Jeff Fisher

According to a report from Mike Freeman of cbsports.com, Jeff Fisher is 95 percent certain he will coach the St. Louis Rams in 2012.

The report does suggests that Miami's wallet and the wallet of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross could be the only hindrance remaining for Fisher to sign with St. Louis and lead Sam Bradford and the St. Louis franchise going forward.

We should know his decision within 24 to 48 hours, according to Jay Glazer, who himself expects Fisher to land with the Rams.

Fisher has been deliberating between the Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams for several days now.

He was scheduled to meet with St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford earlier today as well as members of the St. Louis front office.

According to another tweet from Tony Softli, two coaches from former head coach Steve Spagnuolo's staff have arrived at Rams Park. If so, Fisher could be very close to indeed landing with St. Louis. 

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.   

Jeff Fisher went to St. Louis today for a second meeting with the St. Louis Rams front office and is meeting with Sam Bradford, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

That's good news for Rams fans. And it would be a wise move for Jeff Fisher.

Sure, the other team said to have serious interest in Fisher—the Miami Dolphins—had a better season this year and probably have a stronger roster.

But the Rams have something the Dolphins lack—a young franchise quarterback.

Franchise quarterbacks don't exactly grow on trees and they generally make the jobs of head coaches a lot easier. While Bradford hasn't looked like a stud just yet, the potential is certainly there.

Thus, Fisher's main job would be putting a team around Bradford that would allow the young quarterback to thrive. That's a better place to start than trying to decide who your franchise quarterback is, or whether you even have one.

And Fisher has the tools in place to begin surrounding Bradford with talent. The Rams have the second overall pick in this year's draft, a slot that could net them a bounty in a trade if a team like the Washington Redskins decides they need Robert Griffin III and aren't willing to chance him falling to them when they pick with the sixth overall selection.

But even if the Rams keep the pick, they'll have options that should instantly improve their team.

They could choose to protect Bradford by selecting offensive tackle Matt Kalil of USC. They could give Bradford a much-needed stud wide receiver in Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon or South Carolina's Alshon Jeffery.

Heck, they could even decide to improve the defense and select stud cornerback Morris Claiborne out of LSU.

The point is, Fisher will have a young team, salary cap flexibility and some valuable assets to slowly build back toward playoff contention. The expectations for an immediate turn-around will be lower than in Miami, which showed promise finishing 6-10 despite starting 0-7.

Jeff Fisher will have an opportunity to mold a young group based on his philosophy. After departing Tennessee in the wake of a highly publicized dispute with Vince Young, the opportunity to reestablish his coaching structure on a young team less likely to resist his methods might be the most appealing thing of all.

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

Somebody inside the St. Louis Rams organization would have to insult Jeff Fisher’s mother for him not to sign there now.  Despite the Miami Dolphins' hard push for the former Tennessee Titans head coach, Fisher looks deadset on joining the Rams.  And after all, comparing the circumstances the two franchises are in, he should choose the Midwest over South Beach.

Jay Glazer tweeted this dagger into the hearts of Dolphins fans today:

Fisher made the right decision. 

Sure, it would’ve been nice to live in Miami and have your nickname, Fish, match your team’s nickname, Dolphins. Yeah, I know they’re technically mammals, but still, that’s awesome.  Going to a team that already possesses a franchise quarterback along with the second-overall pick, though, beats living on a beach and the whole Fish-Dolphins thing.

Bradford is a QB that nearly led his team to the playoffs as a rookie with absolutely no talent at wide receiver.  Replace the revolving door in front of him with something more resistant and he’ll be fine.  With that second-overall pick, St. Louis can select one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the last decade in Matt Kalil.

Miami has the ninth overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.  They aren’t winning any playoff games with Matt Moore under center.  With Matt Barkley and Landry Jones headed back to school, in order for the Dolphins to find a quarterback, they’d either have to trade up for Robert Griffin III or roll the dice on Ryan Tannehill; that isn’t exactly an attractive situation.

On top of that, Miami is stuck in the same division with the New England Patriots.  Fisher knows all too well the difficulties of being forced to face off against an elite quarterback at least two times a year.  Who knows how many division titles the Titans would’ve won if it weren’t for Peyton Manning.

Instead of being forced to game plan for Tom Brady, he gets the luxury of playing against Alex Smith, Kevin Kolb and Tarvaris Jackson—or whoever ends up being the Seattle Seahawks quarterback.  This decision really was a no-brainer.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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According to a tweet from former St. Louis Rams executive Tony Softli of 101sports.com and tonysolftli.com, the prospective St. Louis Rams head coach will meet with quarterback Sam Bradford today at the Russell Training Center, better known as Rams Park.

Fisher is reportedly still deciding if he will choose the St. Louis or Miami Dolphins head coaching job.

According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fisher had a great meeting with Rams owner Stan Kronke in discussions regarding football-related issues, as well as personal interest matters, including a mutual affinity towards the state of Montana.

It has been reported that St. Louis has received permission to speak with two Tennessee Titans executives, Lake Dawson and Ruston Webster, presumably for the vacant general manager position.  

Furthermore, Will Carroll of SI.com reports via twitter that Lake Dawson to the Rams sounds like it is very close.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter , Fisher is expected to decide this week whether to coach under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis or near South Beach in Miami.  

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.   

The St. Louis Rams have been frantically pursuing the services of former Titans coach Jeff Fisher to fill the team's head coaching vacancy that was created with the firing of Steve Spagnuolo. 

The Rams have been battling head-to-head with the Miami Dolphins in an attempt to win over Fisher's heart, which could ultimately result in a significant boost for either franchise, as both teams have been experiencing a strong losing culture as of late.

The Rams currently remain the favorites in the race, but things are still too close to reach any definite conclusions.

Or, are the Rams leading more than we thought?

The Dolphins surely impressed Fisher with a helicopter ride over the city of Miami, but Rams owner Stan Kroenke took a more subtle approach, inviting Fisher to visit him in Denver for an interview.

That's right, the interview was not conducted in the city of St. Louis, but rather in Colorado where Kroenke is likely residing for the time being, as he is also the owner of the NBA's Denver Nuggets.

So why is that interesting? 

Despite already interviewing for the job in Denver, it's confirmed that Fisher is heading to St. Louis for a visit.

According the the source, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the nature of the trip has not been made public.

However, it's certainly not for an interview, since that process has already been completed.

It's likely that the only intention of the trip is to give Fisher a chance to visit the city of St. Louis, as it would potentially be his new home.

But with only two teams strongly pursuing Fisher, it's possible that he's already made up his mind, despite the fact that he's considered to still be weighing his options.

Another strong possibility, especially when considering that the Rams are the supposed favorites, is that Fisher will be coming to town to make an announcement at Rams Park. 

Perhaps, that announcement will consist of Fisher declaring himself the new head coach of the St. Louis Rams in front of the media. 

If Fisher leaves St. Louis and nothing is official, then it's likely that Fisher is in fact completely undecided on the decision. 

The Rams' pursuit of Jeff Fisher continues, with various media outlets reporting that Fisher will visit the Rams' suburban football complex on Sunday (you can read about it here and here).

It appears that Fisher's initial interview with owner Stan Kroenke, held in Denver, was productive enough for Fisher to at least want to take a closer look at the Rams' job.

Fisher, who is being courted by the Rams and the Miami Dolphins, is still undecided about which job to take. Several league sources say he is leaning towards the Rams, despite the fact that Dolphins' owner Stephen Ross has stated that he will not be outbid for Fisher.

The Rams are also searching for a new GM, and it appears they are trying to use that angle to lure Fisher to St. Louis. The Rams have interviewed Lake Dawson, who served as the Tennessee Titans' vice president of football operations last season.

Dawson worked the previous four seasons as the Titans' director of pro scouting, and it would appear that he would be a GM that Fisher would approve of in St. Louis.

If the Rams could get Fisher and Dawson to commit, that would allow them to focus on what to do with the upcoming NFL Draft, where the Rams hold the No. 2 overall pick. The Rams should be in position to add an impact player or trade back to acquire more picks.

Either way, the Rams are a team the rest of the NFL views as a team on the rise.

Jeff Fisher has narrowed his coaching decision down to two teams: the Miami Dolphins and the St. Louis Rams. Fisher was impressed with both teams and isn't counting either of them out. 

He has not yet decided on which team he wants to coach for, but Howard Balzer of 101Sports.com reports that rumors show he might be headed to St. Louis.

Fisher will make his decision within the next week or so based on the qualities that he wants in an NFL team. Many people believe that he will choose to be with the Rams because they have a franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford, whereas the Dolphins are unaware of who their long-term QB might be. 

Some 'Fins fans might be disappointed if Fisher does intend to go to St. Louis, while most others will be relieved.

Miami is not his place.

Fisher is a defensive-minded, run-first coach, and Miami needs the exact opposite. Mike Nolan has turned the Dolphins into a top defense. The real issue on this team is that Miami lacks an elite offense. 

Fisher went to the playoffs only six times in his 16-season career, and went to the Super Bowl once, coming up short. 

Don't get me wrong, Fisher has had a reasonable coaching career, but I do not think he has anything left to offer. Stephen Ross might want that big-name coach to boost his sales, but this is not the way to do it.  

Find a great coach, and produce a winning team. That is how you boost sales, Mr. Ross—not by hiring a rusty celebrity coach.

Jeff Ireland and Stephen Ross must find the right guy for the job. Ross did say in his press conference after the firing of Sparano that he wanted to find a young Don Shula.

Why not bring in Rob Chudzinski and Mike Shula from the Panthers?  

The fact of the matter is that nobody knows what goes on inside of Stephen Ross' head. Let's just hope that he might make the right move this time around.

NFL Network's Jason La Canfora believes that Jeff Fisher will be the head coach of the St. Louis Rams by Monday, and potentially as early as this weekend.

As stated on the NFL Network's NFL Total Access, La Canfora stated:

I don't see this taking very long at all, talking with people close to the situation.  There's an expectation it could be wrapped up by the weekend or Monday perhaps, and really I think it's the St. Louis Rams... I still think ultimately it's St. Louis.

He also stated that some with the Rams coaching search feel that former St. Louis head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who orchestrated the historically prolific "Greatest Show on Turf" and played a major role in the most exciting and successful football in St. Louis history, is a potential option at offensive coordinator:

It's going to be an open search.  I can tell you there's some people involved in that coaching search who feel that Mike Martz might make some sense there.  He's been in St. Louis before... He's a big name there.

The St. Louis Rams are utilizing Hall of Fame inductee Marshall Faulk and former head coach Dick Vermeil as consultants in the coaching search.  

With that said, it would be possible, considering both flourished with Martz, that Faulk and/or Vermeil may well be among "some people involved in the coaching search who feel that Mike Martz might make some sense there." 

It was Martz, ironically, who helped lead the Rams to a win over Fisher's Tennessee Titans in 2000 while serving as the Rams' offensive coordinator under then head coach Dick Vermeil.  

Fisher and Martz are very familiar with one another, as the two shared joint training camp practices in the summer of 2000 during Martz' run as the St. Louis Rams head coach.  

As for Fisher, he went 141-115 in 16 full seasons as head coach with the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans and 142-120 overall, counting the six games he closed out the season coaching the Oilers in 1994.  

Fisher took his team to the playoffs on six occasions, going 5-6 in postseason play.  In 2000, he took Tennessee to the Super Bowl before falling to St. Louis.  

St. Louis' own Dan Dierdorf believes that adding Fisher would be an outstanding move for the Rams, saying:

I think it would be a major coup for the Rams to land Fisher.  As down as the Rams' franchise has been, getting Jeff Fisher would make it clear that the Rams are serious about winning.

Tell me how many times Fisher had the most talented roster.  The answer: He didn't.  What people may fail to realize is that some of those teams should have gone 5-11 or 6-10. Fisher coached his tail off just to get them to 8-8.

In Houston and Tennessee, Fisher worked for an owner that has been labeled as "cheap."  Furthermore, Fisher led his teams to the seventh-best winning percentage in the NFL during his tenure and the fifth-highest win total in the league between 1999 and 2008.  

It's also important to note that Fisher did battle in a pretty strong division, that included Peyton Manning in his prime, during his run with the organization.  

As for the Rams organization, St. Louis fans have endured abysmal football since Martz left St. Louis, coincidentally or not.  

Many give him immense credit for the mostly successful run that St. Louis put together between 1999 and 2004, when the Rams went 66-35 before Martz was fired following the 2005 season.  

Since his departure, the Rams have gone 23-73 since 2006 and, in doing so, set an undesirable NFL record for worst winning percentage in NFL history over a five-season period (2007-2011), going 15-65.  

To put it into perspective, the Green Bay Packers won as many games this year, 15, as the Rams have in the last five combined.  

Martz, however, is a somewhat controversial figure in St. Louis and not all look back at the Martz era as fondly as most do. 

Some blame him at least in part for the fall of the franchise, believing that his participation and input in several poor NFL drafts, among other things, contributed to the consistently horrendous stretch of football that has been on display since he left town.

However, the organization as a whole was in some state of dysfunction during his time there, and the roots of the Rams' problems began in the front office, not with Mike Martz.  There were certainly plenty of issues to go around beginning with Jay Zygmunt and Charles Armey. 

That is not to say that he did not make mistakes, because he did.  

However, he also did a lot correctly.  His record in St. Louis speaks for itself.

He was an integral part of two Super Bowl appearances, and with Martz in the organization, St. Louis went to the playoffs five times in six years (1999-2004).  

As head coach, the Rams won the NFC West three times in his five full seasons at the helm. 

If Fisher indeed ends up with the Rams, it will ultimately be up to him if Martz returns to St. Louis.

I will not endorse a theoretical Martz reunion, nor will I warn against it.  However, one thing is certain: The buzz would no doubt be back with "Mad" Mike once again under the roof of the Edward Jones Dome, the place where he led what many still consider to be the greatest three years of offense, 1999-2001, in NFL history. 

With the fiery, defensive-minded Fisher leading the team and the eccentric Martz running the offense, another thing is sure: If nothing else, the days of boring Sunday afternoons in the Edward Jones Dome would abruptly end.  

Perhaps in time, Fisher would be able to build around Chris Long, James Laurinaitis and Robert Quinn and field an elite defense.  

Perhaps Martz could help Sam Bradford become the franchise quarterback the Rams hope and believe he can be and produce similar numbers as Kurt Warner.  Or, perhaps, he could get Bradford killed. 

In the end, whether you love or hate the idea of a Fisher-Martz tandem, you must admit, it would be anything but dull. 

That in and of itself would be an improvement in St. Louis.  

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.   

 

ESPN's BottomLine is filled with minute-by-minute updates on the travels of Tennessee Titans former head coach Jeff Fisher. Apparently, lots of teams want him, but what they don't realize is that he's the most overrated coach of all time.

The Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams would be better served to either gamble on a young coach or hire an even bigger name like Bill Cowher (less overrated than Fisher). I do, however, think the San Diego Chargers should've fired the sub-.500 Norv Turner for Fisher. That tells you what I think of Turner.

But why is Fisher so overrated? Let me count the ways...

For His Drafting

First-round picks are the way you build championship teams.

The Indianapolis Colts formed their base with Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Dwight Freeney, all first-rounders. The Houston Texans have Andre Johnson and Mario Williams.

The Titans? Albert Haynesworth, Pacman Jones and Vince Young. Not only did two of those three not pan out, none of the three are even in Tennessee anymore.

Still, history says that Fisher's first-round picks have around a 50 percent chance of contributing, which isn't terrible. Derrick Morgan looks OK if he can stay healthy, and Chris Johnson is great. But what about those important late-round picks?

Where did Roydell Williams go? Chris Henry, Ben Troupe and Calvin Lowry have nice names but are MIA. The Titans are comprised of free agents and rookies for a reason, folks.

For His Regular Seasons

Lovingly nicknamed "Field Goal Fisher," he made a 16-year living by playing a few great teams close and every single terrible team even closer. The idea was to get a 3-0 lead, and then run out the clock with two-and-a-half-yard runs for the remaining three quarters.

If you want to have to play perfect defense, play for Jeff Fisher.

What that did was require mistake-free football, which is virtually impossible. When the New Orleans Saints throw an interception, it's not good, but it's not a gut-wrenching and game-ending mistake. It happens.

Teams that score more are allowed more room for error. I recall thinking that an untimely incompletion was a game-ender for Tennessee. That's insane.

You might say, "But Daniel! It worked for him and the Titans! Just look at his record!" You'd be very wrong if you did.

In 16 full seasons with the Titans/Oilers, Fisher had six winning seasons. That means that only 38 percent of his seasons ended with more wins than losses.

Herm Edwards' winning-season percentage is 50, four winning seasons out of eight. Denny Green's is 62 percent at eight out of 13. Brian Billick's is 56 percent at five out of nine.

And yet, Fisher is the hottest free-agent coach out there? Laughable!

For His Postseasons

Except for one magical run through the 2000 playoffs, Jeff Fisher's playoff record is 2-5. With the 2000 AFC Championship season, it's boosted to a still sub-.500 5-6.

Fisher has taken the top AFC seed to the playoffs twice, and the result was two first-round exits at home. Are you kidding? You can't win one game at home with the conference's best team?

I wish I had more to write on here, but with only five postseason trips out of 16 seasons, that wraps it up.

Oh Jeff...

Somehow this guy has convinced the powers that be that he's a premier NFL head coach.

At least you know better now. You have evidence for the debate that will ensue once Fisher gets hired in Miami or St. Louis to convince your friends at work that he is, in fact, bad.

You know that Jeff Fisher, a kind and decent man, is an average coach and the most overrated in league history.

Jeff Fisher is certainly in high demand. He is the belle of the ball, the apple of every NFL owner's eye and "the hot coach" right now. The smart money says that Fisher will wind up in St. Louis. He is at the top of the Rams' wish list, and you know what they say about that...

Be careful what you wish for. Because upon further review, the question has to be asked, Is Jeff Fisher really an elite football coach?

Fisher coached the Titans/Oilers from 1994 to 2010. That is a very long time for an NFL head coach to stay with one franchise. After going 1-5 as the interim coach in 1994, Fisher was named the head coach going into the 1995 season. He promptly led the Houston Oilers—that's right, Fisher was coaching Houston/Tennessee for that long—to a 7-9 record.

And that 7-9 record pretty much sums up Fisher's time as the Oilers/Titans coach. His teams were, for the most part, pretty average.

Over the next three seasons ('96 to '98), the Oilers/Titans finished 8-8 every year. They never made the playoffs. So if we throw the 1-5 interim record out the window, Fisher was 31-33 as a head coach through his first four seasons, and he could not get the Oilers/Titans into the playoffs.

Does that sound elite to you?

Most NFL owners would have fired Fisher at the point, but the Titans are owned by Bud Adams, and he isn't most NFL owners. Adams has a reputation for being..."thrifty," shall we call it? Put it this way, residents of Houston are still paying off the taxpayer-funded renovations to the Houston Astrodome that Adams asked for back in 1987.

So Adams, being a tight-fisted owner, and taking into consideration that Fisher had coached the team from Houston to Liberty Bowl Stadium to Nashville, held onto Fisher.

That's when a miracle happened. Literally.

The 1999 season was Fisher's best year as a head coach, with the team going 13-3, and earning the right to host a playoff game. However, as would be the case throughout his career, Fisher didn't take advantage of a great regular season, and the Titans trailed the Buffalo Bills late in the contest.

Of course, we know how it ended, with the special teams play appropriately dubbed "The Music City Miracle." The Titans won, and followed that up by advancing all the way to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the St. Louis Rams in a thrilling game.

Fisher had good seasons after that. Just take a look...

- 2000 - 13-3, lost a first-round home playoff game
- 2002 - 11-5, lost to Oakland in the AFC Championship Game
- 2003 - 12-4, lost at New England in a second round playoff game
- 2007 - 10-6, lost a first-round road playoff game
- 2008 - 13-3, lost a first-round home playoff game

Trust me, a lot of NFL fans, and especially Rams fans, would kill to go 11-5 and make the playoffs. But with Fisher, he never capitalized on any of these good seasons, and it's all the mediocre seasons that define Fisher's career and his "Fisherball" philosophy.

Just see for yourself...

- 2001 - 7-9, missed the playoffs
- 2004 - 5-11, missed the playoffs
- 2005 - 4-12, missed the playoffs
- 2006 - 8-8, missed the playoffs
- 2009 - 8-8, missed the playoffs
- 2010 - 6-10, missed the playoffs.

So if you add that up, during the last seven seasons Fisher coached the Titans, they only made the playoffs twice, and they never won a playoff game. Would this ever be allowed to happen if he were coaching in New York, Philadelphia or Dallas?

Throw out the 1-5 interim record, and Fisher has a career record of 141-115 (.551 winning percentage). That's a respectable record, especially when you consider that Fisher coached one good QB (Steve McNair), one average QB (Kerry Collins) and one head case QB (Vince Young). It also has to be noted that Fisher was working under tough conditions, moving from Houston to Tennessee, all while working for a very "frugal" owner.

But isn't it about winning in the NFL? Isn't that why the Rams and the Dolphins are courting Fisher in the first place, because Steve Spagnulo and Tony Sparano weren't getting it done? Don't we have to talk about Fisher's playoff record here?

Fisher is 5-6 during his career in the playoffs. If we throw out "The Music City Miracle," then that Super Bowl run would have never happened, and Fisher would be 2-6 in the playoffs. He would be the owner of four first-round "one-and-dones," with three of those being home losses where his team was favored.

So is Fisher really an elite coach?

I think the answer is no. So why are NFL owners falling over each other to hire him? The short answer is the real "big-name coaches" are sitting out this hiring season. If Bill Cowher and/or Jon Gruden had thrown their hat in the ring, then Fisher would probably be third in line for most head coaching jobs.

That's not to say Fisher is a bad coach, not at all. He's never had a really bad season. Fisher is a "low ceiling, high floor" football coach. If you hire him, your team won't suck, but they probably won't be great either.

If you hire Jeff Fisher, your team will be very, very average, and if you are a Rams fan, average would be a welcomed improvement, right?