At the end of the day, football is just a game. Sometimes it’s important to remember this, even at the NFL level. Jeff Fisher tried doing this as an active NFL head coach nearly two decades ago. And his choice understandably caused great consternation inside his organization.
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Back in 2009, Fisher coached the Tennessee Titans. Through six weeks of the campaign, his squad had yet to win a game. Even worse than that, they had lost their last three contests by a combined 101 points. Entering their Week 7 bye, all hopes for a playoff run had already dissipated. Their 13-3 showing from 2008 appeared to be an incredible fluke.
During the bye, Fisher attended a charity function alongside former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. The event, held at Lipscomb University in Nashville, organized things to have Fisher introduce Dungy. And he did so with a Peyton Manning jersey on despite his status as Tennessee’s coach.
Since Peyton Manning’s in the house, the greatest Colts-Titans moment ever was Jeff Fisher, who as Titans’ coach once opened a game with 3 onside kicks, wearing a Manning jersey at an event because “I wanted to feel like a winner.” pic.twitter.com/YRBe0PY7xu
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 18, 2018
Fisher joked that he wore the jersey to “feel like a winner.” While his roster had no wins (0-6), Indianapolis had no losses (5-0). Titans fans understandably weren’t laughing about their head coach making fun of their poor season, especially while supporting a longtime, dominant rival.
Fisher, though, didn’t back down from his actions. According to ESPN, he apologized for potentially “offending” fans, but made clear he only engaged in such actions for the good cause.
“I was introducing Tony, just having fun with it and I really apologize if I offended anybody, but if you’re offended over the nature of that type of thing, then I think you need to rethink things. This is a very worthwhile and needy benefit… if I had to do it again, I would do it again,” Fisher said.
Fisher stoked the flames of his own hot seat with the move. That’s not usually something we’d recommend, but the warmer chair motivated Fisher coming out of the bye. Tennessee won five consecutive games after their week-long break. The Titans impressively wound up finishing 8-8 following the disastrous start in what was Fisher’s penultimate season.
The Colts, meanwhile, just kept on winning. Indianapolis captured 14 consecutive victories to open the 2009 campaign. Manning, with 4,500 passing yards and 33 touchdowns, snared his fourth MVP award. But all their positive finishes were for naught, as the lost to the New Orleans Saints (31-17) in Super Bowl XLIV.
If Fisher’s charity garb resembled anything close to his Super Bowl night attire, he was sad about the Super Bowl XLIV result. Titans fans, though, couldn’t have been more thrilled at the sight of their rival coming up short. Now, they are likely hoping Cam Ward will be their franchise quarterback. We’ll see who Tennessee selects with the No. 1 overall pick on Apr. 24.
