The public spat between Eric Dickerson and Jeff Fisher that manifested two weeks ago is believed to have played a role in the firing of the Rams head coach.
Los Angeles announced on Monday that they had fired Fisher amid a 4-9 season and replaced him with interim coach John Fassel. Fisher was in the middle of his fifth season as the team’s head coach and was headed for his fifth consecutive losing season.
The timing of the move comes a day after the team got smashed at home 42-14 by the Falcons; a week after Fisher’s contract extension, that was signed before the season, was announced; and a day after running back Todd Gurley said the team had a middle school offense.
Many believe that the fight between Dickerson and Fisher that made headlines two weeks ago played a role in the firing. In a video for ESPN, Adam Schefter said the situation “unraveled very quickly” and he believes it began with the Dickerson-Fisher fight.
“This situation unraveled very quickly, and it began unraveling in my mind with the confrontation between Jeff Fisher and Eric Dickerson,” said Schefter. “Those two men had a private conversation, and Eric Dickerson made it his mission to embarrass Jeff Fisher and the Rams organization, and he did a great job of that. That to me started the ball rolling.”
Dickerson, who starred for the Rams in the ’80s, went public saying that he had been banned from the sidelines at Rams games. He later revealed it was Fisher who personally banned him from the sidelines. The public sided with the Hall of Famer over the struggling coach, leading the Rams to apologize publicly in an attempt to mend things.
Fisher trying to exert his power over a franchise icon did not work out well for him, as it only served to embarrass him more. With the Rams only getting worse and worse on the field, the team decided to make the move and fire the coach. The only good news for Fisher is that he was fired before he could lose another game, which would break a tie with Dan Reeves and make him the coach with the most losses in NFL history.
