What Does Jeff Fisher Have To Do To Be Named Coach of the Year?

Some of you may remember me. After Thanksgiving, I was very angry with Jeff Fisher for throwing an unnecessary challenge flag.

Since then, I have calmed down, taken a puff from my asthma inhaler, and was at peace until the NFL went and got me all bothered and wheezing again.

The AP only gave Fisher three votes in 2008. The head coach of the surprising Tennessee Titans only received three votes for his miraculous season, and no one is batting an eyelash!

What does Jeff Fisher have to do?

Benching his team's franchise quarterback in favor of a 30-something backup on his way to a 10-0 record doesn't hold any merit? Finishing 13-3 and winning a division previously owned by the Indianapolis Colts wasn't good enough?

Two rookie head coaches dominating the voting for one of the league's most prestigious awards has to leave a bad taste in Fisher's mouth.

Rookie players aren't named Most Valuable Player. Why should a rookie coach be considered superior to any of his longer tenured peers?

I'm not trying to take away from anything Mike Smith or Tony Sparano did with their respective teams in 2008. The turnaround experienced by the Falcons and Dolphins was phenomenal. 

But with both coaches being ousted from the playoffs immediately, it has to drive Titans' fans up the wall!

If those men prove to have the kind of longevity Jeff Fisher has enjoyed with Tennessee, then they'll find their names in Coach of the Year conversations again.

This isn't to say that Jeff Fisher deserved some kind of sympathetic recognition. But as one of the NFL's most respected coaches, he deserves more credit for his season.

If they are as good as their rookie campaigns make them out to be, it will be obvious as their careers progress.

Until then, the nominations were premature.

Recent history has proven successful rookie head coaches are disappointing down the line.

The last rookie head coach to win the award was Sean Payton in 2006. What have his New Orleans Saints done since then?

In fact, Eric Mangini was considered as a potential runner-up in 2006 after producing a 10-6 record with the New York Jets. What's he doing this January?

How are cynical NFL fans supposed to believe anyone when they say the NFL doesn't honor "Flavor of the Month" candidates? Cinderella football seasons make for great headlines and stories—but they are just that.

After 15 years, a new city, one Super Bowl appearance, three division titles, and five playoff appearances, what else is Fisher supposed to do?

With the way this is going, Fisher is going to have to be insulted with some type of apologetic lifetime achievement award—as if a trophy inscribed with, "Oops! Sorry about that!" is sufficient for a man with his list of accomplishments.