HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
Rams head coach canned just a week after scoring a contract extension
Last week, the Los Angeles Rams announced head coach Jeff Fisher had received a two-year contract extension.
Oh. About that. On Monday, the Rams fired him.
What changed? Only that last week’s news was so overwhelmingly unpopular, it was met with more laughter than ridicule.
And when NFL owners are universally laughed at, they tend to rub out the source of ridicule rather quickly — at least owners of franchises that don’t draw water from Lake Erie.
Fisher’s overdue firing ends one of the most incredulous runs in NFL coaching annals. It’s incredulous because Fisher has mustered only six winning seasons in 22 as head coach, going back to the early 1990s with two relocated NFL franchises: the Houston Oilers-Tennessee Titans, and the St. Louis-L.A. Rams. The Rams hired Fisher in 2012 and have not had a winning record since, posting annual records of 7-8-1, 7-9, 6-10 and 7-9 before starting this season 4-9.
That Fisher kept his job so long at both stops is testament to the fact that few coaches ever looked the part, acted the part or spoke the part better. It was the winning part that eluded him.
Fisher usually fielded strong defences and creative, effective special teams. It was on offence, especially with the Rams, where he struggled to succeed. It didn’t seem to matter who his quarterback was either, outside of a handful of glittering seasons in Tennessee with Steve McNair.
It must be said that Fisher’s brand of football has at times been criticized. Coaches and players on other teams have complained about dirty tactics they said Fisher’s Rams employed — case in point, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer last year, after his quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was knocked out cold on a vicious head hit.
But NFL coaches are judged primarily on wins and losses, and Fisher was 142-120 with the Oilers-Titans from 1993 to 2010, then 31-45-1 with the Rams. Not good enough.
“Making a decision such as this — especially during the season — is one of the most difficult in sports,” Rams owner Stan Kroenke said in a statement. “I have great respect for Jeff as a coach, person, father and friend.”
Fisher, 58, thus is denied the chance on Thursday in Seattle to break the NFL record for most losses by a coach. He tied Dan Reeves on Sunday with his 165th loss, a 42-14 beatdown by the visiting Atlanta Falcons.
A consolation of sorts is that Fisher reached 165 losses fastest. It took Reeves 367 games to do it and Fisher only 339.
The Rams named special-teams co-ordinator John Fassel interim head coach. Let’s see how long his tenure will be. Stat of the week: Seattle is 2-4-1 on the road. A big reason for the Seahawks’ failures away from home is their offence has sputtered, to put it kindly.
QB Russell Wilson and Co. performed fabulously, yes, in Seattle’s two road victories, against the New York Jets and New England Patriots. Each time Wilson threw for more than 300 yards and three TDs without an interception.
But in the four losses (L.A., New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Green Bay) and in the tie (Arizona), Seattle’s run game produced an average of just 91 yards, while Wilson has thrown one TD pass against eight interceptions. Hero: Le’Veon Bell, running back, Steelers. In an unrelenting snowstorm at Buffalo’s New Era Field, he set a new Steelers single-game rushing record with 236 yards, albeit against a bad Bills defence. Bell added 62 receiving yards on four catches for 298 yards from scrimmage to keep Pittsburgh atop the AFC North. Zero: Cardinals kick-team specialists: this week in particular, Chandler Catanzaro. He missed his first extra-point attempt at Miami. Then he clanked a 41-yard field goal off the right upright. His second extra point was blocked and returned for two points by the Dolphins. So scratch five points for Arizona, add two for Miami — a sevenpoint swing. Arizona lost by three points and fell to 5-7-1, losing any outside shot at a playoff spot. Stock up: Jordan Howard, running back, Bears. He’s the rookie runner you’re not hearing about, mostly because of Ezekiel Elliott’s fantastic debut season with Dallas. But the 22-year-old has rushed for 100 yards five times and came close two other times in the past month, including Sunday. In Chicago’s loss to Detroit, Howard rushed for 86 yards on just 13 carries. He’s 31 yards shy of 1,000 yards and might do it in fewer than 200 carries.