What doomed Jeff Fisher's Rams' tenure? He didn't adapt/Wagoner

What doomed Jeff Fisher's Rams' tenure? He didn't adapt


By Nick Wagoner


For one fleeting four-game stretch in 2013, Jeff Fisher offered hope he could turn the now Los Angeles Rams into genuine playoff contenders.

It was the first four games of Fisher’s second season with the Rams, and after pulling them from the dregs of the NFL to a far more respectable 7-8-1, Fisher appeared willing to do something he’d never done in his head coaching career: change and adapt.

As one of the staunchest supporters of smashmouth football, Fisher’s teams were generally only missing the leather helmets when it came to an offensive philosophy.

When Fisher took a year away in 2011, after he lost his job with the Tennessee Titans, the most pressing question was whether he had used that time to come to grips with the reality of an ever-evolving league.

Between his first and second seasons with the Rams, Fisher altered his old-school style and instructed then-offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to open things up. The team traded up to No. 8 in the draft to select receiver/returner Tavon Austin, selected running back Zac Stacy and receiver Stedman Bailey and signed offensive tackle Jake Long and tight end Jared Cook.

Beyond that, Fisher and Schottenheimer sought quarterback Sam Bradford’s input on building the type of wide-open offense that could keep up with the rest of the league.

As it turned out, there was nothing particularly memorable about those first four games. The Rams went 1-3 and, after a particularly dreadful Thursday night showing against San Francisco, Fisher scrapped it all.

The wide-open philosophy wasn’t working but, perhaps more importantly, Fisher wasn’t comfortable with it. If nothing else, his ground-and-pound approach would at least keep him in his cocoon of mediocrity, allowing him to always offer the promise of turning the corner but never delivering.

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