I always like reading Mike Florio’s profootballtalk.com blog because he isn’t just aggregating news. He bring sometimes very strong opinions. And he feels pretty strongly about Titans coachJeff Fisher:
“Some think that, if Fisher is fired in Tennessee, he’ll end up getting the job in Dallas.
“If he plans on getting any other head-coaching job in the NFL, Fisher will need a darn good explanation for the apparent reality that his team has quit on him.”
I’ve heard Florio interviewed enough to know that he can’t understand why people belive Fisher is such a good head coach. As an admittedly biased fan of the former Bear, I’m going to take issue.
It well known that coaches around the NFL have a defined shelf life. Its roughly 6 or 7 years give or take. After that, Players have heard it all before. They get comfortable. The message from even the best head coaches goes stale. If the head coach is a particularly emotional guy, it can do that even more quickly. If he’s Mike Singletary it happens in less than a full season.
Fisher has lasted 16 more or less competitive seasons with the Titans. Sixteen! And not only that, he did it with Bud Adams, one of the worst, most meddlesome owners in the NFL constantly interfering. Fisher’s an even tempered, defensive mind who understands players and who has consistently gotten the most out of them when other “geniuses” in the NFL have failed.
In those 16 years how many players have left the Titans to go on to better things elsewhere? On the other hand, how many have left and failed?
Want to know how valuable Fisher is? Ask Eddie George. Better yet, ask Albert Haynesworth. How much has Mike Shanahan gotten out of him this year?
I’m not saying that Fisher is the greatest head coach in the history of the league. But he deserves his due in terms of respect. And he can coach my team any time.