Jedd Fisch - Offensive Assistant LA Rams (NFL)

[Buffnik]

What Jens said. (Other than it being Jim, not John Harbaugh. Frikin NFL fans with their screwed up Harbaugh priorities. )

 

[BuffUp]

I think the concerns people have with Fisch or any other coach jumping a year or two after being hired are a bit irrational. Sure this is a possibility, but think about what this means. From CU, a clear cut upgrade would an NFL HC or a Blue Blood P5 school (and sure a few non Blue Bloods that have some coin to spend).

If any of those situations are willing to offer the CU coach a job a few years after he has taken over means: he has won a lot of games, that program will pay CU his buyout, and CU will be in great position to hire a top line coach.

Sure, everyone wants to find their own Nick Saban, but a coach being successful enough that someone wants to throw a ton of cash at him is far from a worst case scenario.

have we ever had that problem??

 

[Buffnik]

have we ever had that problem??

Would be such a nice problem to have. Put me down for suffering through that every 3 to 5 years, please.

 

[SINKRATZ]

It is the strong impression of who this guy is based on his history. How he landed a student assistant job with Spurrier at Florida. How he jumped on a plane and found a way to attend the OJ trial while in pre-law. How he paid his way to go to every coaches camp and convention in the nation as he finished as a GA and was looking for work, building his relationship network. How he was the only guy who submitted a detailed written plan to Long at KU on how he'd build that program.

I'm not just saying stuff to say stuff. The guy is a bulldog in pursuit of his dreams.

That’s all wonderful but he was in his early 20s when he was pursuing that GA role almost 2 decades ago. Most coaches at this level work hard and are hustlers, most probably have an interesting background if they sat down for a puff piece with the local beat reporters. I appreciate that he may be cultivating his coaching network but it’s not crazy to have serious questions about a guy who has been an OC at big programs and in the NFL but never really stuck around anywhere and is currently managing the game clock for an NFL team (which frankly sounds like a glorified intern role). He could have been hired as a HC for any number of programs over the years but it’s never happened, and I’ve never even heard him seriously mentioned for any other than a flirtation with KU this year, but suddenly he’s a top candidate for CU - why? It seems like having a mild affiliation with the Rams offense this year has pushed him into the conversations.

I want to like Fisch but I’m not seeing what some of you guys are seeing.

 

[Buffnik]

That’s all wonderful but he was in his early 20s when he was pursuing that GA role almost 2 decades ago. Most coaches at this level work hard and are hustlers, most probably have an interesting background if they sat down for a puff piece with the local beat reporters. I appreciate that he may be cultivating his coaching network but it’s not crazy to have serious questions about a guy who has been an OC at big programs and in the NFL but never really stuck around anywhere and is currently managing the game clock for an NFL team (which frankly sounds like a glorified intern role). He could have been hired as a HC for any number of programs over the years but it’s never happened, and I’ve never even heard him seriously mentioned for any other than a flirtation with KU this year, but suddenly he’s a top candidate for CU - why? It seems like having a mild affiliation with the Rams offense this year has pushed him into the conversations.

I want to like Fisch but I’m not seeing what some of you guys are seeing.

Honestly, his affiliation with the Rams this year was one of the things I didn't know about him when I first saw his name mentioned. That's not what interested me. I knew him mostly from how he handled Rosen last year and that UCLA offense, that he'd come from Michigan and pulled Dylan McCaffrey out of CO while he was there. The rest of the resume and his story was a learning process for me.

 

[Gary Indiana]

You can be determined and driven in your career, while still not being very good at it. He certainly goes after what he wants, but no one is really dying to keep the guy around either.

 

[Jens1893]

You can be determined and driven in your career, while still not being very good at it. He certainly goes after what he wants, but no one is really dying to keep the guy around either.

Yet big time guys keep hiring him, go figure.

 

[Gary Indiana]

Yet big time guys keep hiring him, go figure.

To stand in the background and keep time. Go figure.

 

[Buffnik]

Do you guys look poorly upon other guys who take a transition year to become an offensive or defensive analyst at Alabama?

Seems to me that there's a level of respect that comes from you when Saban respects someone enough to want his brain in the room.

Why do you look at that differently with Fisch doing that with McVay for the LA Rams?

 

[Gary Indiana]

Do you guys look poorly upon other guys who take a transition year to become an offensive or defensive analyst at Alabama?

Seems to me that there's a level of respect that comes from you when Saban respects someone enough to want his brain in the room.

Why do you look at that differently with Fisch doing that with McVay for the LA Rams?

I see a guy whose career trajectory is not good. He hasn't made it two years at any stop. Why is that? Why after nearly 20 years in coaching is he still putting together action plans in order to entice the likes of Kansas? Why after 20 years and with all of these great connections is he just holding a stop watch for the youngest coach in NFL history? Not a single job of his has found him valuable enough to either keep him or promote him. After 20 years.

These are all red flags to me.

 

[DrunkRalphie]

To stand in the background and keep time. Go figure.

Not much of an indictment considering the rest of his resume.

 

[Jens1893]

To stand in the background and keep time. Go figure.

Or to coach the receivers (3-time Super Bowl champion Mike Shanahan), coach the QBs (Super Bowl champion and 2-time national champion Pete Carroll) and run their passing game (NFL Coach of the Year Jim Harbaugh).

 

[Gary Indiana]

Or to coach the receivers (3-time Super Bowl champion Mike Shanahan), coach the QBs (Super Bowl champion and 2-time national champion Pete Carroll) and run their passing game (NFL Coach of the Year Jim Harbaugh).

And how come none of those coaches wanted to keep him on for more than one season? Why has his career gone in the wrong direction since then?

 

[Buffnik]

I see a guy whose career trajectory is not good. He hasn't made it two years at any stop. Why is that? Why after nearly 20 years in coaching is he still putting together action plans in order to entice the likes of Kansas? Why after 20 years and with all of these great connections is he just holding a stop watch for the youngest coach in NFL history? Not a single job of his has found him valuable enough to either keep him or promote him. After 20 years.

These are all red flags to me.

He's 42 years old, man. It's not a very long list of guys who have had NFL HC or P5 HC jobs by his age. And it's a very short list of guys who have 6 years of coordinator experience at those levels by his age.

I understand him not being the guy you want as CU's HC. Completely understand it. But I also think you're severely selling short his resume.

 

[Denver_sc]

It is the strong impression of who this guy is based on his history. How he landed a student assistant job with Spurrier at Florida. How he jumped on a plane and found a way to attend the OJ trial while in pre-law. How he paid his way to go to every coaches camp and convention in the nation as he finished as a GA and was looking for work, building his relationship network. How he was the only guy who submitted a detailed written plan to Long at KU on how he'd build that program.

I'm not just saying stuff to say stuff. The guy is a bulldog in pursuit of his dreams.

I would like someone who has a great coaching tree, highly prioritizes recruiting and is good at it, and who also is going to be a master organizer/delegator with the staff he has. I think you can evaluate the first quality by seeing to whom he's connected and who has hired him different places- Fisch obviously scores highly there. I think the "proof is in the pudding" with respect to recruiting prowess, and Fisch is more or less of an unknown- I will say, however, that the anectdote about the letters for Spurier and the qualities it shows makes me a little more comfortable there. The last one I think is something that can only be "proven" by being an HC somewhere else. However, if the story about him having a master plan in place when he interviewed at KU is true, then I have to like that.

At the end of the day, there's some risk with Fisch as there is with any of the guys being considered. But Fisch's background addresses enough of these risks that I'd be comfortable with him, even if he isn't my first choice.

 

[Buffnik]

I would like someone who has a great coaching tree, highly prioritizes recruiting and is good at it, and who also is going to be a master organizer/delegator with the staff he has. I think you can evaluate the first quality by seeing to whom he's connected and who has hired him different places- Fisch obviously scores highly there. I think the "proof is in the pudding" with respect to recruiting prowess, and Fisch is more or less of an unknown- I will say, however, that the anectdote about the letters for Spurier and the qualities it shows makes me a little more comfortable there. The last one I think is something that can only be "proven" by being an HC somewhere else. However, if the story about him having a master plan in place when he interviewed at KU is true, then I have to like that.

At the end of the day, there's some risk with Fisch as there is with any of the guys being considered. But Fisch's background addresses enough of these risks that I'd be comfortable with him, even if he isn't my first choice.

Exactly where I'm at.

At the end of the day, there's risk with every hire. There's more risk with the coaches you can afford and who would be willing to take the Colorado job (currently a mid-level job with potential but maybe not elite potential due to not being in a recruiting hotbed with huge resources like a 100k seat stadium).

So a lot of this is going to come down to hiring the man. Fisch simply impresses the hell out of me on that level and is the type of person I'd roll the dice on if I was making a hire.

 

[Gary Indiana]

It's fine. We don't have to all prefer the same candidate or even have the same set of criteria. For me Fisch has too many red flags and not enough proven success. I choose to pass.

 

[Jens1893]

And how come none of those coaches wanted to keep him on for more than one season? Why has his career gone in the wrong direction since then?

Did you listen to him talk about his career and the reasons why he changed jobs?

The only performance related true red flag there is that he got fired as the Jacksonville OC because Blake Bortles didn't progress as wanted.

 

[RiverBuff]

Some interesting and coincidental things:
1) He didn't play football in HS or college. Played tennis -- my path, too.
2) Took over a 5-6 (UCLA) team and then beat Cal to take 'em to a bowl (lost to KSU). I think Roper's going to do same thing.

 

[Jens1893]

I see a guy whose career trajectory is not good. He hasn't made it two years at any stop. Why is that? Why after nearly 20 years in coaching is he still putting together action plans in order to entice the likes of Kansas? Why after 20 years and with all of these great connections is he just holding a stop watch for the youngest coach in NFL history? Not a single job of his has found him valuable enough to either keep him or promote him. After 20 years.

These are all red flags to me.

But he did, the only real setback he had was with Jacksonville.

And the ****ing Kansas job just proved good enough for Les Miles.

 

[Gary Indiana]

But he did, the only real setback he had was with Jacksonville.

And the ****ing Kansas job just proved good enough for Les Miles.

How many jobs did he last more than one year at?

I’m sorry, but the guy just does not have the experience that screams successful P5 head coach.

 

[Jens1893]

How many jobs did he last more than one year at?

I’m sorry, but the guy just does not have the experience that screams successful P5 head coach.

Read what I said on the previous page where I twice summarised a good portion of an interview he did for those who don't want to watch it to provide context to his resume.

 

[Gary Indiana]

Read what I said on the previous page where I twice summarised a good portion of an interview he did for those who don't want to watch it to provide context to his resume.

I went back and read what you posted previously and it doesn't clear up a whole lot for me. You are in favor of the guy and that's fine. To me it's unknown how well he can recruit, what kind of staff he can assemble, or if he is really a good X's and O's guy. His name has come out of nowhere (probably his agent) and now he is some kind of hot commodity, but it feels like smoke and mirrors to me.

This hiring cycle for CU is huge. We are at a tipping point. On one side we can take the foundation that MacIntyre set out and propel ourselves to the next tier of teams, or we can fall back down to the basement with the rest of the cellar dwellers in P5 football. I'm not willing to take that gamble on a guy I had never heard of until last week and whose resume holds more questions than answers.

 

[Jens1893]

I went back and read what you posted previously and it doesn't clear up a whole lot for me. You are in favor of the guy and that's fine. To me it's unknown how well he can recruit, what kind of staff he can assemble, or if he is really a good X's and O's guy. His name has come out of nowhere (probably his agent) and now he is some kind of hot commodity, but it feels like smoke and mirrors to me.

This hiring cycle for CU is huge. We are at a tipping point. On one side we can take the foundation that MacIntyre set out and propel ourselves to the next tier of teams, or we can fall back down to the basement with the rest of the cellar dwellers in P5 football. I'm not willing to take that gamble on a guy I had never heard of until last week and whose resume holds more questions than answers.

then youre probably limiting yourself to coaches who have experience as p5 head coaches as you seem to be looking for the highest floor.

 

[SINKRATZ]

Exactly where I'm at.

At the end of the day, there's risk with every hire. There's more risk with the coaches you can afford and who would be willing to take the Colorado job (currently a mid-level job with potential but maybe not elite potential due to not being in a recruiting hotbed with huge resources like a 100k seat stadium).

So a lot of this is going to come down to hiring the man. Fisch simply impresses the hell out of me on that level and is the type of person I'd roll the dice on if I was making a hire.

See that’s where I disagree, you don’t hire the man you hire the performance. If you hired the man guys like Urban Meyer, Lane Kiffin, Bobby Petrino, and Todd Graham wouldn’t keep getting jobs.

Isn’t it plausible that he’s just an awesome guy with real desire to succeed and that spirit earns him a job on lots of staffs but a year or so in the results just aren’t there and he moves on? Couldn’t that be an explanation for his vagabond career?

 

[Buffnik]

See that’s where I disagree, you don’t hire the man you hire the performance. If you hired the man guys like Urban Meyer, Lane Kiffin, Bobby Petrino, and Todd Graham wouldn’t keep getting jobs.

Isn’t it plausible that he’s just an awesome guy with real desire to succeed and that spirit earns him a job on lots of staffs but a year or so in the results just aren’t there and he moves on? Couldn’t that be an explanation for his vagabond career?

Sure to your last question.

But I think you misunderstood me on what I meant by "hiring the man". I make a very big distinction between "character" and "football character". Great coaches are often bad husbands, irritable, workaholics, drink too much, clinically diagnosable as being maniacally competitive, insomniacs, insensitive, narcissistic and intolerant... to name a few traits. I think that Fisch is a guy who will do whatever it takes to win and will be more creative and persistent than most when it comes to that. I also think he's much smarter than most coaches.

 

[SINKRATZ]

Sure to your last question.

But I think you misunderstood me on what I meant by "hiring the man". I make a very big distinction between "character" and "football character". Great coaches are often bad husbands, irritable, workaholics, drink too much, clinically diagnosable as being maniacally competitive, insomniacs, insensitive, narcissistic and intolerant... to name a few traits. I think that Fisch is a guy who will do whatever it takes to win and will be more creative and persistent than most when it comes to that. I also think he's much smarter than most coaches.

And I think I’m not seeing how we bridge the gap from desire to ability with Fisch. Even if I take for granted that you’re right about his persistence and desire, I’m not seeing the link to his football creativity (not just his job searching creativity), and ability (recruiting, coaching, or otherwise). That’s really what I want to see, not some feel good stories about letters he wrote to Spurrier 20 years ago to land himself a job he wanted.

 

[skibum]

I actually look at this year's job with the Rams as him essentially saying he's tired of moving around so much. He took the best football job he could find in the city in which he was already living.

 

[Buffnik]

And I think I’m not seeing how we bridge the gap from desire to ability with Fisch. Even if I take for granted that you’re right about his persistence and desire, I’m not seeing the link to his football creativity (not just his job searching creativity), and ability (recruiting, coaching, or otherwise). That’s really what I want to see, not some feel good stories about letters he wrote to Spurrier 20 years ago to land himself a job he wanted.

Do you give any credit for the UCLA offense in 2017 and the revitalization of Rosen despite Rosen's relationship with Mora, his injuries and that OL?

 

[Darian3Hagan]

Pass.There are too many more intriguing candidates.