Jeff Fisher

"The future isn’t exactly set in stone for Titans coach Jeff Fisher. But then again, when are things ever certain in the NFL coaching ranks?

Could the league’s longest tenured coach be on his way out of Tennessee? 

There are a couple indicators that say it’s a strong possibility.

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen leaked information that Titans' owner Bud Adams may have breached Fisher’s contract by demanding that Vince Young be the starter in Tennessee.

If true, then Fisher could use this to leverage for a new deal with the Titans. On the other hand, Fisher may want a fresh start with a new team and new ownership."

That's just how brilliant I am when it comes to NFL insight.

That piece was written a year ago, and now Fisher—the longest tenured coach in the league—has officially parted ways with the Tennessee Titans, sending shockwaves throughout the league.

Where will Fisher go next, and who will be overpaying for his services? And how bad does this make owner Bud Adams look? Didn't these two guys have a deal to stay together and let Vince Young walk?

Fisher has been with the organization since 1994. He has done it all and seen it all from the Tennessee Titans' sideline, from conference titles to a Super Bowl appearance in 2000. Fisher has been the driving force in Tennessee, guiding this franchise through almost everything—except a Super Bowl victory (although he has a ring from his playing days with the '85 Bears).

Obviously, the future is still bright for Fisher, but with no head coaching openings in 2011, it's easy to speculate that the defensive-minded coach will go into television and become an analyst for one of the networks.

I have no problem with that. Fisher's insight from his leadership role on the NFL Competition Committee is above reproach, and his analysis as an X's and O's guy would provide a fresh take.

Why the two parties agreed to go in different directions is unclear at this point. Young is not coming back, as the franchise will apparently release him as soon as Feb. 7. Suddenly, the Titans look a whole lot worse, and a 4-12 season could be right around the corner.

Will offensive line coach Mike Munchak or offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger be the next Titans coach? That seems to be the plan.

Fisher did ask for his son to be hired as a quality control coach, but Adams said "no" to that, which leaves us to believe Fisher finally had had enough.

If the veteran coach sits out the 2011 season—assuming labor issues are resolved—there could be as many as 10 openings in 2012, and Fisher will be at the top of the list. Houston and Miami have both flirted with the idea of making a coaching change, which leads me to believe they would be calling for Fishers' services as soon as possible.

Well, Titans fans, it finally, horribly, inevitably happened.

After years of not-so-private back and forth struggles between the owner's suite and the coach's office, Jeff Fisher, the longest-tenured coach in franchise history, has been shown the door.

In opening the press conference, Coach Fisher reminded us of November 11, 1994, when he was "summoned" to Bud Adams' office prior to a game against the Cincinnati Bengals and informed that he was the new head coach of the then-Houston Oilers.

"It is hard for me to imagine that 17 years later, it has come to this. I really at that point could never imagine doing this as long as I have done it," said Fisher.

"I have no regrets," Coach Fisher said while reminiscing over his past 17 years with the organization, including 15 full seasons as the head coach.

Coach Fisher refused to go into specifics regarding his departure, mentioning only that "there were some differences" of opinion, particularly over the last two years.

"I need some time; I need a break," he stated, referencing his 25 years as a coach in the NFL.

"It's time to move on."

Fisher is part of a small group of coaches in NFL history who spent 15 or more consecutive years with the same team. Don Shula (Miami Dolphins 1970-1995), Hank Stram (Kansas City Chiefs, 1960-1974), Steve Owen (New York Giants, 1931-1953), Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher (Pittsburgh Steelers, 1969-1991 and 1992-2006, respectively), Tom Landry (1960-1987) and Bud Grant (1967-1983) all led their teams through 15 or more seasons as the head coach.

Coach Fisher's record of 142-120 in the regular season and 5-6 in the postseason ranks him as one of the top coaches in franchise history, rivaled only by Bum Phillips.

More importantly, he was the only head coach in franchise history to lead the team to the Super Bowl, which they lost to the St. Louis Rams on a last-second tackle at the 1-yard line.

"I haven't thought about my future," he stated when asked what his plans were to continue coaching in the NFL.

"There's a lot of emotions involved," he stated, again referencing that he is "tired" and "needs to rest." He added, "I'm going to take time."

"In closing," Fisher said abruptly, possibly tiring of repeated questions as to what happened to predicate the move—as if most people didn't already know—and possibly wishing to leave the interview before emotions got the better of him, "I want to thank Steve (Underwood) and Mike (Reinfeldt), Mr. Adams once again, Robby, coaches, everyone in this organization, including all of you (referencing the crowd of reporters in attendance), for just a tremendous experience over the last 17 years.

"Thank you."

Coach Fisher's departure leaves open the question of how the organization will move forward. As owner Bud Adams said earlier in the press conference via voice conference, "organizations and coaches almost always reach a point when it is time to change, and this is where we are.

"This isn't personal. It's just time for a change. And I believe that both the team and Jeff will benefit from this move."

As he walked away, one final question was fired from the crowd: "What do you think football historians will have to say about your tenure, Jeff?"

Ever humble, Coach Fisher paused momentarily, smiled and said, "You'll have to speak with the historians."

And with a wave, he walked from Baptist Sports Park for the last time.

Something tells me that the historians will be kind.

Good luck, Coach; you will be missed.

It appeared to be one of the Miracles of the 2010 NFL Season.  No, I’m not talking about the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks winning a division title and hosting a playoff game.

And no, it’s not Michael Vick, a modern day gridiron Lazarus leading the Philadelphia Eagles into the playoffs.

For three weeks, Tennessee Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher, with more than an assist from General Manager Mike Reinfeldt, was somehow able to convince Titans longtime owner Bud Adams that in spite of a 6-10 season record, and a team that imploded after a 5-2 start, that retaining Fisher and releasing Houston favorite son QB Vince Young was the fastest way back to a Super Bowl, a destination the Titans have failed to reach since the turn of the century. 

Yes this is the same enigmatic Vince Young, 2006 NFL Rookie of the Year, the franchise QB leader in career winning percentage (minimum 40 starts with apologies to Warren Moon, and Steve McNair) that over his five year stint with the Titans could be credited with salvaging two seasons and perhaps Jeff Fisher’s job after some horrendous starts.

That Vince Young would not be back was not entirely surprising in light of the season ending off field developments.  However that Jeff Fisher was being retained …well somewhere, Floyd Reese must have been scratching his head.  

Forget Ryan and the Jets! Where was HBO when this football dramatic comedy unfolded? To be sure the season finale was predictable.

When an injured and frustrated Vince Young exploded in the Titan locker room in the aftermath of the Washington game it gave Team Fisher the OFF THE FIELD screen game it needed to rid themselves of a QB they never wanted or grew tired of and at the same time buy the media savvy coach one and possibly several more seasons with this team. 

That smoke screen, in contrast to the Titans ON THE FIELD screen game, worked to perfection for Team Fisher.

GM Mike Reinfeldt was clearly in Fisher’s corner.  And why wouldn’t he be? Once Fisher by some reports expedited the departure of Former GM Floyd Reese and secured the position as the guy in charge of player/personnel issues, Reinfeldt, a finance guy whose strong suit is not the player personnel arena, was brought in to “work with” Jeff Fisher.

Firing Fisher would have meant that Adams would have to hire a GM/Director of Personnel AND coach, OR hire a Head Coach who would have the same broad discretionary powers that Fisher was granted.

Most of those guys in the latter category are sitting in front of network television prompters on Sundays and Monday nights. And they don’t come cheap. 

On the other hand, with Fisher having only one year left on his contract and the impending possible CBA debacle, it appeared that Adams had decided to hold his hand for at least one more year on the Fisher issue.

It was no wonder that Bud Adams very adroitly announced that he was reviewing both issues separately.

There was nothing to be gained in an already polarizing situation by saying he is choosing between a coach who has not won a playoff game since the 2003 season and a winning QB who at the same time can be his own worst enemy. 

Few will come to the defense of a player who embarrasses his head coach in the way that Young did even if some of the reasons for his frustration may be valid. This was the trump card that Fisher held and he played it to perfection.   

The Vince Young issue was very personal to Jeff Fisher. He wanted Young out, and he was willing to expend whatever political capital necessary to achieve that end.

However smoke screens are extremely vulnerable to changing wind currents. Once the Young issue was resolved, Fisher’s record and the future of the team became the focus. That’s not good if you’re a coach in Fisher’s situation.

The last thing that Fisher wanted was a forensic analysis of his recent coaching performance.  There are not enough specimen slides in the CSI and NCIS laboratories combined to document the pathology.  

The stark truth is that one does not need a microscope to diagnose the many maladies afflicting this team under his recent stewardship.

Five-game losing streaks in five of the last seven seasons, an undisciplined team that has climbed the NFL leader boards in penalties, curious personnel decisions such as the firing of running backs coach Ernest Byner after two record setting seasons by Titan runners, Randy Moss (enough said), and a defense, a purported strong suit of Fisher's, that has undergone a titanic collapse (pun intended) over the past two seasons.   

The Titans have failed to win a playoff game during a time span in which 65% of the league has accomplished that feat. 

In the age of instant media and the information superhighway, Fisher’s coaching record has probably been googled more often than Jenn Sterger over the past four weeks.

“Flush the Fish”,  “Fry the Fish”,  “the Floundering Fish” , Coacho Ocho Ocho, were all remarks on Titan internet chat boards attributed to the coach who was mockingly and at the same time affectionately known as Field Goal Fisher for his conservative ( to be polite) offensive philosophy for most of his tenure in Nashville. 

Titan fans came to realize that a more aggressive varied offense is seen in two scenarios…when the defense is so poor that there is virtually no chance to win without attempting to actually score touchdowns (circa 2004) or when the season is virtually over with no chance to make the playoffs.

Was that Damien Williams running that “gimmicky” wildcat against the Colts in the last game of the season?

In spite of all of the above it appeared that Fisher was on his way back. That is until the other shoe dropped.  The season finale to Tennessee Titan Survivor was just beginning.

Over the past two weeks, highly regarded long time defensive line coach Jim Wasburn turned in his headset to fly with the Eagles in Philadelphia. Quarterbacks coach turned running backs coach Craig Johnson sailed north to Viking land.

It became apparent that Wasburn and others, including veteran players, were not happy with the way the defense was being handled by defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil.

And Johnson, who had groomed former Titan great Steve McNair and was largely responsible for Vince Young’ s recent progress on the field, was not entirely happy to relinquish his position last year to a guy that had never held a QB coaching position.

It would appear that the straw that broke the camel’s back however was Fisher’s staunch resistance to replacing Chuck Cecil as defensive coordinator, a move he ultimately had to make, and reports that he wanted to hire his son Brandon as a Special Assistant to the team against Adam’s wishes and hiring policies.

It also recently came to light that Fisher had awarded his friend, Chuck Cecil , a guy who was clearly on the hot seat, with a golden parachute one-year contract extension in December.

It is not clear whether that closely kept decision was ever made known to Titan upper management, including Bud Adams.

And so yes, a 17-year coach whose team has managed only six playoff appearances in a league known for parity, and whose crowning achievement was an exciting but failed Super Bowl appearance made possible by a great special teams play, seemed poised to return again with promises of bringing elusive glory to a starved franchise and fan base.

This time, however, there were just too many flags on the field.

Jeff Fisher, who has been the head coach of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans for as long as the Panthers and Jaguars have been in the league, is out after 16 years and moderate success.

Fisher held an enormous amount of respect from fellow coaches, critics, and players (minus Vince Young), and for a decent stretch, boasted a squad with a top-five defense. Still though, Fisher went to only one Super Bowl with Tennessee, which it lost. It's fair to say he fell "one yard short." 

Fisher's firing was still shocking to many, as he was not considered one of the coaches who was the problem with their team. When is it reasonable to make this distinction though? How can we really tell if the coach is failing the team or the coach just has nothing to work with? There are a few factors...

One of these is wasted potential. Look at the starting lineup on paper and take note of how many of these players are Pro Bowlers, how many of these guys were top draft picks, and how many of these guys are under 32. If there are a lot of players who fit that criteria, perhaps the coach is to blame.

Case in point would be the Houston Texans. Matt Schaub, Arian Foster, and Andre Johnson should be a top-three offense. Brian Cushing and Mario Williams are top defensive players. Kareem Jackson and Glover Quin are talented young cornerbacks, yet all of these aforementioned players combined to lead the Texans to a 6-10 record. 

Hence, Gary Kubiak is a bad coach with a good team. 

Now look at Tom Cable. The Raiders, with a rotating quarterback tandem of Bruce Gradkowski and Jason Campbell (neither very impressive) went 8-8 and had their first non-losing season since their 2002-03 Super Bowl season.

To add to their props, they swept their division! Darren McFadden was a star running back for them, but besides that, the Raiders boast no players of notoriety besides cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. This is a prime example of a young team playing well as a unit and, no doubt, becoming a better team. 

Hence, Tom Cable was a good coach with an "up and coming" team.

Now the strange part. Gary Kubiak has a job, and Tom Cable was fired. Of course, Al Davis is wack-job, but this really leads one to wonder why some coaches are viewed as the problem and why some are not.

At the end of the day, a coach is only as good as what he has to work with. The coaches who take what they have to work with and turn it into something more are great coaches. Before coaches are viewed as scapegoats, one should ask if they even CAN be anything but. 

Other Coaches Who Are Wasting Their Teams Potential:

• Tom Coughlin (Giants)
• Andy Reid (Eagles)
• Jack del Rio (Jaguars)
• Whoever the 49ers have hired in the past seven years

Other Coaches Who Are Growing With Their Improving Teams:

• Steve Spagnuolo (Rams)
• Chan Gailey (Bills)
• Jason Garrett (Cowboys)

Nothing has been conventional about the Miami Dolphins' offseason.

Now it's time to continue the unconventional behavior and go get Jeff Fisher to be the Dolphins' head coach.

The likelihood of that happening is very slim, unfortunately (thus why I titled this article "South Beach Dreams").

However, if there is even a remote chance that the Dolphins could pull this move off, then they should.

With the way Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has behaved towards Tony Sparano this offseason, there is a good chance Jeff Fisher would in no way want to work for Ross.

However, Fisher is coming off of a bad relationship with Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams. Adams was very hands-on in telling Fisher who to start at QB. Fisher may like working for an owner in Ross who is completely hands-off in football decisions.

Then some would argue that Fisher is an overrated coach.

Fisher has been the head coach of the Titans for 16 seasons (plus six games in 1994 as interim coach). He did make the playoffs in six of those seasons, but never won a Super Bowl (lost the one he was in by half a yard).

Unfortunately, in the NFL you are measured by championships, and so some say Fisher cannot be considered an elite coach.

I do not care if you want to consider him elite or not, he is still a MAJOR upgrade over Tony Sparano.

Many Fin fans would agree that this coaching staff that Sparano has assembled is an absolute joke.

Fisher would have to scramble, but even scrambling could put together a much better staff than Sparano has.

The odds are against the Dolphins for this move to happen. However, if Ross wants to keep his word to Fin fans about being more exciting, then he needs to at least give Fisher a call (we all know Ross likes to do this when he has a coach, anyway).

For now, it is all just a depressed and defeated Fins fan's dream.

Jeff Fisher is out as Tennessee Titans head coach after 16-plus seasons.

Fisher was the longest tenured head coach in the NFL, amassing a 142-120 record with the franchise.

His 5-6 playoff record included a trip to Super Bowl XXXIV, where Mike Jones and the St. Louis Rams tackled his best chance for a ring.

Three times he guided his team to 13 wins, and three times they fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion in the playoffs.

But while each of these accomplishments has merit, they leave a lot to be desired.

The Titans drafted quarterback Vince Young in 2006, fresh off his incredible national title game against USC.

The talented rookie quickly showed he belonged, earning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year as well as a selection to that season's Pro Bowl.

Two seasons later, they drafted Chris Johnson, a running back who would break Marshall Faulk's record for total yards from scrimmage in just his second season with 2,509.

Together, these two formed one of the most dynamic duos in the game. Unfortunately, they rarely saw the field at the same time.

With Young battling off the field issues that caused him to miss 26 games from 2008-2010, these two young stars only played together in a possible 23 of 48 games during Fisher's last three seasons.

Young even missed the Titans' lone playoff game during that stretch.

When they did play together in games when Young attempted more than three passes, they went 13-7.

Unfortunately for Fisher, it's the coaches who take the brunt of the blame in professional sports.

Instead, Titans fans are left to ponder what might have been.

After playing in what is still one of the most intriguing bowl games in college history, Vince Young was drafted in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft and received Rookie of the Year honors, as well as the top spot for rushing yards by a rookie QB.

Young lived up to his hype for a while and proved that he was worthy of the Titans’ QB starting position.

Of course, all good things must come to an end; as he was plagued with injury, the young QB experienced some on field and off field controversies that have led to the organization saying sayonara to the former Longhorn.

The shocker is not that they decided to let him go, but that the reason behind letting him go is now on his way out the door himself.

Jeff Fisher will not be continuing his career as the Titans’ head coach and while this could be Young’s “in” back into the franchise, the removal of both would be the greatest thing that has ever happened to Tennessee.

With this past season, college football included, circulating around the importance of the quarterback, it is impossible to think that Young would have survived under the circumstances in Tennessee.

His relationship with Coach Fisher would have been broadcast day in and day out, and every little gesture or glare made by each party would have been blown way out of proportion.

The distraction that this would have dished out to the rest of the team is inevitable and it was better to squash the marriage now than to let him fester and explode with another season.

Young has not always been a perfect candidate for the leadership role either, off field of course, because as much as he attempted to carry his team during the games, his performance was often overshadowed by his legal troubles and possible mental health issues.

Plain and simple: He was starting to be viewed as a crybaby and was becoming as frail as a porcelain doll.

Looking at the elite QBs of the league in comparison to him is like watching the race of the tortoise and the hare. There is no doubt that he will reach his potential and that he is a great athlete, but his emotional stability puts a huge question on his market value. Also, as a QB you must have the support of your teammates, every single last one of them in order to be successful.

While he gained the respect of some, others (such as Bo Scaife), stated their discontent towards his relationship with the Coach Fisher. He did not have the Cutler effect on his teammates, where they rallied around him in the first signs of trouble.

While Jeff Fisher produced many wins for Tennessee, the question then becomes, “Where’s the rings to show for it?”

The purpose of playing professional football is to get paid for doing something you love and ultimately winning a Superbowl. While he shows no falter in his passion for the sport, he has failed to bring those rings to the table.

After so long, it is time to part ways and began new journeys. This allows the Titans to not only bring in a younger and more Raheem Morris-like coach (which they need), but a fresh QB, even one that may need a little seasoning, but with the potential and lack of emotional baggage that Young brought along with him.

Vince Young and Jeff Fisher were like Japanese fighting fish: Put them in the same bowl, and they'll just fight until someone goes down.

In this case, Vince Young was supposed to be the loser. He would be released, and Jeff Fisher would stay. 

But now, Fisher declared he won't return. So does this mean the Titans should keep Young?

They shouldn't. Not. At. All.

Young is talented, that is obvious. But he lacks the discipline, maturity, and emotional restraint to be a good quarterback. I mention emotional restraints due to the fact that he will let fans and off-field issues affect his play. His talent is hindered by his immaturity.

This immaturity was so evident that the formerly longest-tenured coach couldn't raise him, and Fisher was well known for establishing discipline.

The 2009 season seemed to be his renaissance, as he showed poise, calmness and maturity—this was after being on the bench for six games. 

But when he was given the starting job in 2010, he just seemed to collapse under the pressure and expectation. If Young wants to be on an NFL roster again, he needs to grow up on his own.

Fisher's future will be interesting. He is a great coach, disciplinarian and motivator. Getting a coaching job for him would be easy, but we can't guarantee it will be in the NFL.

The Titans have nothing to frown about. They have a great running back, a good receiver corp and a maturing defense. The only thing they need is a new coach. Fisher was great for a while, but over time, things have to change. Fisher's strategy was the same over 10 years, and while other teams grew, his game plan didn't truly adapt to the league.

The new coach will bring a new game plan and a new atmosphere. Basically, the new coach will have the Jason Garrett effect; if the coach was the reason for the problems, he's gone now, so the coach can't be blamed for any shortcomings, only the players. With the extra motivation, the team play will be stepped up.

This is all a theory for the future of the franchise. But I cannot imagine the team having a worse season then this year. I don't expect an 11-5 record, but maybe 8-8.