When Jeff Fisher benched his franchise quarterback and managed to keep his team winning, NFL fans and analysts alike fell in love with his coaching acumen. The Tennessee Titans' 10-0 start to the season made Fisher a runaway favorite for Coach of the Year.
That praise and respect is no longer deserved.
The NFL has placed a premium on upholding the quality of the people that represent their league. Class, integrity, honor, and respect are held to the same standard as physical ability. Sportsmanship has been a priority among league officials, demanding celebrations be placed to a minimum, and all players treat one another with courtesy.
There is absolutely no excuse for a head coach to violate all of those traits. And that's exactly what Jeff Fisher did when he threw the red challenge flag with less than four minutes left while his team held a humiliating 37-point lead over the abysmal Detroit Lions.
Calvin Johnson's sideline catch was upheld, but Jeff Fisher and the Tennessee Titans deserve to lose more than a timeout.
The Detroit Lions are in the middle of one of the worst seasons of their existence—and that's saying a lot. There's no need to prolong the game, stop the clock, and make the officials review a catch that will have no bearing on the outcome.
Even if the Lions marched up the field and managed to score a touchdown, would a 30-point win be any less significant?
This isn't college football. There are no style points to speak of in this league.
"Attitude reflects leadership."
That's a line from Disney's 2000 film Remember the Titans. It's frightening how relevant that quote is to 2008's Tennessee Titans.
While the Tennessee Titans held a 34-point lead, LenDale White broke off for a 25-yard run to set up the final field goal. When the run was over, he felt the need to pound his chest, jump up and down, scream, and cheer.
Seriously? Was this stored up aggression after the New York Jets served up a beating in Nashville? Days earlier, White didn't care—what a difference four days makes.
Your opponent was the Detroit Lions. They find ways to beat themselves! They haven't won a game this season, and the Titans want to challenge catches and celebrate big runs with less than five minutes on the clock.
The NFL is not a league of pity and sympathy, but it is an understood aspect to the game. When it's no longer a competitive contest, it's time to let the clock run out.
Watching the Titans play so aggressively against one of the league's bottom-feeders only made the Jets' victory days earlier even sweeter.
Angel Navedo is the Head Writer at NYJetsFan.com, with frequently updated Jets' and NFL news and opinions, and a premier fan community. He is also the Community Leader for the New York Jets on Bleacher Report.
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about 1 month ago
Thanks for writing about this. I agree 100 percent. Fisher is a jerk. He defended his decision after the game by saying "I thought he bobbled it. We play the entire game." BS. Show some class. Then he waves at the fans when they are booing the challenge. Forget the players, no coach can control everyone, but Fisher should be ashamed. I hope he gets blown out in the playoffs.
from about 1 month ago
I have no problem with it at all. What is wrong with a coach playing the game until the end? I have no problem with coaches running up the score either. Jeff Fisher is one of the classiest coaches in the NFL and thats why he is respected by just about every other coach and player. The Titans are in the midst of a magical season and if that is all you can come up with to try and take away from what they have accomplished, then I hate to tell you but you are going to have to try harder.
from 4 days ago
Well....y'all are home. Are ya comfy? Enjoy mama's meatloaf while we eat BBQ at BB Kings. It's a great day for Jeff and the Titans. When you win, you win. It's about domination. Fisher is awesome compared to some of the head coaches in the NFL. He is a class act and you don't know what you are talking about. You are just whiners and the Jets are sunk. Let me throw the red flag....ha ha ha! You guys can just move over and become Giants fans. Looooosers!!!!
about 1 month ago
Since it's their job to win, and the more impressive the win the more impressive the next contract, I don't begrudge them wanting as large a margin of victory as possible.
That being said, Fisher should be strung upside down by his toenails. Not only was it cruel and unusual punishment to prolong the game, but let's get serious: We all knew the Lions wouldn't score anyway.
Normally Fisher is a good guy, so when he pulls stunts like this it's both shocking, and rarely called out.
Good Yob.
about 1 month ago
Yeah the move resembled something Belichick would do. No class and no reason to do it. Nice work Angel.
about 1 month ago
Couldn't agree more, Angel.
about 1 month ago
I refused to watch this game. No Lions on Turkey Day for me. That being said, there is a difference between playing the whole game and demoralizing the other team.
from about 1 month ago
That's pretty much what it comes down to. The Lions were dialing it in the rest of the game, too. It comes down to decency.
about 1 month ago
FISHER is a Good GUY... DETROIT is BRUTAL. Do the TITANS lie down because a team is crap.. This is the NFL not little league. FISHER is a class act.... they could have picked up 60 more points if they wanted to start throwing the ball down field.
from about 1 month ago
Jeff Fisher is probably the most respected coach in the league. Arguably, one of the smartest and most level-headed as well. You don't achieve a record or tenure status like his by being any other way.
I'm sorry that Detroit sucks, but you don't "have mercy" on your opponent and expect to be a winning team in the NFL. Getting your players in that mindset could be detrimental. You play EVERY PLAY until the clock hits 0:00. I'm only sorry they knelt down on the two remaining plays of the game. I wish they would have kicked another field goal at the end, just so they could have had a nice round 50.
Furthermore, no one ever dared to say these things of Belichick (even after he was caught cheating!) or Dungy when Brady and Manning were routing other teams. In fact, they were "praised".
Your article is undoubtedly, in a large field, the worst piece of sports "journalism" that I have read in sometime.
See you in the SuperBowl.
from about 1 month ago
Eric you're an idiot. And I don't know where you're from but here in the tri-state area a lot of people were all over Belichick when he was running up the score.
I don't think even Belichick would have challenged that call. I agree that you play to the final play and that's fine. Sometimes teams are just in a groove offensively and can do no wrong. But a coach's challenge on defense? That they lost?
The Lions had no shot at coming back in that game and even they themselves knew it.
P.S. The Titans aren't even that good.
from about 1 month ago
I don't know why people are bashed for expressing their opinions. I thought B/R was a place that people could express their opinions openly and you show respect for their opinions. Eric & Nick, you are both at fault here. Show some respect.
from about 1 month ago
Fisher is traditionally a great guy. I have the utmost respect for him. But it doesn't make what he did any less classless.
I see where you're coming from, Todd. But just because you can doesn't mean you have to. Especially not against a team as terrible as Detroit. It makes the Titans look all the more pathetic coming off the loss they just had. They got pushed around by big boys and took it out on the little team. Nothing classy about that.
about 1 month ago
No need to kick someone when there down... what are chances that the Lions would've come back in that game... 0 unnecessary by Fisher.
about 1 month ago
I agree. I think that Fisher should have kept the flag in his pocket. It served no purpose to make that challenge.
from about 1 month ago
Thank you, Megan. Glad to see that I have some people that agree!
from about 1 month ago
Yeah normally Fisher is the epitome of classiness. This one decision of his was questionable, but you've got to keep it in perspective. If he wanted to, he could have easily put up sixty points on Detroit. He could have allowed Vince Young to throw more than just one short screen pass. Tennessee is a small-market team, so now that they're no longer undefeated people are bashing them and pretending they were never any good anyway. Now even Fisher, the longest-tenured and classiest NFL coach in the league right now, is getting bashed for something minor. If he wanted to be "classless", he could've been so much more agressive against the Lions. They're the Lions. If you watched the game, you saw the Titans pretty much quit in the second half. Before halftime, I saw Lendale White tell Titans 3rd-string RB Quinton Ganther "You'll get in there" referring to getting on the field. The Titans pulled a ton of starters and did everything they could to make the game semi-respectable. Except this one challenge. It's kind of confusing, actually.
about 1 month ago
Yeah that was a dumb call by Fisher. In general, I don't have a problem with him but I don't know what he was thinking challenging that call.
Rod Marinelli was fighting for his life to make the score respectable, much less close. Johnson makes a good catch and Fisher challenges? And then loses the challenge? He looked like a teenage kid playing Madden. Was he going to go for it on fourth downs too?
Besides, didn't he want to get home and have some Turkey? I know after I started watching that game, I wanted to turn it off and just eat already.
about 1 month ago
GOOD COMMENTS ERIC !
about 1 month ago
Fisher's been around long enough to be on both ends of these type of games. I recall he wasn't too happy 3 years ago when Belichick had Testaverde throw a TD pass to give him a record of 20 straight NFL seasons with a TD pass when the Pats were up something like 40-20. Now, he pulls a similar stunt here.
Now if that play scored a TD, I can see, maybe, challenging because total points is like the 7th tie-breaker for playoffs, although it never comes to that. If that happened, Fisher could defend it. Not here.
from about 1 month ago
Great point, Brian. That was at the end of the 2006 season. And I believe both Keith Bulluck and Jeff Fisher had some words about it.
about 1 month ago
This was a dive move by Fisher, but let's not blow it out of proportion.
If the Titans want to play the game "the right way" until the clock hits 00:00 then they are entitled to do so.
The fact that it happened against the Lions has no bearing. This is the NFL - if you are getting blown out then the onus falls on your shoulders to improve your team, not for your opponent to approach the situation differently.
I don't think Fisher was openly trying to be disrespectful - this was just a case of an old-school football guy who only knows one way to coach... 100%. That's why he's been such a well-respected, long tenured head coach.
Do we expect players to half-ass it during blow outs? No. So why expect it from a coach? He is just doing his job.
And as my final argument, let me say that net points have tie-breaking implications. Technically he is doing his team a disservice if he doesn't coach to the very best of his abilities until the final whistle.
Was it in poor taste? Maybe. Should Fisher be vilified and taken out of Coach of the Year consideration? No. No. No.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk5sMHj58I
from about 1 month ago
One challenge call definitely won't remove him from the race. But awards like that reflect the leader of the team. If they're all about winning, then good luck on the road to the Super Bowl. But the move was of the arrogant variety. Destroying the Lions on Thanksgiving wasn't enough?
about 1 month ago
Jeff Fisher is a great coach. He deserves respect, and I choose to give it to him. However, to say that because of one challenge he loses his Coach of the Year award that he DESERVES, is ludicrous. The goal of the game is to WIN. By challenging the catch by Johnson, Fisher showed his drive to win and win convincingly.
He has showed that he is willing to press his power at all costs and win. That gets into his opponents' collective heads and tells them they actually have a fight on the way. THAT is a great coach. It's not like he was cheating.
from about 1 month ago
So are we arguing that Tennessee wasn't already winning convincingly? I understand the concept of demoralizing an opponent, but come on.. against the Lions. You don't rub it in when you dunk on a three year old. I hate to compare the Lions to children, but it's not like the Titans just took the fight to a winning team.
from about 1 month ago
While I agree with that, I think that this shows the rest of the league that they don't CARE who they play. They're going to treat everyone like it's Indianapolis or Jacksonville.
about 1 month ago
Football is football. I agree that he could have let that one roll but who knows, his next in line might have called him on it. He is responsible for recognizing these types of issues during a game. I am a Lions fan and although he could have let it roll and ignored it I feel it is still his dutie to call a game just the same.
about 1 month ago
Angel, I agree and disagree somewhat. I know that Fisher is a good guy but the Titans do need to act like they've been there before. Beating the Lions is expected and the challenge was trivial at best. We do know Detroit wouldn't have scored so it was a ridiculous challenge. Broncos-Jets should be a good game.
about 1 month ago
dare we say this was Belichick-esque???
from about 1 month ago
Belichick wins championship, so i think that if anyone is considered Belichick-esque it should be considered a compliment
about 1 month ago
Up unitl this game, I considred Jeff Fisher a pretty classy coach. But jeez, with your team up by a million and the Lions having no chance to win the game, throwing a challenge flag was pointless.
The game was over in the first quarter...what was the point, what was it he was trying to prove?
about 1 month ago
What's up with the poll question? Fisher should be on the list, regardless of your opinion. Certainly, not everybody agrees with you. Also, the Giants (Coughlin) deserve consideration...
Hey, I didn't see the situation, I must have been eating, but I'm going to share my opinion anyway. It was probably a bad decision by Fisher to throw the challenge. However, he may have been making a statement to someone about something that we might never know about. Does it make it right? That would be debatable. We might understand better if we knew why he did it, and certainly his excuse isn't necessarily valid. I'll tell you one thought that crossed my mind: the NFL challenge system. Could he have been making a statement to the NFL? the Referrees? Sometimes they let a play go instaed of calling it dead because they know it can be challenged.
I know that the challenge system has to change. The challenge system interferes with the game too much the way it is. Refs- call it as you see it. All reviews should come from the booth every time, and it should not be the refs that make decisions on such reviews. The game should continue, without delay. If a call of possession, out of bounds, even some penalties are called incorrectly on the field are questionable, the booth should be reviewing the play as the next play begins. It does not take 2 minutes to decide what the outcome of the play should be. Challenges are used improperly by teams in the NFL. Coaches call challenges sometimes just to stall momentum. This is just not acceptable.
In Fisher's case, he wouldn't have had a flag to throw. If the booth thought Johnson had bobbled the catch, thus making the call on the field incorrect, the booth would tell the lead referree to blow the whistle and to call the last play incomplete. Maybe it would extend the game by thirty seconds, replacing the ball at the previous LOS. However, the booth would let this one go because it didn't matter anyway.
from about 1 month ago
You're right, Brad. I shouldn't have removed him from the poll. But since he's been the clear favorite, I wanted to see who the fans thought was most worthy for the award if not Fisher.
I completely forgot about Coughlin, too.
from about 1 month ago
Brad you're right about being able to express opinions, my bad. I was just firing back.
about 1 month ago
Jeff Fisher is a class act and should deserve Coach of the Year honors. He took an average football team and turned it in to an AFC force. How can you say Coach Fisher did the Lions wrong? The Titans could have easily scored 5 or 6 touchdowns. You can bash them all you want but Coach Fisher made the right calls...
from about 1 month ago
They actually did score five touchdowns. He did what he needed to do to gain separation early in the game. But the fourth quarter rolled around and the Lions weren't even close to making the game competitive. The only right calls to make at that point are the ones that keep the clock ticking.
Like you said.. they're an AFC force, and they beat up on the NFC's worst. Two teams at the very opposite ends of the NFL spectrum. It's not about being right, it's about what's necessary.
about 1 month ago
You reap what you sow, especially when you're not as good as everyone thinks. As for anyone trying to defend the move by saying it's "playing the right way," "playing until the gun," or any other such nonsense, it's ridiculous. As are the analogies to players who aren't supposed to dog it in blow outs.
First, he LOST the challenge. That means he would have been begging for the reversal anyway. Maybe it's playing the game the right way if it was an obvious blown call that he tried to get reverse, but that clearly wasn't the case. Second, the game was over before it started. Fisher's challenging a questionable reception in the waning moments of the FOURTH QUARTER? Failing to throw the flag wouldn't have been "dogging" it by a coach b/c throwing it at that time is fighting tooth and nail for every little iota of victory margin.
You think a QB on a scramble in the waning moments of a blowout would be cheered for putting his head down to get some extra yardage? No, he'd be decried for fake effort and stupidity.
And that's exactly what Fisher deserves. It's still only one mistake and he seemed like a class dude until this so I wouldn't eliminate him from COY, but I agree in sentiment with Angel.
Great article.
Hope the Titans have this blowout on tape b/c they're gonna need something to watch while someone else represents the AFC in the Super Bowl.
from about 1 month ago
THANK YOU!
That's pretty much the gist of it all. Jeff Fisher isn't the devil reincarnate. Good coaches have been on the opposite ends of these games, and he should've known better.
about 1 month ago
I don't know why Jeff Fisher threw the challenge flag, but I don't think that makes him an unsportsman like coach. If he wanted to be unsportsmanlike, he would have told his team to pound the Lions into the ground in the second half. The score was 35-10 at half, If the Titans had wanted to, they could have continued to rack up the points in the second half. The fact that the Titans only scored 12 points in the second half isn't about them having an off half or the Lions having an on half. The titans could have easily put up 60 points on Detriot, but Jeff Fisher didn't do that.
I'm sure he has a reason for the red flag, and since you don't know what it was, Its stupid for you to criticize him. Theres a reason why he has the longest tenure of any coach in the NFL, and thats because he's a good coach who can build a team and win games.
about 1 month ago
Excellent job garnering many responses Angel. Has this 'controversy' come up at ESPN, etc? I've been kind of tuned-out the last couple of days.
My two cents: You have the victory in hand, why prolong the game with a review that won't make a difference in the outcome?? That said, Fisher is still a class guy, everyone has a brain fart. He's done an excellent job with a team that doesn't have the best individual talent at all the positions, but he's got them winning and that's all that counts.
On a last note--hey, my man, you can't snub my man Coughlin like that...he's worthy of COTY consideration, too. So often, teams that come off a SB year fall flat, and he's managed to convince his players to stay hungry, humble, and dedicated. That said, everyone you mention is worthy...except Mangini! (j/k)
about 1 month ago
Thanks for writing this article. I agree %100
I saw that challenge flag fly and was irate. Are you kidding me? Game well in hand, your team has done no wrong all day long, and the Lions are getting blown out in front of a national audience and you throw a challenge flag on a piddily little catch with 4 minutes left?
It doesn't effect the outcome of the game, the Lions didn't even score. This was just an asshole move.
I wouldn't have had a problem with Tennessee running up the score or trying to blow Detroit out, because this is the NFL, deal with it. But throwing a challenge flag at that point was beyond ridiculous.
from about 1 month ago
Exactly. It's not like it was a huge 20+ yard gain. It wasn't something that was gonna make the game closer. It was simply stopping the clock in an effort to let the Lions know, "We're giving you nothing." Normally I appreciate ruthlessness on the football field. But on Thanksgiving? Where no one gave Detroit a chance.. not even in jest?
It was unnecessary.
about 1 month ago
I agree wholeheartedly. I didn't even know that this had happened because I didn't watch the game due to the fact that I thought it would be a blowout from the beginning and boring for someone who isn't a fan of either team to watch. That said, this incident reminds me of all those times last year Bill Belichick did something like this. I hated him for that.
about 1 month ago
If coaches demand players give everything all game, shouldn't the players expect the same from their coaches?
During a game, Fisher's concerns must be for his players and assistant coaches foremost. The score or opponent's relative strength is irrelevant in game management decisions.
If he has an assistant upstairs telling him to challenge the play, he's got to listen to him. If the call isn't overturned, then maybe he needs to access whether that is the right guy to have that responsibility.
Lastly, about the fan perspective, there is a truism among coaches: If you listen to the fans, you will soon be sitting with them.
So while I respect your opinion and your right to express it, I must say I disagree in the strongest terms.
about 1 month ago
Talk about a lame excuse not to include Coach Fisher in your so called Coach of the Year poll. I'm sure I could find something that Coach Mangini did and make the same claim. Hope the Titans see the Jets in the playoffs because things will turn out differently the second time around. Go Titans!
about 1 month ago
ok so give Jeff the 2008 turkey award.
about 1 month ago
angel, hmmm. an interesting point. while i missed that part of the game, i had long since moved on to other things. but i think it is safe to say that that was uncalled for. if the game is close it is understandable, obviously, but it was not. vince young was playing so that much we know. i would be curious to see what he had to say about challenging that play. nfl coaches have a way of justifying a lot of things. this however, i do not quite see how he can. it does seem like a pretty low blow. nothing wrong with running the ball and the clock. if you they score, they score, nothing they can do about that, but challenging a call is a different situation.
thanks for bringing this up. i had no idea. it changes my persepctive on fisher a little.
about 1 month ago
Since when did this country and all its men turn into Pu$$ies?
This is FOOTBALL. Why do all you think that you should not humiliate you opponent?
"Oh, I don't want to hurt their feelings" DO YOU ALL KNOW HOW YOU SOUND?
from about 1 month ago
Not half as tough as someone that edits himself with dollar signs, I'm guessing. Thanks for the lesson in testosterone.
about 1 month ago
I understand the concept of coaching to the end and all of that. However, given the situation (up by a bazillion points against my hapless Lions), Fischer did not need to challenge that play. Even if his higher-ups called him out on it, he's been a coach for fourteen straight years. Clearly one missed challenge isn't going to get him fired.
Off-topic: Jim Harbaugh in Coach of the Year consideration maybe?
about 1 month ago
Fisher has been playin too much Madden.
about 1 month ago
Angel, have you considered the entertainment factor? The NFL is a business. And they need to make money.I wouldn't want to watch a fourth quarter where the only offense put up is by a third string halfback going three and out. I'd much rather watch a Seinfeld re-run than submit myself to such boring football. Wouldn't you?
about 1 month ago
Angel, I know you're heated, but do you really believe that Jeff Fisher should lose consideration for the Coach of the Year honors?
from about 1 month ago
Nah, Bryn.. I don't.
In an article I wrote a couple days later on Late Season favorites for the NFL's superlatives, I still named him as the runaway favorite for the award. I still think the challenge was an awful thing to do, but he's coaching a really strong football team. And it's surprising at that.
Tom Coughlin, Bill Belichick, and Mike Smith should be given real consideration too.
from about 1 month ago
I was out playing football when this happened, so I missed it, and I haven't seen it yet, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think he might have been making a statement to his team to play till the whistle blows/end of the game. I hate when the Eagles go up 30-0 at halftime and win like 38-3. I want to see a team play hard all the way through. Challenges are in the right of a coach to do. He didn't violate a rule or anything.
It was a great article though.
And it sucks for the Titans because nobody in the world, including me, expects them to go to the Super Bowl. I think the Colts beat them in the divisional round.
4 days ago
hahahah....sit at home...were in there...sisies
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