So with this 0-4 start the grumblings have begun: it is time to fire Jeff Fisher. This is not the cry of the majority of the fanbase, but a significant enough portion to where the conversation is being had. However, I am telling you now, firing Jeff Fisher is a VERY BAD IDEA.
Jeff is still a top 10 coach in this league
We all know about how this season has taken the expectations of Titans fans and the team and crapped all over them. 4 weeks in and the Titans have already lost more games than last year. It is almost excepted wisdom that it is time to bring back Vince Young. Most fans have given up on making the playoffs, they just want to see the Titans avoid total embarrassment at 3-13 (some people even have 0-16 in the back of their heads).
So, who does the fanbase blame when these expectations aren’t met? The coaches. And this year, I believe it is deservedly so. However, that does not mean it is time to end the Jeff Fisher era. You don’t just fire a top 10 coach for one season of unmatched expectations.
The argument against Jeff Fisher is that he has not adapted the scheme to the players on the roster. This is true for the 2009 Tennessee Titans, however he is better over the long run at this than most coaches, even some top coaches.
Every good coach in the league has an identity and a scheme that is associated with him. When the players do not match the scheme, that coach all of a sudden doesn’t look so smart. Mike Holmgren is an offensive coach who runs the West Coast Offense. He needs big receivers who can break tackles and get yards after the catch and a Quarterback who makes quick decisions. Last year he did not have that and the Seattle offense was atrocious. Was that Holmgren’s fault for not molding the scheme after Seneca Wallace and crappy, undersized receivers? I’d say to some extent yes, but you can only do what you can with what you got.
Jeff Fisher believes in ball control offense paired with a defense that rushes the passer with the D-Line only about 80% of the time. That is his calling card. When the players match the scheme, it works. Three 13-3 seasons in his career with 1 Super Bowl appearance and 1 AFC Conference Championship appearance. Outside of this year, the only stretch the Titans were bad since arriving in Nashville were the years that the team was in Salary Cap hell due to the mismanagement of Floyd Reese. Jeff Fisher had little if anything to do with this, and was given players who wouldn’t make most other teams rosters. The team then only took 2 years to build a foundation and recover and to ascend again into the upper echelon of AFC teams. Since 2001, this would be the first year that the Titans did not meet or exceed expectations. Do you really fire somebody for one year in ten of missing expectations?
The danger I see in the NFL are teams who are constantly firing coaches just to fire them. I have always felt that an organization should only fire a coach when there is a candidate who is better. The example I will use is the San Diego Chargers. A few years ago the Chargers under Marty Shottenheimer went 14-2, but then disappointingly lost in the divisional round at home. Sound familiar? Well, the Chargers fired Marty and replaced him with… Norv fucking Turner. How has that worked out? Have they gone on to Super Bowl glory? Has Norv fixed this team? Or did he go 8-8 in the weakest division in the AFC with one of the most talented rosters in the NFL? Oh yeah. He went 8-8.
So I ask you, Titans fan who wants to fire Fisher, who is a candidate to replace Jeff Fisher? Here are the few I have heard:
- Mike Holmgren: No. Just no. For several reasons. 1) Name me a Coach who claimed to be burned out and then came back and was just as good before he left. 2) Holmgren had less success this decade as a whole than the Titans did, so why is he better? One Super Bowl appearance in that decade. Well, Jeff Fisher has that. Oh, and his Super Bowl appearances in the 90s? Come on. Old news, and he lost one game in which his team was drastically favored. To a 36 year old Quarterback. With Brett Favre in his prime. So I say it again. No. Just no.
- Bill Cowher: Out of the league for 3 years now. If the Seahawks win that Super Bowl, which was a distinct possibility until the referees stepped in and ruined it, Bill Cowher IS Jeff Fisher, except he has been sitting on the sideline for 3 years doing nothing. Yeah, that works out well in the ever-changing profession of NFL Head Coach.
- Mike Shanahan: Too old, and his resume since John Elway retired is much, much worse than Jeff Fisher’s over the same amount of time. Give me a break.
The common thing that makes these coaches so attractive to the average fan is one thing: Super Bowl wins. Well, I am about to speak football blasphemy, but I will stand by every word.
Super Bowl wins on a coaching resume are overrated.
They are, and I stand by it. To win a Super Bowl a team needs luck with injuries, luck with who they play, luck with turnovers, a top Quarterback or a big time Hall of Famer in his prime playmaker on Offense or Defense, and the ever elusive “chemistry”. Mike Holmgren won his Super Bowl with one of the best Quarterbacks of all time in his prime. Mike Shanahan won two with John Elway, who I believe is the 3rd best Quarterback of all time, and still needed Terrell Davis on top of it. Bill Cowher needed the officials to gift wrap his Super Bowl. And Jeff Fisher needed Kevin Dyson to break an arm tackle for one more yard and a coin toss to get his. Jeff Fisher was the only one of these three who didn’t get the luck needed when he needed it.
So, moral of this long ass story is firing Jeff Fisher is dumb. Why? Because it’s hard to hire somebody better than someone who is one of the 10 best at his job.
Tags: Bill Belichick, Bill Cowher, Brett Favre, Fucked season, Jeff Fisher, John Elway, Marty Shottenheimer, Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers, Soul Crushing Season enders, Tennessee Titans
You forgot Gruden! Fire Jeff Fisher and hire Jon Gruden!
What?
He won the Super Bowl with Tony Dungy's players playing against a team that he knew what plays they were going to run? And then his team continued to get worse after that until he was fired?
Oh.
I hadn't heard the Jon Gruden one and I agree with you completely. If we think the Titans have had problems picking a Quarterback for the future, just hire Jon Gruden. He changes Quarterbacks every 6 weeks, and usually for an older, washed out model.
"He changes Quarterbacks every 6 weeks"
The anti-Jeff Fisher?
Which begs the quesion, who is older than Kerry Collins.
JEFF GARCIA!!
And at least Gruden would be familiar…..
/BARF
+1
Im coming for you Rogersworthe
"Jeff Fisher was the only one of these three who didn’t get the luck needed when he needed it. "
You crack me up. Jeff already had his luck with the miracle. If he didn't get that miracle, he would be one and done for his whole playoff career.
Another bad example that you use is Norv Turner. Don't look now but the Norvert has taken the Chargers further than Marty.
Come up with some better examples next time around. Oh yeah, stop taking up for a guy who has had only 6 winning season in 15 years. That's a great record that you're defending!
You really think "Norvert" has done a better job than Shottenheimer? Norv lost to the same team the only year he got farther than Marty, the Patriots.
Hmmm….Marty = 0 wins in postseason
Norvert = 3 wins in postseason.
Last time I counted, 3 is more than zero.
And by the way, throw out the years before settling in Nashville. No home field, no consistency, no fanbase. So since then, we're talking 6 winning seasons in 10 years. Yeah, I'll take that. And only 2 of the non-winning seasons was the team just bad and not competitive, and as I said that was Floyd Reese's fault and he lost his job because of it. So, 6 out of 8 years if you take out the two Salary Cap Hell seasons. Not so bad, and as I stated before, overall winning records are overrated.
Barry Switzer has a better overall record with the Cowboys than Bill Parcells, and Switzer also won a Super Bowl. Who is better?
damn. someone just got owned. nice facial roger
Nice facial? I can see already that you are an easy sale. Give me your address so i can meet my sales quota for the week.
oh man. humor that is almost as good as my dad's. you should be on def comedy jam
Oh…so let's play "throw out some years!" game. 2nd, let's play "Blame Floyd Reese" game.
It cracks me up that Fisher gets credit for not having a winning season because the Titans didn't have a home field. That's utter nonsense! Isn't he supposed to be a motivator? He kept the team together?? How? Prove it. Guys stayed because they were getting a paycheck.
Floyd Reese was a decent GM in the footsteps of Mike Holovak so trying to lay all of the blame on him is too easy.
The guy can barely have two winning seasons in a row but you think overall winning records are overrated. Can the guy go on a hot streak? How about 4 winning seasons in a row?
I tell you what Fisher is great at doing. Having a winning season when his butt is on the line. He's amazing at that feat. I guess it's too bad that his butt is not on the line every season, then maybe he could string some consecutive winning seasons together.
It isn't utter nonsense. Proof? When they finally did have homefield, back to back 13-3 seasons. Then one subpar season, then two playoff seasons again. So 4 out of 5 good enough for you? Or do you still wanna bitch about stringing 4 winning seasons in a row?
Did you know there are only two coaches currently in the NFL who have strung 4 winning seasons together?
1) Bill Belichick
2)Andy Reid
Oh and guess what? They both have Quarterbacks that are far better than any Quarterback Jeff Fisher has had.
Nobody else. NOBODY. So, essentially, we should have the best coach in the NFL or we should fire our current coach until we do. That is your grand solution? Did you learn that from the Cleveland Browns Seminar of Management?
And Floyd Reese was a decent GM? Bullshit. If Floyd Reese is a decent GM, Jeff Fisher should already be in the Hall of Fame by your standards. His moves and contract pushing knocked this team into Salary Cap HELL, completely wasting the 2004 and 2005 seasons for Fisher and McNair.
If i remember correctly, didn't Bud, Jeff and Floyd all agree during that salary cap period to go "all in" to get back to the Super Bowl? Yeah…now all of a sudden, you don't remember that they were trying to follow the Ravens example.
So you did a little research for 4 winning seasons? Hmmm….I wonder why the list is so short? I'm guessing that when coaches can barely do two winning seasons, they get canned!! Therefore, the list is shortened. Now where did you learn that?
Here's how pitiful your little analysis is going to look after this season. John Harbaugh and Mike White will have two consecutive winning seasons going on three but your king Jeff Fisher after 15 years will have never had three consecutive winning seasons.
I know you will come back with more excuses. I will continue exposing it as nonsense.
Oh I stand corrected…he did win the Pittsburgh game that one time. Oh but wait, he needed his kicker to fake like he was hit to win the game. There's your luck right there.
owned. lol. i do think jeff fisher is a good head coach. but im tired of the same ole conservative offensive play calls. we need a new young passionate fiery head coach. as much as i hate to admit it, we need someone like josh mddaniels. i know he scared cutler outta town, but how much do they really miss him so far? last time i checked i believe orton was 5 tds and 0 int. the young guy knows how to fire up a team. he dont use excuses when the team is down. i say we play vince starting this weeek against the colts and for the rest of the year. most likely gonna finish under 500 and hopefully get a decent draft pick where we draft a new qb. hopefully vince will generate some form of trade value and we can start the slate clean on qbs. bring in some free agent with minimal experience to run the offense for a year or so until the rookie qb we drafted in the first round is ready. with a new head coach using new creative ideas and all the weapons we have on defense it shouldnt take us long to get back to being one of the best teams in the nfl. o yea and i most definately wanna see chuck cecil go. i could make better play calls and adjustments on defense than him.
Well Jared, I hate to break it to you but you must be watching different games than me. The offenses problem this year is not being too conservative, in fact they have been throwing it 56% of the time. The problem is they aren't conservative enough.
Pay attention, dude. Your complaints about the Offense are very 2001.
It seems that everyone is getting on this bandwagon that the Titans need to get back to playing Fisherball. Nonsense. They're using the prime example that the Titans passed the ball on 3rd and 1 and failed as an example. However, they conveniently forget that the Titans picked up 12 yards on another play in a similar situation as shown below:
3-1-JAC 42 (11:52) 5-K.Collins pass short left to 45-A.Hall to JAX 30 for 12 yards (25-R.Nelson).
The offense is still conservative. Yeah, you see all of those passes but look at the number of "down the field" passes. You will hardly see any. Now, Heimerdinger is making excuses that we don't need to throw down the field passes because those are long developing plays. However, in the offseason, they stated that they needed Nate to stretch the field. Which one is it?
You are 60% more likely to convert a 3rd and 1 running the ball than passing it. Doubly so with the Titans because they are good at running and crappy at passing.
And the offense is not conservative. They don't throw the ball downfield a lot because Collins is really bad at it. So is Vince Young.
Fire Fisher?!? Who is this crazy?
I am not a Titans fan; in fact, I am a COLTS fan… and if there is one coach in the NFL that scares me as a Colts fan, it's Jeff Fisher.
I compare Fisher to (college basketball) Michigan State's Tom Izzo. Both ALWAYS field competitive teams — always fight to the end. Neither one gets the credit he deserves.
The Titans (because of Fisher!) are the divisional foe that scares Colts fans the most. No matter how good the team is, Fisher's coaching alone gives the Titans a chance to win every game. Look, even when the Jags have been good, you always know they'll implode — because of Del Rio. On the other hand, you always know you've got a fight on your hands when Jeff Fisher is on the sideline.
umm so keeping fisher is smart? no. he is hurting his team more than helping them. he is stubborn on his philosophy and he is losing. he has been losing. he won't even attempt to put in vince young, so leaving kerry collins is helping them?? obviously… listen, i dont claim to be smart at football, but i know the titans and i know the talent. they have the talent, but not the wins and they are looking terrible. they are looking flat. they have no fire and the defense is softer than plush. i don't care what you say because the lack of reinfeldt's abilities to keep past players and knack for resigning franchise players along with fisher as our coach along with cecil as our defensive coordinator has made our team one hell of a mess. so in a way you're right. it's not fisher. it's our organization, but he is playing a major role in our struggles.
p.s. and you complain that mike shanahan is old?? so was vince lombardi. age doesnt matter when you're a coach. retard.
Don't give me this Vince Lombardi bullshit. Age absolutely matters. In the modern NFL you statistically see a STEEP decline after the age of 55 for coaches. It's statistically proven. So shove that "age doesn't matter" bullshit up your ass and bring some real facts and research and not your half assed opinion before calling me a retard, fuckhead.
Geesh! Now I want you to use that same fervor while you continue to defend Fish.
[...] this season, I wrote post on why I thought firing Jeff Fisher was patently absurd. Then, the Titans went out and lost in horrible ways, including a 59-0 dismantling by a team I hate [...]
Hack, your logic is falling apart around your feet. You lose the argument, dude. And by the way, my "little research" is more than you have done for this argument. You are just talking out of your ass. "WHY CANT HE WIN 4 IN A ROW!! HE ALWAYS WINS WHEN HIS JOB IS ON THE LINE THATS ALL HE IS GOOD AT!!! FLOYD REESE IS A GOOD GENERAL MANAGER ITS FISHERS FAULT!!!"
you aren't exposing anything. And my point is, yeah they get canned, and most of the time it is unfairly and it is reactionary and stupid. So how is it that when I point out only 2 coaches meet YOUR criteria of good coaching (4 winning seasons in a row) you just come back with a bullshit excuse? Oh yeah, because you're reaching for straws.
Also, until Jim Harbaugh and Mike Smith DO win 4 seasons in a row, then why don't you hold off crowning them "greatest coaches ever".
And if Reese was a good GM, he would've found a way to keep the team competitive AND under the salary cap. Ever heard of the Patriots? Colts? Eagles? Other teams that had winning seasons 4 years in a row? You have to have the players to pull it off, Fisher didn't because of Resse.
My research shows that the guy has 6 winning seasons in 15 years. My research shows that the guy can never have more than two winning seasons in a row. The facts are undisputed!
Your research is disputed and mostly pulled out of your ass.
Please just rename this site to T-Rac's Excuses. That is what it has become if you don't know that by now.
HAHAHA
My facts are not disputed. Only 2 coaches have 4 winning seasons. NOT disputed. Smith and Harbaugh have reached that number. NOT disputed. Reese backloaded contracts and killed the Titans for 2 years because of salary cap problems. NOT disputed. Jeff Fisher is over .500 for his career. NOT disputed.
My opinions on the research are disputed because that is opinion. So are your opinions on your "research". However, not one modicum of data used is disputed. It's all true.
And why don't you read everything else I have written here. Who else have I made excuses for? I even said Collins should be benched for Vince Young and have blamed everyone else who should be blamed. So what are you talking about?
HAHAHA
My facts are not disputed. Only 2 coaches have 4 winning seasons. NOT disputed. Smith and Harbaugh have not reached that number. NOT disputed. Reese backloaded contracts and killed the Titans for 2 years because of salary cap problems. NOT disputed. Jeff Fisher is over .500 for his career. NOT disputed.
My opinions on the research are disputed because that is opinion. So are your opinions on your "research". However, not one modicum of data used is disputed. It's all true.
And why don't you read everything else I have written here. Who else have I made excuses for? I even said Collins should be benched for Vince Young and have blamed everyone else who should be blamed. So what are you talking about?
i love the logic that if a coach doesn't string two winning seasons in a row that he deserves to be fired. hack's comments=FAIL
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