/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/5224225/56022327.jpg)
The future is now for the St. Louis Rams. They are doing everything they can to turn this franchise around, and the proof of that is the adding of Jeff Fisher.
While everyone is excited to finally have a proven head coach on the team, how many of us can say we know a great deal about the man? Honestly, all I knew about Fisher was the fact that he wasn't happy after the Rams beat him in the Superbowl.
So while there is the excitement factor of - "Wow! We have a proven head coach" - the main thing that popped into my head was what kind of coach is he, and did the media overrate him?
So I decided to ask Jimmy from Music City Miracles , about the Rams new head coach. As always - head to Music City Miracles for your Titans information.
Do you think that Jeff fisher was a good hire for the Rams?
I do think Fisher is a good hire in St. Louis. He is not the second coming of Vince Lombardi, but he is a
very stable coach. You will be thrilled with the way he manages a game. He is among the best in the
league at that. He is not going to bring back "The Greatest Show on Turf" days, but he will put a team on the
field that runs the ball, plays defense and is competitive week in and week out. That will mean a few 8-8s, but
it will also mean you will always have a chance in December.
What kind of coach is he?
Personality wise, he is a players coach. Almost to man, players will tell you that they loved playing for
him. He is extremely loyal, sometimes to a fault, to guys that he feels comfortable with. Sometimes
that gets him in trouble because he will leave veterans out there far past their prime.
As far as on the field, he is an old-school guy. He wants to establish the run and play defense. We
always joked that if he would rather win a game 3-0 and not throw a single pass than anything else.
Your team needs a really good running back to pull off his style of offense, which the Rams obviously
have.
Why was Fisher fired? He and Vince Young weren’t the best of friends, but when the Titans fired Fisher,
I was shocked that Vince Young was let go shortly afterwards too?
Well technically, Fisher was not fired. He and Bud Adams came to a mutual agreement that he would
not come back.
Fisher knew that the could not work with Vince Young anymore when Vince threw a hissy fit after the
Washington game in 2010, so after the season was over, Fisher told Bud Adams it was either him or
Vince. Bud decided after talking to Mike Reinfeldt, the Titans GM, and Steve Underwood, the Titans
president at the time, that he would cut Vince as soon as the lockout was over.
So Fisher won that power struggle. No one really knows what happened next, other than Jeff tried to
hire his son, Brandon, to his staff, and that is a big no-no with Adams. Personally, I think Fisher looked
at a situation where he would be facing a lockout with a team that did not have a quarterback, and
decided to force the issue with Bud so he could get out while still getting paid. I think he realized that
his coaching resume would be tarnished if he went through another bad year.
What type of player does Fisher like?
Fisher likes veterans. It is very hard for rookies to earn his trust and get on the field. He wants guys
that he can count on to be in the right place every time, and like I said earlier, he will leave a veteran
out there who will be in the right spot every time, even if it is a step late, over a guy that might blow his
assignment.
My biggest issue about Fisher is the fact that he ran an conservative offense. Was this because of the
quarterbacks he had on the roster? Do you think he will pass more now that he has Sam Bradford, who
is a better passer than Fisher’s old quarterback Vince Young?
Fisher is very conservative on offense, but keep in mind that Steve McNair was co-MVP of the league
under Fisher. He will open things up a little bit if he trusts his quarterback. He never trusted Vince.
What is Fisher’s philosophy on building teams? Is he more of an build the offense and defense lines
first,
or try to get playmakers? Draft players or head to free agency?
He is definitely a "win in the trenches" guy, but I think he realized a little bit at the end here that you
have to have some playmakers on the outside to win. They had a lot of trouble finding that dynamic
receiver here in Tennessee. I would not be surprised at all to see him push for Justin Blackmon with
your #2 pick because he knows he needs that guy.
How would you describe Fisher’s defense?
The funny thing is, it seems like Fisher is more hands off on the defense than he is the offense even
though he is a defensive guy. You will run a 4-3, but he will leave the rest up to the coordinator.
When Gregg Williams was the coordinator here, they blitzed people from everywhere. When Jim
Schwartz was the coordinator here, they hardly ever blitzed.
What are Fisher’s strengths and weaknesses in coaching?
Like I said above, his biggest strength is how good he is on Sundays. He knows the rules inside and out
after serving on the competition committee for so many years. Plus he has been a head coach for a long
time, so he has seen a lot.
His biggest weakness is his loyalty. You will have a guy on your team, year and year out (here it was
Donnie Nickey), that you will think must have naked pictures of Fisher because there is no other
reasonable explanation for why he is still on the team.
The Rams have the 2nd pick of the draft, if the Rams don’t trade down, who do you think Fisher will
draft?
Again, my guess would be Blackmon. The Titans drafted 100,000 receivers during Fisher’s tenure here
and about 3 of them panned out. I think he will jump all over the opportunity to add that dynamic
playmaker from the beginning after trying to add some of the other pieces in free agency.
Again, I would like to thank Jimmy, for taking time out of his day to do this.
The Rams have a new head coach, who could make this team more competitive. He might even be able to take the Rams to the Superbowl? Let's hoperighter days, are ahead.