Jeff Fisher Exposed as the NFL's Most Overrated Coach

Another coach who seems to get a free pass is Jeff Fisher, the coach of the Titans.

Fisher, who rode Buddy Ryan's coattails to the NFL, still is riding high on the memory of one indelible image: being one yard short of defeating the high flying St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.

At the start of the 2008 season, Fisher will be the NFL's longest tenured head coach. Why?

If you count 1994, when he finished out the year for Jack Pardee, Fisher is beginning his 15th season as head coach of the Oilers/Titans franchise. Let's say the 1994 season doesn't count (he went 1-5 to finish the year, yet got the permanent gig anyway). Fisher has gone to the postseason in just five of his 13 full seasons as a head coach. Five winning seasons. Four losing seasons. Four seasons of 8-8. And how exactly is that anything but mediocre?

Fisher's won-loss record of 115-99 (.537) barely cracks sea level, and his playoff record is 5-5. Yet, every year he is bathed in media holy water as one of the bright, young coaches in the league. When Bill Parcells retired from the Dallas Cowboys, it was rumored that Dallas owner Jerry Jones would pay any price to get Fisher down in Big D. Again, why?

But strip away the carefully crafted Fisher veneer and you get one mediocre head coach who doesn't deserve the constant doting of the national media.

Fisher grew up in Ryan's 46 defense. Yet, in all his years with the Oilers/Titans, Fisher's teams finished ranked better than 10th in points allowed just three times: 1995, 2000 and last season. Same story on offense. Only two seasons did Fisher's teams finish in the top 10 in points scored: 1999 and 2003.

Let's compare Fisher to another head coach who doesn't get nearly the lavish praise: Dennis Green. As of 2006, Green, too, had 13 seasons as a head coach. His record was 113-94 -- six more wins than Fisher over 13 seasons. Green made the playoffs in eight of those 13 seasons. Yet, Green is unemployed. Fisher is in demand.

While Green's poor showing in the playoffs (4-8) is constantly regurgitated, Fisher's failures in big games are overlooked. So, let's look.

Example 1: Titans finished the 2003 regular season 12-4, go to New England in the divisional playoffs. Lose to the Patriots, 17-14.

Example 2: Titans finished the 2002 regular season 11-5, lose to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC championship game. Bill Callahan's offense stomps all over the defensive genius -- 41-24 Raiders.

Example 3: Titans finished the 2000 regular season 13-3, win the old AFC Central for the first time. Don't forget, that year, Tennessee finished second in the league in fewest points allowed and total yards. Trent Dilfer and Ray Lewis & Co. just came into Nashville and stripped Fisher's team of its manhood: Baltimore, 24-10.

Example 4: Titans finish the 1999 regular season 13-3, advance to Super Bowl XXXIV against the Rams. Kurt Warner plays pitch and catch all day. Fisher's defense has no answer, allowing the winning 73-yard touchdown pass from Warner to Isaac Bruce with 1:54 left. Even with Steve McNair's late-game heroics factored in, Fisher's coaching performance should go down as one of the most overrated in Super Bowl history.

By the way, let's not forget something. It was Fisher who demanded the Titans draft Adam (Pacman) Jones in the first round over the objections of his scouting staff. Jones, the poster child for NFL bad boy behavior, was traded to the Cowboys for a song.

Thanks to Sal Paolantonio