Jeff Fisher Is An Elite NFL Coach; If You Can't Understand Why, Join the Club

Jeff Fisher has been at the center of controversy this season and deservedly so. His Tennessee Titans team has played some pathetic football throughout the second half of the season. His feud with Vince Young is no secret, as he loves to remind us every time he is interviewed. Many say Tennessee’s problems are Vince Young’s fault; others blame Fisher (personally I agree with the second option). But I’m not going to debate here who is right between those two.

What I will argue is that Fisher’s time in Tennessee should be over—not just because his time has expired, but because he has to be right next to coach Bud Kilmer at the top of the rankings of “Most Overrated Head Coaches of All Time.” He is not very good. There, I said it.

I don’t know if he sleeps with some producer at NFL Network or what it is, but they always seem to mention how great a coach he is every time his name comes up. It’s hard for me to understand that, and here’s why.

First of all, it seems like analysts always cite longevity as one of his key attributes for arguing how great of a coach he is. I think longevity is a ridiculously overrated statistic. Why? Because longevity without success doesn’t mean squat.

I get it. If you are allowed to stick around for a long time, it must mean you are pretty darn good. But not necessarily. Let’s look at Brett “small junk” Favre (It’s a joke, I like Brett Favre, though not in that way. Have a sense of humor) and his 297 consecutive starts. Every time it’s mentioned on the media, analysts ramble on about how it’s so impressive, and how it adds to his greatness.

I do think his longevity was a big part as to why on NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of all Time he was ranked ahead of Tom Brady, when he clearly has not accomplished the same success as Mr. Bundchen. In reality, I don’t care if you start 2,351 straight games (although come to think about it, that would be extremely impressive).

In order for that to translate to greatness, it needs to be accompanied by results. For Favre, the results to consider him great were there in his records, albeit accompanied by other non-desirable ones such as most interceptions and fumbles in NFL history.

Why did I even mention Brett Favre if in the end I would agree with him being great? Because he is great because of his career accomplishments—not his longevity. You could say his longevity is just the cherry in the pie, but if anything, this season has been detrimental to his legacy.

But enough with that, let’s go back to Fisher. The “longest tenured coach” in the NFL—as if that on itself meant anything. As I already stated, it usually does. But in Fisher’s case, does it? What does Jeff Fisher have to show for in 16 years as a head coach?

Let’s take a look:

• Winning Percentage: 54 percent (142-119)
• Playoff Appearances: six
• Winning Seasons: You guessed it – six
• Conference Championships Games: two
• Super Bowl Appearances: one
• Super Bowl Victories: A big donut – 0

Does that really merit sticking around 16 seasons as a head coach on the same team? You are reaching the playoffs on 37.5 percent of those seasons. Plus, the Titans have not had a playoff victory, and have reached the postseason only twice, since 2003.

Analysts always mention that they were one yard away from winning a Super Bowl in 1999. Actually no, they were a yard away from tying it and forcing overtime. Besides, let’s not forget that this came after barely surviving a Rob Johnson-led Buffalo Bills team at home on the most miraculous play ever (you could say the “Immaculate Reception” was more miraculous; I’d say you could at least argue a tie). I know a win is a win, but we are arguing greatness and the skills to be consistently good here.

If you were arguing against Bill Belichick and only winning that first Super Bowl because of the tuck rule, and then never winning it or even being close to doing so again, then I would probably say you have a strong case. But the Patriots are competitive year in and year out and they have won three Super Bowls, reached four total and reached an extra AFC Championship game during the last decade. If you show me Jeff Fisher’s resume after that 1999 season, I don’t know how you can argue that it WAS NOT a fluke.

Saying he has never had a quarterback is not a good excuse. He had Steve McNair for a fair number of years, who was even voted co-MVP in 2003, which a lot of times can be a popularity contest, much like the Pro Bowl, but at least, you have to be good to contend for it. Eddie George had over 10,000 career yards, and now, they have CJ2K, so they have been quite solid at the RB position as well. And they haven’t had superstars at receivers, but they’ve had solid guys like Derrick Mason.

In addition to that, from what I’ve read and seen on NFL Total Access, any lack of personnel can be at least partially attributed to him, because he plays a very important role in the drafting process, as well as with the acquisition of free agents and in deciding which players to keep during the offseason.

So, taking that into consideration, I am anxious to hear from Jeff Fisher apologists everywhere. Tell me why I am wrong, and why should Jeff Fisher be considered to be an elite coach who should be targeted by any NFL team looking for a head coach during the offseason in case he is released.

I certainly can’t understand this Jeff Fisher love fest, and I don’t see how someone looking objectively at his results could.