks. With Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden both apparently holding onto their comfortable analyst jobs, Fisher must see this year as a seller's market for head coaches.

Because there's no way any team should pay $7 million for Fisher's services. Whichever team ponies up that kind of cash deserves the frustration that will inevitably come their way the next few years.

That's not to say Fisher's a bad coach.  He's just not a great one.

The Titans made the playoffs six times under his direction. That would be a solid track record for your average coach in today's climate—most coaches are lucky to stay with one team for six years.

But Fisher coached the Titans for so many years that he started when they were the Oilers. For those keeping track at home, Fisher spent 17 years coaching the franchise and only made the playoffs a third of those years.

His performance in the playoffs is similarly pedestrian, winning less than 50 percent of his matchups. True, he came within two yards of winning a Super Bowl, but we all know what close counts in—football isn't one of them.

That's not stopping Fisher from demanding top dollar, though.

As of last year, only Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan topped the $7 million mark, and they both own considerably more jewelry than Fisher does. Shanahan hasn't justified his salary in two years with the Redskins, but Belichick is the modern-day equivalent to Vince Lombardi or Chuck Noll.

Fisher doesn't belong in that class, and Dolphins/Rams fans should be furious at the idea of paying him like he is.

One of these teams will pay up, though, and Fisher will school them on the law of supply and demand.

Heed my advice, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams—Jeff Fisher is fool's gold.

He cannot save you.

One of you isn't going to hire him, after all, though whomever you do end up hiring is going to be very aware that they were not your first option.

And he isn't going to be cheap, especially if reports of what Miami would be willing to pay him are true. From Jim Thomas of STLToday:

But the Rams' tug-of-war of with Miami could be reaching epic proportions, because among that speculation was a report that Miami owner Stephen Ross was offering Fisher in the neighborhood of $8 million a year on a multi-year deal to become the next coach of the Dolphins.

As staggering as that might sound, Fisher was scheduled to make about $6.5 million a year in 2011 as Tennessee Titans head coach, so it might simply be the cost of doing business to land the top name in this year's NFL coaching carousel. And wherever Fisher lands, that paycheck may include a fancy title — such as executive vice president — that includes final say on personnel.

Why is he worth this amount of money, and time, and trouble and all of those fancy titles you might have to give him, especially when after 17 years as head coach of the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans he didn't win one title?

In fact, in 17 years (one as an interim head coach in 1994 before getting the job full-time) he made the playoffs only six times, and went 5-6 in those games. His greatest achievement was losing to the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.

His 142-120 (.542) record is a solid mark, though when you look at it carefully you see six winning seasons, five 8-8 seasons and six losing ones (five if you don't count his interim tenure).

Not exactly inspiring, is it?

There are other coaches who have stuck with their teams forever in the "What have you done for me lately?" NFL, and it has been justifiable. After an incredibly disappointing 8-8 season for the Philadelphia Eagles this year, for instance, fans were calling for Andy Reid's firing.

But despite never winning a Super Bowl, the Eagles stuck with Reid, and they had good reason. In his 13 years, Reid has compiled a 126-81-1 (.609) record, made the playoffs nine times, gone 19-10 in those games and never missed the postseason twice in a row.

Or what about Bill Cowher, whom everyone likes to note that it took 14 years before he won a Super Bowl?

Well, Cowher finished with a 149-90-1 (.623) record in 15 years as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, took the team to the playoffs in 10 of those years and was 12-9 in the postseason.

So I guess we can throw out the argument that Fisher's lengthy tenure is indicative of an elite coaching ability. The last time Fisher won a playoff game was in 2003, after all.

So again, I ask you—is Jeff Fisher really worth $8 million?

Is the man who twice went one-and-done in the postseason despite a 13-3 regular season really worth this hassle?

Does the fact that he is "immensely respected in NFL circles" really overshadow the fact that his resume after 17 years was decent, but certainly not great?

I guess we'll find out.

Whenever Fisher makes a decision, that is.

Hit me up on the Twitter—it's the best way to spend the last year of existence.

St. Louis or Miami? Budweiser or sunshine?  

If this was a decision based solely on location and weather, it’d be a no-brainer.

But it’s a decision for Jeff Fisher that has little to do with the temperature.

The Rams and Dolphins have both offered him the job for their vacant head coaching position and the former Tennessee Titans head honcho can’t decide.

He was scheduled to hold a press conference on Wednesday to announce his final decision—no dice.

Now both teams have to wonder what the deal is. Is he waiting for another job to open up? Are the Oakland Raiders now an option?

Fisher has been flip-flopping on a decision for the last week. At first he was leaning towards the Rams because they have a franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford and were decimated by injuries in 2011. A quick rebound is certainly possible.

Yet the potential move to Los Angeles has given Fisher some serious second thoughts. FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer believes it’s the top reason Fisher cooled off on the Rams.

The Dolphins don’t have a quarterback, but they do have a strong defense that didn’t give up during the season. But they don't have a quarterback of the future. 

Sports Illustrated’s Dan Banks believes they are the heavy favorites at this point despite the QB situation.

Regardless of who he picks, Banks cites a league source who says Fisher has specific requests for whoever he picks and is not willing to budge.

Fisher was the longest tenured coach in the league before getting fired in 2010, but this is ridiculous. He wants full control over everything and that can be a slippery slope—especially for a coach that’s never won a Super Bowl and has been out of the NFL for an entire year.

His indecision is going to screw over the losing team in the search process and the club that lands him will greet him knowing he wasn’t completely sold.

It’s an odd situation and one that should force the Rams and Dolphins to reconsider their offers.

So what’s it going to be, sunshine of Budweiser? 

There's a reason Jeff Fisher is taking a long time to decide whether or not he wants to coach the Miami Dolphins or the St. Louis Rams. 

It's because he seriously doesn't know what he wants to do.

We know this thanks to Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com:

Glazer noted in a subsequent tweet that the Dolphins thought they were "out of it" over the weekend and the Rams thought they had Fisher in the bag.

Last week, the former Tennessee Titans head coach told ESPN's Adam Schefter (per Pro Football Talk) that his decision was going to come sometime this week. Don Banks of SI.com wrote on Wednesday that a decision was expected to come as soon as Wednesday night.

Wednesday night is, for now, still a legit possibility. But obviously, Fisher has to make up his mind first.

Put yourself in Fisher's shoes, and it's actually easy to see why he would be torn. The Dolphins job represents an opportunity to restore a once-proud franchise to its former glory, and the Rams job allows him the opportunity to take over a team centered around a potential superstar quarterback in Sam Bradford.

At the same time, Fisher has to know as well as anyone that both teams need a lot of work. The question, I presume, is which team he thinks is worth the effort.

One thing we know for sure is that Fisher is going to be handsomely compensated no matter which team he chooses. As Albert Breer of the NFL Network put it, there are some "crazy numbers" floating around out there attached to Fisher's name.

Of course, there are also some bold comparisons out there as well. Some people are already starting to go so far as to call Fisher the new Brett Favre. That's just what we need.

No matter when it comes, a decision is coming, folks. Fisher may be torn, but he's not about to walk away from this process empty-handed.

The St. Louis Rams are doing their due diligence in moving forward in their head coaching search in the event that Jeff Fisher ultimately chooses to take over the Miami Dolphins rather than the Rams.  

Multiple reports, including this one from the Miami Herald, suggest he is likely to make his choice today, although a decision could certainly be delayed.

The Rams will push forward in search of what will be the eighth head coach for the organization in St. Louis.  

St. Louis already interviewed defensive coordinator Ray Horton of the Arizona Cardinals, and he could return for a second interview after initially impressing the Rams.

Others to be interviewed include Rod Chudzinski, the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, who is rightly credited with the quick development of rookie phenom Cam Newton, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and, finally, according to a tweet from Jay Glazer, New Orleans Saints offensive line coach and running game coordinator Aaron Kromer.  

The Rams had requested an interview with offensive coordinator Jay Gruden of the Cincinnati Bengals, however, he has decided not to interview with any teams, choosing to hold tight with the Bengals.

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.