Come With Me If You Want To Win: Jeff Fisher's Titan Salvation

My admiration and appreciation of the Titans begins and ends with head coach Jeff Fisher. In a turbulent period marred by team executives with itchy trigger fingers, Fisher has been able to maintain a steady grip on a team within a sport where teams frequent the coaching carousal.

With his Titan tenure turning 15 this November, Fisher finds himself in the rare position of having largely avoided the hot seat throughout his stay in Tennessee.

In avoiding the travails that befell fellow coaches like Brian Billick and Jim Fassel, it is necessary to appreciate Fisher’s ability to consistently reconnect with players and to gain respect through his fresh motivations and challenges.

The continuity of Fisher’s term should not be underappreciated. Just like a franchise quarterback, very few teams are able to find a long-term solution at head coach and when they do, even fewer manage to ride out the short-term storms as they panic and react instead of scoping out the bigger picture.

The personality of the Titans is evidenced in the stamp indelibly left by Fisher. As an apprentice of Buddy Ryan’s, Fisher (along with the new coach of the Lions, Jim Schwartz) has left his mark on a team perennially gritty and physical on defense.

In many ways, I find Fisher’s work similar to that of MLB’s Billy Beane, in the sense that both men continue to diligently and excellently paint masterpieces even though the materials at their disposal are often less than ideal.

This leads to a larger point; many coaches are great when their key players are great (think Mike Shanahan, Mike Ditka, or Dick Vermeil). But how solid are these coaches when they don’t have the benefit of a franchise QB or string of Pro-Bowlers?

Fisher’s ability to extract the maximum potential out of players is one of the most impressive accomplishments on his resume. Year after year, as big name free agents bounce around the league, the Titans improve steadily—not through the market, but through the systematic development of their own players.

Which I guess is one of the reasons I like the Titans. I can’t help but appreciate franchises that diligently work at improving themselves through efficient and proven models, instead of throwing money at free agents in an effort to quick-fix problems.

Do I “like” the Eagles or Colts in the classic sense of the word? No, I do not. But how can you not admire and appreciate what both teams do each year to give themselves a realistic shot at a Super Bowl?

There isn’t anything exceedingly sexy about the Titans, but there is a blue-collar aspect in how they operate. While that may not result in them being the lead-in to SportsCenter, it does put them in the mix for each game.

Tennessee hasn’t won a championship, hasn’t featured an overabundance of Pro-Bowlers, and probably won’t be appearing on Hard Knocks anytime soon. But I like them nonetheless, because regardless of stat totals and championship banners, they are prone to playoff contention and, as a fan, that’s all you can really ask for.

For me, the most compelling reason to appreciate the Titans was seen through Fisher’s actions last year during the Vince Young melodrama. In a strange and bizarre development, Young seemed like a possible risk for suicide after his therapist alerted Fisher about some troubling sentiments Young had expressed.

Whether or not Fisher did exactly as every other coach in the NFL would have done is beside the point. The concern and humanity that poured through his attempts to make sure Young was safe suggested an authenticity that most fans are unable to glimpse.

His frantic efforts suggested a larger concern for his players, which, for my money, goes a long way to explaining why, after almost 15 years, his message is still fresh and his players still respond to him.