Friday, October 30, 2009

"Damn! We're in a tight spot!"

Those famous words, uttered by the great Ulysses Everett McGill in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, proves that he knew a thing or two about being in precarious situations.

So does Titans coach Jeff Fisher.

During his 15-year coaching stint with Tennessee, Fisher has been through it all. He has seen the best of times and the worst of times. And, through it all, Titans owner Bud Adams has remained by his side and loyal. He has avoided getting involved and tried to take a back seat while Fisher and his coaches did what they were hired to do.

Tennessee has now lost six straight games to begin the 2009 campaign; one which they were destined and equipped to make a run at the Super Bowl. Their defense is now ranked 31st while the offense has been sluggish including an impotent passing effort led by the old journeyman Kerry Collins. He simply hasn't been making plays and winning ball games like he did during last year's 13-3 season.

Coach Fisher has stayed by Collins' side all year. He's also the one who made the decision to let Jim Schwartz leave his DC post and take the Detroit gig. He also hired his replacement in Chuck Cecil. Through these six excruciating battles, Fisher has remained loyal to Collins and remained steadfast as the Titans have continued to sink. These once-admirable traits though have made Mr. Adams impatient.

This past week, the 86-year-old Titans owner reaffirmed his man crush on Vince Young who has been the #2 QB while waiting for his time of redemption to begin after going through a major maturation process in the last year and a half. He believes that VY has what it takes to get this team back to its winning ways.

The result was Fisher announcing this past Thursday that the Vince Young era had arrived.

Bud Adams did more than just flex his muscles as the owner. He abused his position. He overlooked the chain of command, cut out the middle man in GM Mike Reinfeldt, and imposed his will on Fisher. Of course, Fisher will never admit that this is what happened and will appear supportive of Adams because that is the kind of man that he is.

Yes, I know he's the owner. Yes, he writes the checks and it all starts with him at the top of the pyramid. But what exactly does this say about Adams? Why would an owner disrespect the system and put his head coach in such an awkward dilemma by forcing him to make a change against his wishes?

Don't get me wrong. The manslaughter in snowy New England showed that Fisher's stay-the-course manner needed to take a back seat. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that changes needed to be made, but Fisher has proven in the past that he knows how to improvise and make it work.

Instead, Adams interfered and put Fisher in a position where he isn't liable if Tennessee continues to decay. There will be the argument that if Adams had just stayed away that this vessel could have corrected its course.

Don't get me wrong, Jeff Fisher has made some mistakes this year. Maybe enough to get fired even if Adams had stayed behind the curtain while this thing did, in fact, blow up.

But, he deserves to lose or keep his job with dignity and on his own terms instead of being jerked around by an intruding owner. Adams should have kept his mouth shut and let the hierarchy function.

Instead, the Titans move forward with an owner-endorsed QB and a suspicious head coach.


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