The turnaround we’ve seen from the Los Angeles Rams this year — one season removed from the Jeff Fisher era — is nothing short of remarkable. The Rams were one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2016, despite featuring incredible talent on both sides of the ball, and really, in all three phases of the game.
Many, this scribe included, attribute this to the fact that Jeff Fisher was among the worst coaches in the league. After all, suddenly under the leadership of young Sean McVay, the Rams are headed to the playoffs and are one of the most exciting teams to watch.
That said, Fisher has a different take on all of this. He thinks what the Rams are doing this year is a positive reflection of his influence.
“They’re basically — I don’t want to say my players — but I had a lot to do with that roster,” Fisher said on Nashville’s 104.5 FM, per the Los Angeles Daily News. “Left them in pretty good shape, and Sean, as he has shown in a short period of time, is an outstanding young coach, and he’s got the offense going, which was needed.”
It sure sounds like Fisher really is serious about getting back into coaching, because he’s campaigning hard right now to prove he’s still got the chops. That said, we’d be willing to bet Rams general manager Les Snead has a slightly different take on who’s responsible for assembling the roster in Los Angeles.
Fisher coached a long time in the NFL. As such, he’s piled up a pretty fair amount of victories. He’s also piled up a near-historic total of losses. If not for the fact he was fired before last season ended, he would have set the all-time record for most losses by a coach in league history.
Some would say that his resume is one that reeks of mediocrity. That’s not how Fisher sees it, however.
“My perspective is different because I went through it and I know exactly what I went through,” Fisher said. “I get a kick out of people [saying], ‘Oh, you just tied Dan Reeves for most losses in the history of the National Football League.’ Well, I’m a few wins away from being in the top 10. So, where do you want to emphasize? What’s your point? Two different franchises, five different cities, six different stadiums. Not an easy thing to do. The Chargers moved from San Diego to Orange County and started 0-4 [this season]. Relocation is huge. And I’m not making excuses.”
There’s a whole lot to digest here. Fisher does seem to be pushing hard for a return to the game. And he’s reportedly targeting the Cleveland Browns if Hue Jackson doesn’t stick around. It’s going to be fascinating to see if an NFL team really does believe Fisher has what it takes to turn things around when jobs start opening up at the end of this season.
After all, it takes a special kind of coach to do what Fisher can do.