The Sporting News ranks Jeff Fisher as the 4th best coach in the NFL

4. Jeff Fisher, Titans. In the NFL, no coach gets to stay in one place as long as he has unless really, really good. A yard away from a Super Bowl title, he guided this team through a restructuring phase and back into contention.

1-3 are Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin and Andy Reid. No other coach in the AFC South made it higher than 17 on the list.

9 months ago August West 9 comments 0 recs |

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belichick-ok fine, andy reid-meh

but coughlin was about to get run out of NY before eli turned it on out of nowhere down the stretch and they won the super bowl, and more generally his players have a long, proud history of hating his guts. nothing like winning in NY to send your career into the hype-oshpere, i guess.

The Dual Threat, Official Enforcer/Stat Geek of MCM.

by hal41605 on Jun 8, 2009 10:11 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I disagree.

I think it says something about the man that he saw that he had a problem, that the problem was the way that he dealt with people, and that he made a successful effort to change in order to get along a little better. Not to mention the fact that Tiki Barber was probably the biggest instigator on the squad; looking back, I think you’d have to argue that Tiki was probably part of the problem, too.

If you’re gonna downgrade Coughlin, start by noting that he has one of the Top-3 GMs in the game, and given the sample size of seasons he’s been at the helm, Jerry Reese is looking to take the top spot and keep it for a while at some point in the next five years.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

by DannoE on Jun 8, 2009 10:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You could also probably hang that (really bad) lose to Philly in the playoffs last year on Coughlin...

…but if you do that, Fisher’s got a few like that to answer for as well.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

by DannoE on Jun 8, 2009 10:22 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

the year they won the super bowl

was supposed to be a lame-duck year for coughlin. They gutted the D, and all the Giants’ fans thought they were playing for a draft pick. Then they win the big one!

by joshuaboone on Jun 8, 2009 2:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not Bad

I think The Sporting News is one of the few sports news sites that tells it like it is without any bias.

I think having Fisher 4th is pretty fair. I could question Coughlin, but the Giants are consistent contenders. And he’s had them focused in spite of all the distractions that come with playing in NY. Not to mention Shockey, Barber, & Plaxico.

Reid is kinda meh, but he does manage to have the Eagles in contention almost every year even if they can’t win the big one.

by theologic on Jun 8, 2009 10:37 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Coughlin's first few years with the Giants

weren’t all that dissimilar to Jeff Fisher’s first few years with the Titans/Oilers. Both coaches, due to outside circumstances (team moving for Fisher, headcase prima donna players and the pressure of New York for Coughlin) took a bit longer to really install their coaching style and culture, but once they did, both teams shot up to the top of the league, and got there quickly.

To criticize Coughlin because it was Manning turning around his play that got them to a Superbowl seems a little off to me. Any and every coach sinks or swims with the play of his QB. Are you saying for Coughlin to be legitimate he would have had to win a Superbowl with Eli Manning playing like crap? That doesn’t make sense. And in that Superbowl run, Eli Manning played well, but he didn’t play out of this world. He just quit playing like a dumbass.

If in 2007-08 Vince Young had caught fire and we ripped through the AFC and beat the undefeated Patriots and won the Superbowl, it’d seem a little weird to say “Yeah, well Jeff Fisher wasn’t doing ANYTHING until Vince Young quit throwing Interceptions and started playing well. How good is he really?” ALL coaches sink and swim with their QB play.

I also think it’s a little generous to say we were a yard from winning a Superbowl. We were a yard from forcing overtime. Big difference.

Overall, not a bad list, I can’t really argue with it much.

T-Rac's Posse - Just do it. T-Rac wants you to.

by T--Rac's Posse on Jun 8, 2009 11:04 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

it's no coincidence

that every coach not named Jeff Fisher in that top 10 has either a ‘franchise’ QB or a QB who has pushed for an MVP in the past few years…

Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.

by August West on Jun 8, 2009 11:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

And Jeff Fisher wouldn't be our coach right now

Had Steve McNair not panned out. I totally agree. It’s not a coincidence. It’s also not a coincidence that top QB’s end up with Top Coaches. It’s a mutual relationship. Tom Brady isn’t Tom Brady without Belichick.

T-Rac's Posse - Just do it. T-Rac wants you to.

by T--Rac's Posse on Jun 8, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs