Jeff Fisher

Jeffrey Michael Fisher (born February 25, 1958) is an American football coach and former cornerback and return specialist.

He served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 22 seasons, primarily with the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise.

A native of Southern California, Fisher played Pop Warner football as a member of the Reseda Rams and was two-way starter on their championship team in 1972.

He then starred as a high school All-American wide receiver at Taft High School in Woodland Hills.

Fisher went on to start at USC, under coach John Robinson.

During his collegiate career (1977–80), Fisher played alongside such defensive stars as Ronnie Lott, Dennis Smith, and Joey Browner.

Fisher's USC teammates also included star offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, whom he would later coach with the Oilers and Titans.

Fisher and the Trojans won a national championship during the 1978 season, and in 1980, he was honored as a Pac-10 All-Academic selection.

After playing college football at University of Southern California, Fisher was drafted in the seventh round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, and played with the Bears for five seasons.

Fisher was drafted in the seventh round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.

He appeared in 49 games as a defensive back and return specialist in his five seasons with the Bears.

Fisher had a key performance in the Bears' 1981 Week 14 contest against the Minnesota Vikings.

Entering the game, the 7–6 Vikings were fighting for the NFC Central title while the Bears were 3–10.

In the fourth quarter, Fisher made a leaping interception at the line of scrimmage and then clinched Chicago's win by recovering a free kick after an intentional safety by the Bears, sealing a 10–9 win.

In 1983, Fisher suffered a broken leg on a punt return when he was tackled by then Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Cowher.

In 1984, Fisher set a Bears franchise record with eight punt returns in a single game against Detroit, helping him tie Lew Barnes's club record of 57 returns in a single season.

He won a Super Bowl ring in 1985 while on injured reserve during his final season as a player.

Fisher earned a Super Bowl ring after Chicago's 1985 Super Bowl season despite spending the year on injured reserve with an ankle injury that prematurely ended his playing career.

Fisher stayed with the Bears as a defensive assistant while on injured reserve for the season.

In 1985, Fisher used his time on the Bears' injured reserve to assist defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan.

After the Bears won Super Bowl XX that season, Ryan was hired as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Fisher joined him as a defensive backs coach.

In 1988, Fisher was promoted to defensive coordinator at age 30, the youngest such coach in the NFL.

The 1989 Eagles defense led the NFL in interceptions (30) and sacks (62).

The 1990 squad led the league in rushing defense and finished second in sacks.

In 1991, Fisher was hired as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, which reunited him with his college coach John Robinson.

For the next two seasons, Fisher served as the defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

These years as an assistant to George Seifert placed Fisher in the Bill Walsh coaching tree.

Fisher coached the Oilers / Titans from 1994 to 2010 and the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams from 2012 to 2016.

He is currently serving as the chief advisor for the Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League (AFL).

Fisher then held several coaching positions for various teams before becoming the head coach of the Titans towards the end of the 1994 season during their tenure as the Houston Oilers and was the team's first coach when they relocated to Tennessee.

On February 9, 1994, Fisher again became a defensive coordinator, this time for the Houston Oilers under Jack Pardee.

Fisher had succeeded Ryan, who left the post to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

On November 14, 1994, Pardee was fired, and Fisher was promoted to replace him for the last six games of the season.

Coincidentally, the two would become rivals as head coaches beginning in the AFC Central in 1995; Fisher's Oilers/Titans squads had an 11–7 record against Cowher's Pittsburgh Steelers.

Fisher's most successful season was in 1999, when he led the Titans to the franchise's first (and only) Super Bowl appearance in XXXIV, which ended in close defeat by the St. Louis Rams for their first Super Bowl title.

However, despite compiling a winning record as a head coach, Fisher's career has been noted for an overall lack of success, having only attained six winning seasons and postseason appearances in over two decades in the NFL.

He is tied with Dan Reeves & Bill Belichick for the most regular-season losses in NFL history at 165, but has the third-most total losses at 171, behind Reeves at 174 and Belichick at 178.

Fisher continued to coach the Titans until after the end of the 2010 season when he and the team mutually agreed to part ways.

Following a season away from football, Fisher was hired as the head coach of the Rams in 2012 and coached the team during their last four years in St. Louis.

He remained the head coach of the Rams during the franchise's return to Los Angeles in 2016 but was fired near the end of the season.