Jeff Fisher and Jim Harbaugh: 2 Reasons for Cowboys Fans To Get Excited

This season is a great season for Jerry Jones to be looking for a head coach.

Granted, we wish the problem had been solved long ago, but it has become painfully apparent that it wasn't. The situation is worse now than it has ever been, and something has to be done.  

But, help is on the way- and Cowboys fans have real reason to be excited about this search for a head coach. 

For the first time in years, there are at least two very qualified candidates available, and either of them in particular could conceivably build a dynasty in Dallas that could last for years.

Jeff Fisher should be one of two coaches at the top of that list if Bud Adams does as expected, and fires Jeff Fisher at the end of this season. Adams has expressed displeasure with Fisher, but I dare say the feeling is mutual. Fisher has struggled with Adams' decisions and his way of doing business for 16 years, and the latest round of complications with Adams' favorite, Vince Young, seems to have taken tensions between Fisher and Adams to a new high.

Fisher is the longest tenured coach in the NFL, and getting him would be the next best thing to Bill Belichick- maybe even better. He demands discipline from his players, and the Titans defense gang tackle anyone with the ball. Fisher has coached for Bud Adams for 16 years, and that may be the most impressive stat on his resume.

Fisher was named head coach of the Houston Oilers mid season in 1994. Former embattled coach Jack Pardee, a class act in his own right, was mercifully replaced in the middle of a 2-14 campaign.

In Fisher's first season as head coach, the Oilers improved to a 7-9 record. In 1995, Bud Adams announced that the Oilers were relocating to Tennessee. The next three seasons were all three 8-8 years for Fisher and the Oilers, but in their first season in their new home in Nashville, Tennessee, Fisher and the newly named Tennessee Titans thrilled the city of Nashville with a 13-3 record, and a trip to Super Bowl XXXIV(34)- where they lost by 7 points to the St Louis Rams.

Fisher followed that season with another 13-3 season, but free agency began to take it's toll on the Titans success and the Titans slipped to 7-9 the very next season. But, the next season they would rebound to 11-5, followed by a 12-4 season in 2003.

Then the Titans fell off, and rebuilding began. after two sub .500 seasons, and an 8-8 season in 2006, the Titans returned to form with a 10-6 season in 2007, and then a 13-3 record in 2008.

Vince Young's growing pains have cost the Titans big in 2009-10 seasons, and tension between Fisher and Adams seemingly is at an all-time high. Adams recently was quoted as saying that he was not happy, and would look at Fisher's status after the season was over.

If Bud Adams fires Jeff Fisher, he will certainly be one of the two best candidates for Jerry Jones to look at. After 16 seasons of putting up with Bud Adams, Fisher is still hungry for a Super Bowl win. With Jerry Jones willing to pay for the players it takes to win, Fisher may be the piece of the puzzle it would take to put it all together and build the next dynasty for the Cowboys.

It is rumored that Jerry Jones and Jeff Fisher already are close- having served on the NFL's Competition Committee in the past.

If Fisher doesn't become available, or even if he does, another outstanding candidate for the Cowboys would certainly have to be Jim Harbaugh, currently the head coach of the Stanford Cardinals in the NCAA. I am not certain if Harbaugh isn't the best candidate for the Cowboys-or for any team for that matter. His credentials are second to none.

 Jim Harbaugh was hired as the head coach of the Stanford Cardinals in 2006. Harbaugh has rebuilt Stanford's football program in four years, and finished the 2010 season with an 11-1 record.

And, that's not the most impressive thing about Jim Harbaugh. His resume consists of being the 26th player in the 1987 NFL draft , selected by Mike Ditka and the Chicago Bears. He played with the Bears through 1993, and threw for 3121 yards in 1991. After leaving the Bears, Harbaugh almost took the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl in 1995, winning the Comeback Player of the Year honors, AFC Player of the Year, and runner up in the NFL MVP voting. Harbaugh retired from the NFL in 2001.

While doing all of that, Harbaugh had already began his coaching career. In 1994, while playing for the Indianapolis Colts, Harbaugh became an unpaid assistant coach for Western Kentucky University. The college was struggling with the costs of a football program, and Jack Harbaugh (Jim's Dad) was trying to keep it alive. Jim began to donate shoes and equipment to the school, and encouraged his NFL teammates to do the same. In 2002, Western Kentucky University won the Division 1-AA National championship.

In the 2002-2003 season, Harbaugh was an assistant coach for the Oakland Raiders, who went to the Super Bowl, but were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In 2004, Jim Harbaugh was named as the Head Coach of the University of San Diego, where he led them to a 7-4 record after his first season. The next year, he led them to an 11-1 season.

Harbaugh was interviewed by the New York Jets in 2008, but Rex Ryan was given the job.

And, did I mention this? In 1995, when Harbaugh nearly led the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl when a Hail Mary pass rolled off of his receiver's chest in the end zone, Harbaugh was giving the nickname "Captain Comeback"- only the second person to carry that nickname. The first? Roger Staubach.

Whether it be Jeff Fisher , or Jim Harbaugh, both are reason for Dallas Cowboys fans to get excited this year if they become available and Jerry offers them the job.

And, both are more qualified than what we have in Dallas at this point.