Jeff Fisher will be with the Rams long term whether they go 7-9, 8-8 or 9-7
Rams fans took to the Coliseum parking lot early Saturday to celebrate the team’s return.
Los Angeles is familiar with misguided proclamations.
There was Kevin Malone calling himself “the new sheriff in town” when he was hired as the Dodgers’ general manager.
UCLA declared its hiring of Rick Neuheisel marked the end of USC’s monopoly of college football in the city.
How did that work out?
Now, it’s Rams Coach Jeff Fisher who made a bold statement may want to retract when he told his players in the first episode of the “Hard Knocks” documentary series on HBO that he won’t bleepin’ go 7-9 or 8-8 or 9-7 this season.
As late as Saturday night, Fisher maintained he was undisturbed by the disclosure.
“That moment there … that was between me and the team,” he said. “We welcomed them in there.”
Sam Farmer, Gary Klein and Lindsey Thiry break down the Rams’ 28-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in a preseason opener at the Coliseum.
The problem for Fisher now is that as long as he remains on the Coliseum sidelines, he will be measured against his own words. If the Rams fall short, Fisher will become the subject of citywide ridicule.
Reputations and labels are especially hard to shake in Los Angeles, where few observers have the time or patience to develop anything more than rudimentary familiarity of local sports figures, especially coaches and managers. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Byron Scott or Don Mattingly.
How the public responds to Fisher is the unknown variable in what otherwise looks like a favorable situation for him.
Fisher is expected to sign a contract extension before the regular-season opener, as is General Manager Les Snead. A new deal would provide Fisher with an unusual level of security for a coach with his track record.
As it is, Fisher is only one of three coaches in the modern era to have kept his job after four consecutive losing seasons. The other two, Lou Saban and David Shula, didn’t survive their fifth.
If the Rams’ decision to stick with Fisher feels uninspired, it’s not without reason.
He was in charge of the Houston Oilers when they moved to Tennessee and were rebranded as the Titans. After spending two years in temporary homes, Fisher and the Titans reached the Super Bowl in their first season in what is now called Nissan Stadium.
What the Rams are doing now is similar to what the Titans did then, building a solid nucleus through the draft. The Rams landed a defensive rookie of the year (defensive tackle Aaron Donald) and offensive rookie of the year (running back Todd Gurley) in successive drafts. They traded up to the top slot this year to take quarterback Jared Goff.
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While Fisher is often criticized as a coach who fails to get his team over the proverbial hump, his teams are also rarely awful. There’s nothing wrong with this, considering the Rams’ first three seasons back in Los Angeles are basically serving as a soft opening. The true relaunch of the 2.0 version of the Los Angeles Rams will be in 2019, when the franchise opens its new stadium in Inglewood. So long as the team continues to nurture and develop its talent, and the fan enthusiasm remains at a level where season ticket projections are reached, there’s no problem with an 8-8 season.
Of course, there’s no guarantee a .500 record will maintain the interest of a city in which there are endless entertainment options.
While the exhibition opener Saturday at the Coliseum offered clues as to what the Rams’ paying patrons will be like, the reality is the fans remain a mystery.
Will they have the patience to support an inexperienced team that shows promise? Or will they be as fickle as advertised?
The temperament of the fans will ultimately determine whether Fisher is perceived as a thoughtful caretaker of the franchise or someone who lacks the urgency to win. It doesn’t help him that he’s in a division that has dynamic personalities in the coaching ranks, with Pete Carroll in Seattle, Chip Kelly in San Francisco and Bruce Arians in Arizona.
While a behind-the-scenes program such as “Hard Knocks” offers Fisher a chance to introduce himself to a new market, it also threatens to turn him into a punchline. Fisher is choosing to take the more optimistic view.
“Looking forward to this week and working with them again,” he said.
Depending on how he’s portrayed, he might not be saying that for long.
Follow Dylan Hernandez on Twitter @dylanohernandez
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