Jeff Fisher To Coach St. Louis Rams

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher will return to the NFL next season, joining the much-maligned St. Louis Rams next season. Fisher spent 16 seasons in Tennessee and was the longest tenured head coach in the NFL until he was fired following the 2010 season (due in large part to the fact that he had this f*cking guy as his QB). Fisher took a year off from coaching after he was let go but unlike former coaches John Gruden and Bill Cowher (both currently enjoying success TV careers as analysts) vowed to return to the NFL for the 2012 season. Both the St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins vied for Fisher's services.

There was much speculation as to where Fisher would land and it was rumored that Miami, seeing itself in a more desperate situation than St. Louis, was willing to offer more money. However it appears that Fisher's decision to come to St. Louis was based on the structure of the franchise. Despite posting a dismal 2-14 record in 2011 that resulted in the firing of former coach Steve Spagnuolo, the Rams organization offered a much more attractive future than the Dolphins. The Rams already have a franchise QB in the form of Sam Bradford who they selected number 1 overall in 2010 and hold the second overall pick in the upcoming 2012 draft. They also have significantly more cap space with which to improve the team than do the Dolphins but perhaps the most important factor was the fact that Fisher would be able to hire his own GM as the position was vacant in St. Louis.

The Rams had high expectations coming into 2011 after a much improved 2010 where the went 7-9 under Spagnuolo and Bradford. Prior to the season it was expected that they would compete for the NFC West division crown (that is before the 49ers snuck up on everyone) however they appeared to regress significantly as the season played out. The team was hit with major injuries early and often and Bradford did not show the type of improvement and development that was expected of him. The blame fell of Spagnuolo for his inability to prepare his team and the team's failures culminated in his termination at the end of the year. Under Fisher it is not impossible to think that the Rams can make a significant turnaround in 2012 and along with the 49ers and the late-breaking Seattle Seahawks we could see a very competitive NFC West in the next few years which would be remarkable considering in 2010 the Seahawks became the first team in NFL history to win a division with a losing record at 7-9.