After being fired as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, all Jeff Fisher wants to do now is … beat the Los Angeles Rams.
The NFL veteran who led the team’s transition from St. Louis, Missouri, back to L.A. earlier this year sat down with Fox for an interview that will air Sunday morning.
When asked by “Fox NFL Kickoff” host Charissa Thompson to “fill in the blank” as to why he was fired, Fisher answered in the third person: “because he didn’t win enough games and the organization has a much bigger picture … and I don’t think I was a part of the city and the stadium,” he said, referring to the $2.66 billion stadium currently being built in Inglewood.
“Do you have a perfect scenario?” Thompson asked. “I want a chance to play the Rams,” the NFL veteran replied.
The brief teaser didn’t share anymore details, but Fisher’s dramatic entrance walk down a hotel corridor suggests that there will be some must-watch bombshells dropped.
Fisher, a Southern California native who played football for USC and was drafted by the Chicago Bears, began his head coaching career in 1994 with the Tennessee Titans and went on to helm the St. Louis and (briefly) the L.A. Rams.
However, following an increasingly disappointing return to the City of Angels culminating in a devastating 42-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at home on Sunday, Fisher was given his walking papers the following day.
“This is the right time to make a change as our performance has not lived up to my or our fans’ expectations. We all are focused on improving as an organization and building a team that makes Los Angeles proud. Our mission is to celebrate a Super Bowl title with our fans in Los Angeles. Today is the first step to bringing us closer to that goal,” Rams owner E. Stanley Kroenke said in a statement. “Making a decision such as this, especially during the season, is one of the most difficult in sports.”
“First and foremost, I want to thank (Rams owner) Stan Kroenke for the opportunity to be part of this organization the last four and a half years,” Fisher said in his own statement Tuesday. “I want to thank the entire football staff as it has been a privilege to work with each one of them day in and day out.
“I especially want to thank all of the players. They are a great group of men that I respect, and that I will greatly miss. My hope is that each one of the players experience great success in the future.”
Fisher, 58, was hired as the Rams’ head coach in 2012 and has compiled a record of 31-45-1 in nearly five seasons.
Special-teams coordinator John Fassel stepped up as interim head coach for the rest of the season, however, he suffered his first loss to the Seattle Seahawks Thursday, sending the team to a 4-10 record.
“Fox NFL Kickoff” airs Sunday at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET on Fox.
11 New Things to Watch for This NFL Season (Photos)
The NFL season officially kicks off on September 8. But there are a few things you need to know before the games get under way.
"Fox NFL Kickoff," hosted by Charissa Thompson (pictured), is getting a new addition: recently retired NFL cornerback Charles Tillman. They will be joined by analysts Colin Cowherd and Dave Wannstedt. The show airs each Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
Over on CBS, there are new graphics, a facelift that was first premiered earlier this year at Super Bowl 50. The idea is to make the play easier to see on small devices. The score bar is now at the bottom of the screen.
On ESPN, Sean McDonough is the new "Monday Night Football" play-by-play guy, replacing Mike Tirico.
ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" -- the network's signature NFL pregame show -- has an entirely new cast. Anchor Chris Berman (in his last season) is joined by three new ESPN analysts -- Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss and Charles Woodson -- plus Trent Dilfer, who is new to Sundays.
Viva Mexico! One of ESPN's biggest games of the "MNF" season will be on November 21, with a Raiders vs. Texans matchup in Mexico City. This is the NFL’s first game in Mexico in 11 years.
NBC: NFL games on Thursdays! (Well, half of "Thursday Night Football" will be on NBC. CBS has the other half.)
And where has ESPN's Mike Tirico landed? At NBC, where he will be hosting "Sunday Night Football" from game locations.
NFL: more awful Color Rush. The “Color Rush” program that started with a few games in 2015 is now a full-blown season-long event -- mainly on Thursday nights. Look for NFL teams over the course of the season to break out new and -- you guessed it, colorful -- uniforms to give the teams, and their fans, a different look.
Football for the millennials: The NFL becomes first league to have its own Snapchat Discover channel.
NFL Network has a new morning show aptly named “Good Morning Football.” This show airs live Monday-Friday at 7 a.m. ET on NFL Network. The three-hour live show is the network’s first show to originate from New York City in its 13-year history.
There are some new NFL rules to know. (1) All chop blocks are now illegal. (2) A player penalized twice in the same game for certain types of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls will be automatically disqualified. (3) After a touchback resulting from a kickoff or safety kick, the ball will be placed at the receiving team’s 25-yard line. (4) In 2016, the NFL expanded the horse-collar rule to include times when a defender grabs the jersey at the name plate or above and pulls a runner toward the ground.
That's 11 new things. And here's a bonus for an even dozen: Super Bowl 51. The big game is scheduled for Feb. 5 in Houston.