The relationship between Vince Young and former NFL head coach Jeff Fisher ended on sour terms back in 2010, and Young has since stated that he regrets butting heads with Fisher. That doesn’t mean the two-time Pro Bowler thinks it was his fault.
In an interview with Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated that was published on Tuesday, Young said he didn’t want to get into his issues with Fisher in great detail because he is “saving that for my book.” He did, however, provide a preview of what may be to come.
But Young can’t help himself. He may believe he’s moved on from what transpired in Tennessee, but broach the subject, and he appears angry, conflicted. “I’m going to expose his ass,” he says of Fisher, who he claims stripped all the fun from football, pushing Young until he broke. Whereas Brown had been the father figure Young always wanted, Fisher, he says, acted like someone saddled with an unwanted stepson. Family members, close friends, even Young’s pastor describe Fisher as “jealous” and “envious” of the QB.
How exactly does Young plan to “expose” Fisher? The 34-year-old provided some examples. He claims Fisher used to share private conversations with local reporters after Young thought he was speaking to the coach in confidence. Young also said Fisher would call meetings with the former Texas star and not show up for them because he was out fishing with former Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins.
Then there was the time Young was “two minutes” late for a team flight because he got caught waiting behind a funeral procession, and Fisher chose to leave without him.
Young describes an incident from November of his rookie season when he left his ID at home before a road game against the Eagles. As he tells it, he went to retrieve it and was then held up by a funeral procession en route to the team plane, so he called Fisher to say he would be two minutes late. Young had seen Fisher hold the plane for other players, but this time he did not. “I feel like Fisher did that s— on purpose,” he says. “I’m pulling in, seeing them pull the door down. I can hear the team yelling.” As Young stood on the tarmac, grounded, he could only watch as the team he was supposed to lift into the playoffs soared into the sky without him.
At (Steve) McNair’s urging, Young chartered a private jet to Philly instead. In his defense Fisher cited team policy for not waiting. Young wasn’t having it. “Where I’m from,” he told the coach, “that’s like saying F you.”
While it only provides one side of the story, there is a lot more interesting information in Bishop’s feature. From the way Young was talking, it’s safe to assume Fisher never returned that letter Young spoke about sending the coach several years back.
