Tag: Jeff Fisher

Jeff Fisher makes questionable decision in Panthers loss to Stars

Jeff Fisher took the conservative approach on Friday night, and it didn’t pay off.

Former Tennessee Titans and current Michigan Panthers head coach Jeff Fisher is under fire after making a very questionable decision in his team’s loss to the Philadelphia Stars in Week 4 of the 2022 USFL season.

With the Panthers trailing 26-25, Fisher’s team was at the three-yard line with 28 seconds left and two timeouts. Instead of going for the touchdown, Fisher took the ultra conservative approach and decided to run the clock down and go for the field goal to win the game.

And it ended up biting him in the rear end after his kicker who doubles as a punter, Michael Carrizosa, hit the upright and missed the 21-yard field goal, losing the game for Michigan.

Making Fisher’s decision look even worse is the fact that his kicker had been 1-for-3 on field goal attempts and 0-for-2 on extra points this season before failing to make the kick.

It has been a rough ride for Fisher in his return to coaching in the USFL thus far.

Not only has he been the butt of jokes, but his team is off to a 1-3 start. The former Titans head coach certainly didn’t do himself any favors on Friday night, which was the latest blemish in his coaching record.

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Jeff Fisher on brutal first half of USFL debut: ‘Our opponent is us’

Jeff Fisher’s Panthers had NINE fumbles (two lost) in their USFL debut on Sunday.

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Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher had a rough USFL debut on Sunday after his team, the Michigan Panthers, dropped its season-opening contest, 17-12, to the Houston Gamblers.

But the final score wasn’t the only issue. Michigan had plenty of problems at quarterback with Shea Patterson and Paxton Lynch, both of whom struggled.

The Panthers’ first six drives were a total disaster and resulted in three punts, two fumbles, and one interception. Patterson started, was replaced by Lynch, and then came back in after the latter found a way to play even worse.

Patterson and Lynch accounted for five of the team’s nine fumbles (two lost). To make matters worse, the communication system between the signal-callers and coaches broke down on multiple occasions.

At halftime, Fisher rightly pointed out that his team’s own worst enemy was itself, according to Brandon Champion of MLive.com:

“You didn’t know anything about your opponent when we stepped out there,” Fisher said. “What we do know now, is our opponent is us.”

Things did get better for Patterson and the Panthers as the game wore on, but their 12-point second half wasn’t enough to overcome the early 17-point hole.

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Adding to the woes of Fisher and the Panthers, two Michigan players got into a fight on the sideline. Fisher also drew some trolling from Twitter for wearing his hat backwards.

After the game, Fisher had this to say about his team’s debut, per The Detroit News’ Tony Paul.

“Since our arrival here 3½, four weeks ago, the one thing that was going through my mind on a daily basis is, how do we measure up and how do we compare against the other seven teams, just because of the unknown and the lack of familiarity with their rosters, what they’re doing,” said Fisher.

“A lot of those questions, at least from my perspective, were answered today. We did some really good things. We got some things done in a short period of time that I’m especially proud of.

“Now, in the game of football, you don’t turn the football over like we did and win very many (games).”

Fisher and Co. will return to the field on Friday, April 22, when they meet the New Jersey Generals.

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Jeff Fisher lost his USFL coaching debut but his outfit was fantastic

Jeff Fisher had Twitter buzzing with his backwards hat and hoodie outfit, despite losing his USFL coaching debut

Jeff Fisher was back on the sidelines for the first time since 2016 on Sunday, making his coaching debut with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers. It didn’t go exactly as planned, with the Panthers losing to the Houston Gamblers, 17-12, in a turnover-filled, low-scoring contest.

Despite possessing the ball for 36:49, outgaining the Gamblers 363-174 in yardage and running 34 more drives than Houston, the Panthers still managed to lose this game. Shea Patterson threw for 192 yards and a touchdown in the Panthers’ loss, far outperforming his backup, Paxton Lynch; Lynch was 2-for-5, gained 1 yard and threw an interception.

The start of the game on offense was particularly ugly for Michigan, getting shut out in the first half.

What caught everyone’s attention, however, was Jeff Fisher’s fantastic outfit. He went with a more casual look on the sideline, rocking a backwards hat and a Michigan Panthers hoodie.

Immediately, everyone on Twitter had the same reaction, tweeting the meme of Steve Buscemi saying, “How do you do, fellow kids” from the show “30 Rock.”

It was fittingly accurate, too.

Here are some of the best reactions to Fisher’s USFL debut, and more importantly, his get-up.

Jeff Fisher’s ugly USFL debut featured players fighting and a backwards hat

Jeff Fisher’s backwards hat and two of his players fighting on the sideline were the best things to come out of his USFL debut.

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher made his USFL debut with the Michigan Panthers on Sunday, and it’s safe to say he has seen better days.

Fisher’s squad fell behind 17-0 to the Houston Gamblers in the first half, and while the Panthers did show some signs of life in the final two quarters, it wasn’t enough to pull out a victory. Michigan ended up losing, 17-12.

Quarterback play was a major issue for the Panthers, with Shea Patterson and Paxton Lynch both struggling out of the gate. The two signal-callers were a combined 19-of-30 for 193 yards, one score, one interception, and five fumbles, two of which were lost.

Patterson started the game, but was briefly relieved by Lynch, who went on to fumble and throw a pick before being pulled for the guy he had just replaced. Here’s a look at how the Panthers’ first six drives went.

Making matters worse, two Panthers players actually got into a fight on the sideline.

The most positive thing to come out of Fisher’s debut was his wearing a backwards hat, which quickly became a meme. Here’s a look at the fun Twitter had with backwards hat Jeff Fisher in what was an ugly day.

Jeff Fisher coaching in a backwards hat became the first USFL meme of the season

How do you do, fellow kids?

Apparently, Jeff Fisher has not seen the “how do you do, fellow kids?” meme starring Steve Buscemi from his 30 Rock guest appearance.

Because if the former NFL coach — and current head coach of the USFL’s Michigan Panthers — had, he probably would not have turned his hat around during his team’s first game of the year against the Houston Gamblers.

But he did. And now, on Sunday afternoon, he’s a meme, and that is hilarious.

The ex-Rams head coach was already going to have a bunch of jokes made about him since football fans tend to do that when it comes to win-loss records, but here’s the newest set of memes:

Ex-Titans head coach Jeff Fisher defends his record with QBs

Jeff Fisher defended himself against people who say he hasn’t had enough success with quarterbacks.

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Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, who is now leading the USFL’s Michigan Panthers, recently defended himself against critics who believe he ruins quarterbacks.

Fisher was a guest on the Number One Ranked Show and cited people on social media mockingly calling him the “quarterback whisperer” and saying he doesn’t know how to develop or coach players at the position.

However, Fisher defended himself and noted his past with the Titans as evidence that his record with quarterbacks isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be.

“I got caught up in some of the social media stuff,” Fisher admitted. “They were calling me – facetiously – ‘quarterback whisperer,’ like I just ruin quarterbacks. Well, go fact check your world … before you start saying things.

“We had success [with the Titans]. We had a lot of success.”

Fisher did oversee at least some success with drafted quarterbacks like Steve McNair and Vince Young, as well as with an already-established Kerry Collins.

McNair won a co-MVP and helped lead the Titans to their lone Super Bowl appearance, Collins was a Pro Bowler in 2008, and Young won Offensive Rookie of the Year in his first season.

“We were patient with him,” Fisher said of McNair. “He was just a fierce competitor, and it took us some time. At that time, we laid it out and said, ‘Look, this is going to be our guy. We’re going to take him. We can’t tell you when he’s going to be ready. But we’ll know.’

“He got all the experience he needed to get over a couple of years, and then we took off and we ran with him. And we did very well with him.”

However, the rapid decline of Young, who has admitted in the past to having issues with Fisher, remains a stain on the head coach’s tenure in Nashville.

Fisher’s stint with the Rams was not good. On top of shoddy quarterback play from guys like Sam Bradford, Nick Foles, Case Keenum and Jared Goff, the Rams went 31-45-1 under Fisher over four-plus seasons.

Fisher, who remains the winningest coach in franchise history, will now be tasked with bringing along quarterbacks Paxton Lynch and Shea Patterson, both of whom were drafted by the Panthers after unsuccessful stints in the NFL.

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USFL’s Michigan Panthers hire Jeff Fisher as head coach

Jeff Fisher will lead the Michigan Panthers when the USFL takes the field this spring

The Michigan Panthers are back in the newly reincarnated USFL, and the Panthers have themselves a recognizable head coach. On Thursday, the USFL announced that longtime NFL head coach Jeff Fisher will be in charge of the rebooted Panthers.

Fisher coached in the NFL for 22 seasons with the Oilers/Titans and Rams organizations. He posted a career record of 173-165-1 and advanced to the Super Bowl after the 1999 season as coach of the Titans. He last coached with the Rams in the 2016 season, fired midway through the first season of now-Lions QB Jared Goff’s time with the team.

The Panthers are “Michigan” in name only. All the USFL games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama later this spring, according to their press release.

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Jeff Fisher lands head coaching job in USFL and Twitter loves it

Jeff Fisher is back on the sidelines as a head coach in the USFL and Twitter is loving it

Jeff Fisher’s tenure as the Rams’ head coach from 2012-2016 caused a lot of disappointment among fans in St. Louis and eventually Los Angeles, but there’s a subset of NFL fans who love the former coach.

That’s why when it was announced on Thursday that Fisher will be the head coach of the Michigan Panthers in the USFL, those on Twitter struggled to contain their excitement.

In just 15 minutes, the Panthers’ announcement was retweeted more than 700 times and received over 2,000 likes.

During his time as the Rams’ head coach, Fisher went 31-45-1, failing to make the playoffs a single time. Sean McVay has already eclipsed his win total in five seasons, going 55-26 in the regular season with four playoff appearances and five postseason victories.

Nonetheless, fans love a good comeback story.

The responses to Fisher’s news were fantastic. It’s good to see the former Rams coach back on the sidelines, even if it is just in the USFL. Here are some of the reactions to his return, with many celebrating the news and others cracking 7-9 jokes.

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Jeff Fisher hired as head coach of USFL’s Michigan Panthers

This will be Fisher’s first head-coaching job since 2016.

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher has been hired for the same role with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers, the team announced on Thursday.

For Fisher, this is his first head-coaching job since he was fired by the Los Angeles Rams during the 2016 season after four-plus years.

Prior to coaching the Rams, Fisher spent 17 seasons with the Titans/Oilers and remains the winningest coach in franchise history. He is also the only head coach to take the Titans to a Super Bowl.

In 22 total seasons as a head coach, Fisher has amassed a record of 173-165-1, and a playoff mark of 5-6.

More recently, Fisher was hired by Tennessee State as an advisor after the program hired his former running back, Eddie George, as head coach.

Last October, it was reported that Fisher was in the running for the USC job, but he did not end up getting it.

The 2022 USFL season is currently scheduled to begin on April 16th.

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USFL adds Larry Fedora, Jeff Fisher as head coaches

The USFL has rounded out its coaching roster with Jeff Fisher and Larry Fedora for Michigan and New Orleans, respectively

The USFL coaching roster was filled out on Thursday.

One name is sure to raise eyebrows as the Michigan Panthers hired longtime NFL coach Jeff Fisher.

The New Orleans Breakers hired Larry Fedora, formerly of the University of North Carolina.

Fisher coached the Houston Oilers and  Tennessee Titans for 17 years, going 142-120. He was coach of the Rams for five-plus seasons in St. Louis and Los Angeles, going 31-45-1.

Fedora coached Southern Miss from 2008-11 and had a record of 34-19. He then went to North Carolina from 2012-18. With the Tar Heels, Fedora was 45-43. His record was stronger but he was 5-18 in his last two seasons at Chapel Hill.

The other coaches, previously announced: