There has been speculation about whether former Rams and Titans coach Jeff Fisher will return to NFL coaching, but sources tell Sporting News that Fisher's immediate future lies not on the sideline, but in the broadcast booth.
Fox Sports is talking to Fisher about serving as one of its NFL game analysts this season, sources said.
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Fisher has said he wants another NFL coaching job, but Fox has the money to pay for a big name as it devotes major resources to "Thursday Night Football" and its Sunday afternoon game of the week, the most-watched program in all of TV. According to SportsBusiness Daily, Fox will pay the NFL around $550 million per year through 2022 to broadcast "Thursday Night Football."
Fox could slide a big name like Fisher into its No. 2 analyst role behind Troy Aikman. The network also could use Fisher on either of its two NFL Sunday pregame shows: "Fox NFL Sunday" and Colin Cowherd's "Fox NFL Kickoff."
Fox declined to comment.
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Fisher, 60, led the Titans to Super Bowl 34 after the 1999 season, losing to 23-16 to the Rams. He also holds the dubious distinction of suffering the most regular-season losses all time among NFL coaches (165, tied with Dan Reeves).
The Rams canned Fisher in December, 2016 after he compiled a 4-9 record. In half of his 20 complete seasons as head coach, Fisher's teams were either .500 or within a game of .500, according to ESPN.
Game analyst or studio jobs are common ways for coaches to refresh their batteries until they land another sideline gig, as it's hard to shake the lure of the NFL. Last year, for example, Jon Gruden called it quits with ESPN's "Monday Night Football" in order to return to the Raiders as head coach.
Other recent moves include those of former Jets and Bills coach Rex Ryan, who joined ESPN last year; former Panthers, Broncos and Bears coach John Fox, who joined ESPN this year, and ex-Cardinals coach Bruce Arians recently joining CBS Sports.
