Jeff Fisher

Jeff Fisher
Fisher in July 2009
Date of birth	February 25, 1958 (1958-02-25) (age 51)
Place of birth	Culver City, California
Position(s)	Head Coach Cornerback
College	Southern California
NFL Draft	1981 / Round 7 / Pick 177
Career record	128-102-0 (Regular season) 5-6 (Postseason) 133-108-0 (Overall)
Championships       won	1999 AFC Championship
Playing stats	NFL.com
Playing stats	DatabaseFootball
Coaching stats	Pro Football Reference
Coaching stats	DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a player
1981-1984	Chicago Bears
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1985 1986-1987 1988-1990 1991 1992-1993 1994 1994-present	Chicago Bears (defensive assistant) Philadelphia Eagles (defensive backs coach) Philadelphia Eagles (defensive coordinator) Los Angeles Rams (defensive coordinator) San Francisco 49ers (defensive backs coach) Houston Oilers (defensive coordinator) Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans (head coach)

Jeffrey Michael "Jeff" Fisher (born February 25, 1958, in Culver City, California) is a football coach, currently the head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. Fisher has the longest tenure as head coach with one team among active head coaches in the league.^[1] He has a 133-108 record prior to the 2009 season.

Early life

A native of Southern California, Fisher starred as a high school All-American wide receiver for Taft High School in Woodland Hills.

Playing career

Fisher later went on to star as a USC Trojan under coach John Robinson. During his collegiate career (1977–80), he played alongside such defensive stars as Ronnie Lott, Dennis Smith, and Joey Browner. Fisher's USC teammates also included star offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, whom he would coach years later with the Oilers and Titans. Fisher and the Trojans won a national championship during the 1978 season, and in 1980 he was honored with a Pac-10 All-Academic selection.

Fisher entered the NFL as a 7th round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1981 and appeared in 49 games as a defensive back and return specialist in five seasons.

He earned a Super Bowl ring after Chicago’s 1985 Super Bowl season, despite spending the year on injured reserve with an ankle injury that prematurely ended his playing career. Fisher got injured on a kickoff return when he was tackled by then-Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Cowher, the future Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.^[2]

Early coaching career

Realizing his playing days were over, and not content to be idle, Fisher wanted to still be involved with professional football. In 1985, the Bears put him on injured reserve, so during this time he became a defensive assistant to Buddy Ryan, the Bears' defensive coordinator. After the 1985 Bears won Super Bowl XX, Ryan left Chicago to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Fisher went with him. He joined the Eagles as a defensive backs coach and in 1988 was promoted to defensive coordinator at the age of 30, becoming the youngest one in the league at that point. Fisher found great success despite his youth, and the 1989 Eagles defense led the NFL in interceptions (30) and sacks (62). The 1990 squad led the League in rushing defense and was second in sacks.

In 1991, Fisher headed west to be reunited with his college coach John Robinson, serving as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator for one season. The next two seasons, he served as the defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers. These years as an assistant to George Seifert placed Fisher in the Bill Walsh coaching tree. On February 9, 1994, Fisher again became a defensive coordinator, this time for the Houston Oilers under Jack Pardee. Fisher succeeded his one-time mentor Ryan, who left the post to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Head coach

Fisher on the sidelines during a November 2008 game.

On November 14, 1994, Pardee was fired, and Fisher was promoted to replace him for the last six games of the season. The Oilers retained Fisher as head coach, and the Oilers drafted quarterback Steve McNair in the 1995 NFL Draft. The new coach did not disappoint, leading the team to a 7–9 record in 1995, tied for second place in the division. The following year the Oilers added Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, and they achieved an 8–8 record. However, an inability to get a new stadium deal in Houston caused owner Bud Adams to relocate the team to Tennessee for the 1997 season.

The 1999 season, which saw the renaming of the team to the Tennessee Titans, proved the doubters wrong. Fisher led the Titans to a surprising 13–3 regular season record, leading them deep into the playoffs (thanks to the Music City Miracle), all the way to Super Bowl XXXIV. Fisher's team fell to the St. Louis Rams, 23–16; wideout Kevin Dyson was tackled one yard short of the end zone with no time remaining. This play became known as "The Tackle" in football lore. Tennessee achieved the same record the next year, but were defeated in the AFC playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens who would go on to win Super Bowl XXXV.

The 2001 season was a disappointing one for the Titans, as they could only muster a 7–9 showing. The beginning of the next season proved to be even worse, with the franchise starting off with a 1–4 record. Following one home loss, owner Bud Adams made the comment to reporters that perhaps the Titans "were getting outcoached." This provided a spark the team needed, and they finished the season with a 11–5 record and made it to the AFC Championship Game.

The 2003 season saw more success, with yet another trip to the playoffs and McNair winning the League MVP award. Again, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, but the team's progress did not go unnoticed. The 2004 season, however, was plagued by injuries from the start, and Fisher's worst record as head coach (4–12) was the result. Following the season, many veteran players (such as Samari Rolle and Derrick Mason) were cut in an effort to comply with the strict salary cap. The relative youth of the team resulted in a disappointing 2005 season as well. Before the 2005 season, Fisher hired Norm Chow out of USC to be his offensive coordinator.

In 2006, the Titans finished a better-than-expected 8–8. The Tennessee Titans then exercised their right to extend his contract by a year, keeping him as the head coach through the 2007 NFL season season.

In 2007, he led the Titans to a 10-6 record and made the AFC playoffs as the 6th seed, but lost in the opening round to the San Diego Chargers.

In 2008, Fisher led the Titans to a 10-0 undefeated streak only to be upset by Brett Favre and the New York Jets midway through the 2008 season. They finished as the number 1 seed in the AFC with an overall record of 13-3, yet lost in the second round of the 2009 NFL Playoffs to the Baltimore Ravens

Fisher is among the relatively few NFL head coaches to have started out as an interim head coach and then go on to enjoy a successful tenure.

Competition committee

Fisher is Co-Chair of the NFL competition committee along with Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay.

Head coaching record

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Jeff Fisher has served:

• Mike Ditka, Chicago Bears (1985)
• Buddy Ryan, Philadelphia Eagles (1986–1990)
• John Robinson, Los Angeles Rams (1991)
• George Seifert, San Francisco 49ers (1992–1993)
• Jack Pardee, Houston Oilers (1994)

Assistant coaches under Jeff Fisher whom have became NFL head coaches:

• Gregg Williams, Buffalo Bills (2001–2003)
• Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions (2009–present)

Personal

Fisher has three children.^[4] His son Brandon plays linebacker for the University of Montana.^[5]

Notes and references

External links

• Tennessee Titans Bio
• NFL.com Profile
• Jeff Fisher Profile at USC Legends