Jeff Fisher Out in Tennessee

Wow. I'm a little speechless about this one. Less than 3 weeks ago, it was announced that Fisher would be staying on for yet another season as the Titans head coach.

Said owner Bud Adams at the time: "Obviously, I have very high expectations for our football team and want to deliver a championship to our fans. Jeff understands this and shares my expectations. The results of his leadership have been some very good football teams and I believe he will get us back to an elite level."

And then Fisher: "Clearly I am pleased with the news today. Presenting Mr. Adams with his first Lombardi Trophy is still the objective and I will continue to work for that goal."

Clearly whatever issues the two had weren't resolved as now the Titans are out a head coach and Fisher is out of a job (though probably not for long given his resume).  Personally, I think it's a mistake to let him go. Fisher has proved to be a rock for the franchise since taking over the head coaching job on an interim basis in 1994. Over the years, he compiled a record 142-120, won 3 Division titles (1 AFC Central, 2 AFC South), had 3 13 win seasons, made the playoffs 6 times, and had just 5 full seasons out of 16 where his teams finished below .500. More than that though, he always seemed to get the most out of his players, and it seemed he always put a hard hitting, competitive team onto the field. By all accounts, guys loved playing for him, and as a Titans fan I loved what he brought to the organization.

So now what? Who's out there that will want to take the job? With Fisher now gone, does this mean the club won't be letting Vince Young go? Unless you tell me the Titans have the inside track at getting a Bill Cowher or something, or they can convince Gregg Williams to give up his coordinator job in New Orleans (seems unlikely), I don't see a lot of names out there to get excited about. Eric Mangini maybe? For all the press he's gotten over the years, he's 33 and 47 in 5 years between the Jets and the Browns. And then what do you do about quarterback? Vince Young has shown himself to be a winner on the field, but he's had more than a couple issues that would bring his maturity into question. Kerry Collins just turned 38 years old, so do you really want to put the fate of your season on his shoulders at this point? Rusty Smith was just 20 of 40 with 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in his 2 appearances last year and Chris Simms hasn't played since 2009 where he was just 5 of 17 in limited action for Denver. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see them bring in a Carson Palmer or something, but I don't know that that's in the realm of the possible. Needless to say, I am not excited about where things are headed for Tennessee next year. Hope they prove me wrong.