Jeff Fisher

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For the Canadian composer, see Jeff Fisher (composer). For the American law professor, see Jeffrey L. Fisher. For people with a similar name, see Jeff Fischer.

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Jeff Fisher
refer to caption
Fisher in August 2014
Los Angeles Rams
Position: Head coach
Personal information
Date of birth: (1958-02-25) February 25, 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth: Culver City, California
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Career information
High school: Los Angeles (CA) Taft
College: Southern California
NFL draft: 1981 / Round: 7 / Pick: 177
Career history
As player:
As coach:
Career highlights and awards
As player
As coach
  • AFC champion (1999)
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com
Head coaching record
Regular season: 165–150–1 (.524)
Postseason: 5–6 (.455)
Career: 170–156–1 (.521)
Coaching stats at PFR

Jeffrey Michael Fisher (born February 25, 1958) is an American football coach and former player who is the current head coach of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Fisher was previously the head coach of the NFL's Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers.

Early life

A native of Southern California, Fisher starred as a high school All-America wide receiver at Taft High School in Woodland Hills.

Playing career

Fisher later went on to star at USC, under coach John Robinson. During his collegiate career (1977–80), he played alongside such defensive stars as Ronnie Lott, Dennis Smith, and Joey Browner. Fisher's USC teammates also included star offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, whom he would coach years later with the Oilers and Titans. Fisher and the Trojans won a national championship during the 1978 season, and in 1980 he was honored as a Pac-10 All-Academic selection.

Fisher was drafted in the 7th round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He appeared in 49 games as a defensive back and return specialist in his five seasons with the Bears.

In 1983, Fisher had suffered a broken leg on a punt return[1] when he was tackled by then-Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Cowher, the future head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coincidentally the two became rivals as head coaches beginning in the AFC Central in 1995; Fisher's Oilers/Titans squads came out with an 11–7 record against Cowher's Steelers. Fisher earned a Super Bowl ring after Chicago’s 1985 Super Bowl season, despite spending the year on injured reserve with an ankle injury that prematurely ended his playing career. Fisher stayed with the Bears as a defensive assistant while on injured reserve for the season.[2]

Early coaching career

During 1985, Fisher used his time on the Bears' injured reserve to assist defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. After the Bears won the Super Bowl that season, Ryan was hired as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Fisher joined as a defensive backs coach. In 1988, Fisher was promoted to defensive coordinator at age 30, the youngest such coach in the league. The 1989 Eagles defense led the NFL in interceptions (30) and sacks (62). The 1990 squad led the league in rushing defense and finished second in sacks.

In 1991, Fisher was hired as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, which reunited him with his college coach John Robinson. The next two seasons, he served as the defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers. These years as an assistant to George Seifert placed Fisher in the Bill Walsh coaching tree. On February 9, 1994, Fisher again became a defensive coordinator, this time for the Houston Oilers under Jack Pardee. Fisher had succeeded Ryan, who left the post to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Head coach

Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans

Fisher on the sidelines during a November 2008 game.

On November 14, 1994, Pardee was fired, and Fisher was promoted to replace him for the last six games of the season. The Oilers retained Fisher as head coach, and the Oilers drafted quarterback Steve McNair in the 1995 NFL Draft. The new coach did not disappoint, leading the team to a 7–9 record in 1995, tied for second place in the division. The following year the Oilers added Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, and they achieved an 8–8 record. However, an inability to get a new stadium deal in Houston caused owner Bud Adams to relocate the team to Tennessee for the 1997 season.

In the team's first two seasons in Tennessee the Oilers compiled a record of 16–16. In 1998, the team's home games moved from Memphis to Nashville.

In the 1999 season, which saw the renaming of the team to the Tennessee Titans, the Titans finished with a 13–3 regular season record, going all the way to Super Bowl XXXIV, in part due to the Music City Miracle. There the team fell to the St. Louis Rams, 23–16; wideout Kevin Dyson was tackled one yard short of the end zone with no time remaining, in what became known as "The Tackle". Tennessee achieved the same record the next year, but were defeated in the AFC playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens who would go on to win Super Bowl XXXV.

The 2001 season was a disappointing one for the Titans, as they could only muster a 7–9 showing. The beginning of the next season proved to be even worse, with the franchise starting off with a 1–4 record. Following one home loss, owner Bud Adams made the comment to reporters that perhaps the Titans "were getting outcoached." This provided a spark the team needed, and they finished the season with an 11–5 record and made it to the AFC Championship Game.

The 2003 season saw more success, with yet another trip to the playoffs and McNair winning the League MVP award. Again, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, but the team's progress did not go unnoticed. The 2004 season, however, was plagued by injuries from the start, and Fisher's worst record as head coach (4–12) was the result. Following the season, many veteran players (such as Samari Rolle and Derrick Mason) were cut in an effort to comply with the strict salary cap. The relative youth of the team resulted in a disappointing 2005 season as well. Before the 2005 season, Fisher hired Norm Chow out of USC to be his offensive coordinator.

In 2006, the Titans finished a better-than-expected 8–8. Quarterback Steve McNair was traded to the Baltimore Ravens and Vince Young was drafted, but began the season as backup to Billy Volek and Kerry Collins. The season began slowly at 0–3 before Volek was replaced by Kerry Collins and, later, Young. The team ultimately started 2–7, but following a 27–26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and McNair, the Titans erupted to win six straight games under Young, including a 24-point rally to beat the Giants. With this promising record the Titans exercised their right to extend his contract by a year, keeping him as the head coach through the 2007 NFL season.

Fisher coaching against the Houston Texans in 2010.

In 2007, he led the Titans to a 10–6 record and made the AFC playoffs as the 6th seed, but lost in the opening round to the San Diego Chargers.

In 2008, Fisher led the Titans to a 10–0 undefeated streak only to be upset by Brett Favre and the New York Jets midway through the 2008 season. The Titans finished 13–3 and secured the number 1 seed in the AFC, yet lost in the second round of the 2008 NFL Playoffs to the Baltimore Ravens.

In 2009 the Titans lost in overtime to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season's opening game. The loss began a six-game slide that reached its nadir in a 59–0 slaughter by the New England Patriots. Collins, at the public recommendation of Titans owner Bud Adams, was benched and replaced by Young; the Titans responded by winning eight of their next ten games, highlighted by a dramatic comeback victory over the Arizona Cardinals, a season-ending comeback against the Seattle Seahawks, and a hard-fought overtime win over the Miami Dolphins. Highlighting this season was the play of running back Chris Johnson; in his second year of professional football (he'd been drafted 24th in the 2008 NFL Draft) Johnson broke Marshall Faulk's record of total yards from scrimmage with 2,509, becoming the sixth back in NFL history to rush over 2000 yards.

On January 27, 2011, it was formally announced that Fisher and the Titans had mutually-agreed to part ways following a buy-out of one remaining season on Fisher's contract.[3] At more than 16 full seasons, Fisher had been the longest-tenured NFL head coach with one team among active head coaches.[4][5]

Fisher coached teams that have been referred to as aggressive, edgy, chippy and dirty.[6][7]

Fisher at Rams Training Camp, 2013.

St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams

After a season off in 2011, Fisher agreed to become the head coach of the St. Louis Rams for the 2012 season.

In Fisher's first season in St. Louis, the team finished with a 7–8–1 record, a 5–win improvement from the previous year. Furthermore, the Rams were competitive in every game, with the exception of the London-played game against New England, which the Rams lost by a score of 45-7.[8]

In 2013, the Rams finished with a 7–9 record.

During the 2014 season, the Rams went 6–10. It was the team's worst record under Fisher, and also Fisher's 4th consecutive losing season as a head coach. In the team's final season in St. Louis for the 2015 season they finished with a 7-9 record an improvement over their last season record in 2014.

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
HOU 1994 1 5 0 .167 4th in AFC Central – – – –
HOU 1995 7 9 0 .438 3rd in AFC Central – – – –
HOU 1996 8 8 0 .500 4th in AFC Central – – – –
TEN 1997 8 8 0 .500 3rd in AFC Central – – – –
TEN 1998 8 8 0 .500 2nd in AFC Central – – – –
TEN 1999 13 3 0 .813 2nd in AFC Central 3 1 .750 Lost to St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.
TEN 2000 13 3 0 .813 1st in AFC Central 0 1 .000 Lost to Baltimore Ravens in AFC Divisional Game.
TEN 2001 7 9 0 .438 4th in AFC Central – – – –
TEN 2002 11 5 0 .688 1st in AFC South 1 1 .500 Lost to Oakland Raiders in AFC Championship Game.
TEN 2003 12 4 0 .750 2nd in AFC South 1 1 .500 Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Divisional Game.
TEN 2004 5 11 0 .313 3rd in AFC South – – – –
TEN 2005 4 12 0 .250 3rd in AFC South – – – –
TEN 2006 8 8 0 .500 2nd in AFC South – – – –
TEN 2007 10 6 0 .625 3rd in AFC South 0 1 .000 Lost to San Diego Chargers in AFC Wild-Card Game.
TEN 2008 13 3 0 .813 1st in AFC South 0 1 .000 Lost to Baltimore Ravens in AFC Divisional Game.
TEN 2009 8 8 0 .500 3rd in AFC South – – – –
TEN 2010 6 10 0 .375 4th in AFC South – – – –
HOU/TEN Total 142 120 0 .542 5 6 .455
STL 2012 7 8 1 .469 3rd in NFC West – – – –
STL 2013 7 9 0 .438 4th in NFC West – – – –
STL 2014 6 10 0 .375 4th in NFC West – – – –
STL 2015 7 9 0 .438 3rd in NFC West – – – –
LA 2016
STL/LA Total 27 36 1 .430 0 0 .000
Total[9] 169 156 1 .522 5 6 .455

Competition committee

Fisher is Co-Chair of the NFL competition committee along with Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay.

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Jeff Fisher has served:

Assistant coaches under Jeff Fisher who have become NFL head coaches:

After Fisher's tutelage, Williams, Schwartz, and Munchak have cumulatively posted 52 wins and 84 losses, or a winning percentage of approximately 38.2%.

Personal

Fisher has three children.[10] One son, Brandon, played linebacker for the University of Montana and currently coaches defensive backs for the Rams. Another son, Trent, was a defensive back at Auburn University.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ http://coachingroots.com/football/coaches/jeff-fisher
  3. ↑ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110128/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_titans_fisher
  4. ↑ ESPN – Cowher set to quit as Steelers' coach after 15 seasons – NFL
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=321028014
  9. ↑ Jeff Fisher Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks – Pro-Football-Reference.com
  10. ↑ St. Louis Rams: Jeff Fisher

External links

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