It is amazing what 59-0 will do. I decided after that debacle to give myself a couple days and get over the shock of it. Well, here I am a few days later and… I have changed my mind. If the season ended today I think Jeff Fisher should be fired. Hack, the official T-Rac’s Posse critic, was waiting to see how I would spin this in Fisher’s favor since I had chosen his side two weeks ago. Well… I am not spinning it for Fisher. I am changing my mind. The situation has changed, and in my opinion rather significantly. I defended him 2 weeks ago based on the good faith that he would find a way to turn this season around and adjust to the problems that Titans had and make this team competitive. That obviously didn’t happen.
59-0 is tied for the worst loss in NFL history. It could have been worse had Belichick kept his foot on the gas pedal. It is a punchline. A joke. The media laughs, the players feel angry and ashamed, and fans lose all confidence in the team’s leadership. Combine that with 0-6 on a year with Super Bowl aspirations, and this season has just entered into a level of complete and total disaster I could never have imagined happening. 59-0 really changed my perspective on Jeff Fisher.
Unless things drastically change, it's time to move on.
Why things change after 59-0
When I defended Jeff Fisher about two weeks ago, I said he was a top 10 coach who has a history of being able to build winning teams and that the lack of a franchise Quarterback can rarely be pinned on the coach’s shoulders. I still believe that to be true. The past decade, he has been a top 10 coach, and he deserves a lot of respect and credit for those 10 years.I also pointed out the lack of good replacement candidates for the job, and how lack of stability in the NFL is one way to completely drive a team into the ground. All of these things remain true. But 59-0 also brings up new concerns, both short and long term. The credibility of the team is completely in question, and that falls on the head coach. Here are my thoughts on why I changed my mind on Jeff Fisher after one horrendous game:
- It shows not only a lack of improvement, but a complete nosedive the other way. Jeff Fisher usually is very good at maximizing the talent given to him and also finding ways to be competitive and win a few games with subpar talent. While one season or game does not a coach make, a 59-0 loss shows that there is a severe lack of focus and severe disconnect on this team. Something is extremely wrong, and Fisher is making it worse. Much worse. That’s a bad sign.
- The Titans are more than likely a couple of years away from recovering and turning into a playoff team, but they do have a dearth of young talent, especially on the Offensive side of the ball. So, I ask, if you are Kenny Britt, how the heck do you respect one word this coaching staff tells you? Veterans know what Fisher is capable of and all about, but rookies don’t, and so far they have no reason to listen to him. A new voice, if it is the right voice, can change all of that.
- The mismanagement of the Kerry Collins – Vince Young situation is steadily getting worse. The continuation to play Kerry Collins as he plays this bad and as the season as a whole completely falls apart shows a stubbornness and short-sightedness not usually associated with Jeff Fisher. The team needs to find out what they have in Vince Young. Even if the coaching staff has every reason to believe it is absolutely nothing, it’s time to find out on the field. If he plays badly, nobody would then fault the organization for cutting him and moving on.
- Al Davis (yes that Al Davis) has a theory on coaching. Basically it is that a shelf life of a coach in one place is 10 years. After 10 years the schemes become stale and the culture becomes stagnant. Statistics do seem to back him up, as in most coaching situations that has a coach in one place longer than 10 years the winning percentage and playoff performance of the coach steeply declines after the 10 year mark. I would say this season could easily be interpreted as the expiration of those schemes. Teams are picking the Titans apart. The Defensive Line has gotten decent pressure, although not great, and yet the passing numbers continue to go up. Nothing reflected this more than losing 59-0 while giving up 6 Touchdown passes in the snow.
Unless the Titans make an amazing turnaround and finish 9-7 or 10-6, I say it’s time to find a new coach.
Tags: 0-6, 59-0, Al Davis, fire jeff fisher, Jeff Fisher, Jeff Fisher Week, Kerry Collins, Vince Young, worst loss ever, Worst Titans Team ever
The one thing that I do admire about your writing is that you at least TRY to support your statements. I think all of your points are well taken.
Geesh…i'm bored now…nothing to criticize :-)
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