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Chuck Chapman
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.sportsmedia101.com/st.louisrams/2013/08/04/nobody-does-details-like-jeff-fisher/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.sportsmedia101.com/st.louisr ... ff-fisher/</a>
Vince Lombardi would love Jeff Fisher. In this day of the "CEO" approach to coaching football, Jeff Fisher is still very "hands-on." You'll not find Fisher on a tower watching from afar. If you're looking for Fisher at a St. Louis Rams' practice, you'll find him right in the midst of a drill.
Having covered several NFL training camps, I can tell you Fisher is a "throw back." With the NFL firmly entrenched in an era of specialization, most head coaches have opted to delegate the actual teaching responsibilities to the position coaches and serve as CEOs of their football teams. Not Fisher.
Fisher was the first coach on the field at Saturday's practice at the Edward Jones Dome. He wasn't out early to schmooze with the media either. The only other Rams on the field were long snappers and kickers. Fisher was intently watching their work.
When the rest of the squad came out and practice officially began, Fisher could be seen down by the goal line, supervising three players (Tavon Austin, Isaiah Pead and CJ Atkins) getting their first look this season field punts inside the dome. Fisher employs two special teams coaches (John Fassel and Paul Boudreau). It's not that Fisher doesn't trust these two to do their jobs. It's just that he trusts his own experience more. Fisher returned punts for the Chicago Bears during his playing days.
No doubt Fisher learned the hands-on approach to coaching from his coach in Chicago, Mike Ditka. Ditka played under the legendary Tom Landry in Dallas. Like Fisher, Landry wasn't a "fire and brimstone" motivator of his players. Landry believed that attention to detail and preparation would give his players all the confidence they needed to win. Landry won two Super Bowls and five NFC Championships, so I'd say his approach worked pretty well.
While in St. Louis, we've seen Fisher stop practice in mid-session because he didn't think his players had stretched properly. Fisher confided to the media yesterday that the Rams will be practicing the National Anthem and how to stand on the sideline correctly before Thursday's preseason game in Cleveland.
With Fisher attending to these bits of minutiae, is it any wonder he's helping a rookie learn how to give a fair catch signal?
In Tennessee, Fisher's teams were precise. In an earlier piece, I outlined how the Titans were consistently among the league leaders in turnover margin. That's not by accident. When teams are prepared and minding the details, the ball seems to bounce their way a lot more often.
Lombardi was fond of quoting the Roman philosopher Seneca: "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity." If that's the case, the Rams can count on being in the right place when opportunity comes along. Jeff Fisher is personally seeing to it.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.sportsmedia101.com/st.louisrams/2013/08/04/nobody-does-details-like-jeff-fisher/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.sportsmedia101.com/st.louisr ... ff-fisher/</a>
Vince Lombardi would love Jeff Fisher. In this day of the "CEO" approach to coaching football, Jeff Fisher is still very "hands-on." You'll not find Fisher on a tower watching from afar. If you're looking for Fisher at a St. Louis Rams' practice, you'll find him right in the midst of a drill.
Having covered several NFL training camps, I can tell you Fisher is a "throw back." With the NFL firmly entrenched in an era of specialization, most head coaches have opted to delegate the actual teaching responsibilities to the position coaches and serve as CEOs of their football teams. Not Fisher.
Fisher was the first coach on the field at Saturday's practice at the Edward Jones Dome. He wasn't out early to schmooze with the media either. The only other Rams on the field were long snappers and kickers. Fisher was intently watching their work.
When the rest of the squad came out and practice officially began, Fisher could be seen down by the goal line, supervising three players (Tavon Austin, Isaiah Pead and CJ Atkins) getting their first look this season field punts inside the dome. Fisher employs two special teams coaches (John Fassel and Paul Boudreau). It's not that Fisher doesn't trust these two to do their jobs. It's just that he trusts his own experience more. Fisher returned punts for the Chicago Bears during his playing days.
No doubt Fisher learned the hands-on approach to coaching from his coach in Chicago, Mike Ditka. Ditka played under the legendary Tom Landry in Dallas. Like Fisher, Landry wasn't a "fire and brimstone" motivator of his players. Landry believed that attention to detail and preparation would give his players all the confidence they needed to win. Landry won two Super Bowls and five NFC Championships, so I'd say his approach worked pretty well.
While in St. Louis, we've seen Fisher stop practice in mid-session because he didn't think his players had stretched properly. Fisher confided to the media yesterday that the Rams will be practicing the National Anthem and how to stand on the sideline correctly before Thursday's preseason game in Cleveland.
With Fisher attending to these bits of minutiae, is it any wonder he's helping a rookie learn how to give a fair catch signal?
In Tennessee, Fisher's teams were precise. In an earlier piece, I outlined how the Titans were consistently among the league leaders in turnover margin. That's not by accident. When teams are prepared and minding the details, the ball seems to bounce their way a lot more often.
Lombardi was fond of quoting the Roman philosopher Seneca: "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity." If that's the case, the Rams can count on being in the right place when opportunity comes along. Jeff Fisher is personally seeing to it.
