Browns need to hang up if Jeff Fisher comes calling
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns should be in the market for a new head coach, but Jeff Fisher is not someone they should entertain for the position.
The Cleveland Browns close out the 2017 NFL regular season on Dec. 31 with a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The game will end sometime shortly after 4 p.m., most likely with another season-ending loss to the Steelers, a scenario that has played out seven previous times since 2008. That could likely finish off an 0-16 season, giving head coach Hue Jackson a record of 1-31 as Browns head coach.
If the Browns were a “real NFL team” run by a “real NFL owner,” such a historically woeful mark would be enough for a coaching change, but these are the Browns and Jimmy Haslam we are talking about.
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Haslam has gone on the record as saying that Jackson is safe for next year no matter what the final record is this season. General manager John Dorsey deflected questions about Jackson’s continued employment on Tuesday during an interview with Cleveland radio station 92.3 The Fan by saying that “ownership has spoken on that question.”
There are still 12 days to go until the season finale, however, and if there is one thing that Haslam has shown as owner it is that he can be easily swayed to change his mind.
If that were to be the case, the one thing that Haslam and Dorsey have to be sure to do is not answer the phone if former head coach Jeff Fisher starts calling.
Fisher was let go by the Los Angeles Rams after Week 14 of the 2016 season and he is now reportedly interested in making a return to the NFL, according to Mike Jurecki with Arizona radio station 98.7 FM.
And who might Fisher have his eye on? The Indianapolis Colts (if they fire head coach Chuck Pagano), the Chicago Bears (when they fire head coach John Fox) and none other than the Cleveland Browns.
Jeff Fisher wants to get back into the NFL next year, could be eyeing three jobs if they open: Cleveland, Indy and Chicago. Fisher buyout from the Rams was $16M.
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) December 19, 2017
Fisher is a familiar name to even the most casual fan after spending 22 years as a head coach, first with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans from 1994 to 2010, and then with the Rams from 2011 to 2016.
Fisher did take the Titans to the Super Bowl in 1999, which is nice, but things took a turn for the mediocre once the final whistle blew in the loss to the Rams. Over the next 16 years, Fisher would only coach a team to a winning record five times and finish with an overall record of 173-165-1.
Basically, if you want a head coach to get you a consistent string of 6-10 or 7-9 seasons, then Fisher is the man for you.
While 6-10 looks grand in the shadow of 0-16, the Browns have higher aspirations than that. (At least we have to hope they do.) Retaining Jackson should be a non-starter in any discussions about 2018, but hiring Fisher would be just as much of a mistake.
It’s nice that Fisher is floating out that he would like to return to the NFL, but the Browns have enough to worry about without bringing him on board.
Next: Looking for reasons to believe in John Dorsey
Haslam may not get much of anything right, but this decision should be easy enough that not even he can mess it up.