Jeff Fisher Record: Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Has Done Nothing To Warrant Contract Extension

Jeff Fisher is in the midst of his fifth season with the Los Angeles Rams, and his record during that time is 27-37-1, with his best record coming in 2012 when the Rams went 7-8-1. Most head coaches would’ve been fired by now, but not only does Fisher still have his job, he’s also expected to sign a three-year contract extension that will be announced any day now, according to ESPN’s John Clayton.

Report: Rams coach Jeff Fisher to receive contract extension https://t.co/9YBRXcGfbA pic.twitter.com/u7WQQKBCB0

— SI Wire (@SI_Wire) September 15, 2016

Jeff is currently in the final year of his contract, but he’s done nothing during his tenure with the Rams to warrant a contract extension. Not only has the team not gotten any better, but there’s also an argument to be made that they’ve gotten worse. Typically, stability is the key to any successful organization, but keeping a guy around who hasn’t shown the ability to win doesn’t seem to make any sense.

The biggest culprit in Jeff Fisher’s poor record with the Rams has always been the offense. Fisher and general manager Les Snead have had trouble finding stability at the quarterback position as they’ve had a bit of a revolving door at the position since Jeff arrived in St. Louis in 2012. It started with Sam Bradford, then Kellen Clemens, then Austin Davis, then Shaun Hill, then Nick Foles, and now Case Keenum.

In an effort to solve the problem, the Rams traded their 2016 first-round pick, two 2016 second-round picks, a 2016 third-round pick, a 2017 first-round pick, and a 2017 third-round pick to the Tennessee Titans prior to the 2016 NFL Draft in order to get the No. 1 overall pick and selected quarterback Jared Goff out of California.

Despite the hefty price tag, it finally seemed as if the Rams were moving in the right direction. The team had drafted a franchise quarterback that should be a perfect compliment to their strong running game spearheaded by Todd Gurley and solid defense led by Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald.

Unfortunately, Jeff Fisher decided that Goff isn’t ready to start for the Rams and gave the job to Keenum to begin the year. Fisher then took it a step further during Week 1 by declaring Goff a healthy inactive and making Sean Mannion Keenum’s backup. The result was a 28-0 drubbing at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in which the Rams only accumulated 185 yards and 10 first downs while Keenum was 17-of-35 for 130 yards and two interceptions.

Report: Jeff Fisher to receive a contract extension https://t.co/rreZEzA0e0 via @TitansMCM

— BigTimeFootball® (@BigTimeFootball) September 15, 2016

Despite the atrocious play by Keenum and the offense, Fisher came out publicly and said that he will stay with Keenum as his starting quarterback. What reason could Jeff possibly have for not wanting to let his young quarterback play and learn on the fly? It’s not like the Rams are going to win the Super Bowl this year anyways, so it would make perfect sense to let Goff play and learn from his mistakes in Year 1 to get prepped Year 2.

If you believe what ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson has to say, it may be because Fisher didn’t want to draft Goff in the first place.

Speaking on The Stephen A. Smith Show, Johnson said, “From my outside people and the inside people that I know with the Rams, that wasn’t the choice that Jeff Fisher really wanted. I think he was basically forced to draft Jared Goff.”

If Johnson’s sources are correct, then the contract extension for Fisher really makes zero sense. Why would the Rams want three more years of a head coach that doesn’t support the organization’s decision to draft Goff and refuses to start him even though he’s the most talented quarterback on the roster?

It’s an exact situation like this that makes the Los Angeles Rams one of the worst organizations in the NFL. In order to be successful, there must be unity and cohesiveness from the ownership all the way down to the players, but that’s clearly not the case, and signing up for three more years of Jeff Fisher proves that loud and clear.

[Featured Image by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]