It is always good to be reminded that these players and coaches are human beings. And great players or coaches can be terrible human beings, and not-so-great players or coaches can be wonderful human beings.
But......I only have interest in Jeff Fisher the HC because I don't know Jeff Fisher the man, and only know OF him because he is (was) an NFL HC.
Bottom line: Fisher was always marginal in his ability to succeed in his job. He had the intelligence, drive, and probably the football knowledge. He had to have been a good planner and organizer. But what he could NOT do was to manage the job in a way that allowed him to succeed, thus allowing his team to succeed. He didn't have the incredible, unmatchable football mind of Bill Bellicheck to overcome a bland personality. And he didn't have a winning, warm, or charming personality to overcome his lack of management ability or football creativeness. So he became the ultimate company "Yes" man and endeared himself to ownership.
In the corporate world you learn fast (or you don't survive long) that you have to be able to manage your surroundings, your peers, and your Board before you can manage the job. Clearly Fisher had a problem with that. And, it's not a lot of people who can successfully pull off such a feat.
Fisher is not a bad coach. In the world of NFL HC's he's probably a C or C- coach. His loooooong record of mediocrity is the evidence of this. But towards the end especially, Fisher became the purveyor of excuses as the reason his team didn't win. Injuries. Bad luck. Lack of a QB (????!!!!). Then lack of a supporting cast. Moving from St. Louis to LA. On and on. In other words: Fisher sees himself as a perpetual victim.
But I don't think anyone in the media or on this board would still be talking about Fisher if he didn't make the dumb mistake of trying to take at least partial credit for the Rams huge success this year. And, he hasn't backed down from it because he truly believes it. And, it is my contention that at least as much as his career of football mediocrity, it is his shocking tone deafness and self-deception that will keep him off the NFL field permanently. He will never be an HC again.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2018 03:07AM by RockRam.
