Time For Tennessee to Part With Jeff Fisher

The thing is, the message sometimes gets stale, and a fine line exists between stability and staleness. I suspect that the Titans have crossed that line. The team has now lost 6 games in a row and I’m pretty comfortable saying they won’t be in the playoffs again this year. I’m not much into guessing whether this team has quit on a coach, because I think there are so many shades of that, injuries have played a role, and well, I’m not smart enough to diagnose such things and tend to think most NFL players play hard through most circumstances. I just see the fruits, which has been a team going in the wrong direction 17 years in to his leadership.

Honestly, he’s gotten a fair amount of time since his only Super Bowl appearance after the 1999 season, and eleven years is a long time in both dog and NFL years. Let’s put it this way.  Don Shula coached exactly 11 seasons with the Dolphins after his final Super Bowl appearance. Jim Mora of the Saints coached 11 seasons in New Orleans without ever reaching a Super Bowl.  Tom Landry coached 10 more after his fifth and final Super Bowl. Only one coach has gone more than 11 straight seasons with one organization in the Super Bowl era without a Super Bowl appearance. That was Chuck Noll, who coached from 1980-1991 after winning his fourth ring.

I’m not sure that Fisher should garner any more time than those legends, well, three legends and one press conference legend. The Titans look farther a way now than they did a decade ago, during the halcyon days with Steve McNair, Eddie George, and Jevon Kearse.  It’s probably time for a change.

[photo via Getty]