In today's edition of Around the Pound, we talk about the surprising disposal of Jeff Fisher in Tennessee, a former Browns receiver and quarterback trying to get into the coaching and front office business, respectively, and some off-beat notes to stir up some discussion.
Tennessee Titans Dismiss Jeff Fisher
I thought for sure that Jeff Fisher would remain with the Tennessee Titans after it was announced a couple of weeks ago that Vince Young would not be back with the team next year. That isn't the case anymore, as Fisher's 16-year stint as head coach will end. The final straw apparently had to do with Fisher's family:
A source told ESPN's John Clayton that one of the final disagreements that led to Fisher's departure involved his son, Brandon. Jeff Fisher wanted to have his son on the staff as a quality control coach and thought that was going to be approved. Brandon Fisher helped out during the season while offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger was receiving cancer treatment.
For several years, Adams has stressed he didn't want family hired on the Titans coaching staff and he apparently stuck by those principles this week in conversations with Fisher.
Is it too late for Fisher to end up elsewhere this season? Hat tip to Villeslgr for posting the original FanShot.
Bernie Kosar Interested in Coaching for Patriots or Bengals?
If this means no more preseason analysis from Bernie Kosar, then I am going to lose it!
Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe (via Cleveland.com) reports that Kosar has been “poking around” the Patriots, and that Kosar “hopes to get into coaching.” A connection between Kosar and Pats coach Bill Belichick would be curious to say the least, given that Belichick bounced Bernie out of Cleveland. Meanwhile, Tony Rizzo of WKNR reports that the Bengals have been talking to Kosar about a position.
Some Browns fans have had Kosar on their "wish list" for years, while others have not. It'll certainly be interesting to see if Kosar actually lands a role somewhere and how much input he would have.
Hat tip to golanbatrac, who posted a FanShot about this as I was composing today's Around the Pound. He included an article by Terry Pluto that is worth a read.
Bobby Engram Seeking a Coaching Position
According to Matt Maiocco on Twitter, former Browns receiver (at least by means of being in one training camp) Bobby Engram is interested in getting into coaching:
Former NFL wide receiver Bobby Engram is under consideration for entry-level position on 49ers coaching staff, NFL source says.
Off-Beat Notes
- Did you catch The Office tonight? If so, then surely you saw Ricky Gervais' "David Brent" have a brief interaction with Steve Carell's "Michael Scott." It was a nice moment as the number of episodes for Carell tick down.
- Speaking of The Office, a certain celebrity will be having a several-episode arc on the show soon, prior to Carell's departure. Throw in Todd Packer and you'll have all you need for an Anchorman reunion.
- When Fringe returned last week in the Friday slot, it posted the highest ratings for FOX in that timeslot in about two years I believe. If its ratings remain consistent and FOX keeps their word, the show will be back for another season. Hopefully the fact that Supernatural won't be a repeat this week won't bring down the ratings too much.
- Haven't had a Ghostbusters 3 update in awhile. The recent news from the director and actor's mouths is that the script is finished and they are ready to get things started. There is just one holdup -- Bill Murray hasn't read the script yet (feels like another rinse and repeat story). They seem confident that Murray will enjoy the script enough to do it...once he gets around to reading it.
- This is a bit of nostalgia curiosity, but has anyone played Donkey Kong Country Returns for Nintendo Wii? I loved the original SNES DK Country games, and the videos of the new Wii version seem compelling.