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Jeff Fisher Fired: 5 Possible Head Coach Replacements For Los Angeles Rams

By Jason Fletcher
Published on: 13:48 PST, Dec 12, 2016

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Rams thought enough of head coach Jeff Fisher to give him a two-year contract extension. That seemed like a brilliant business decision after Fisher helped to lead the Rams to a surprising 3-1 start through the first quarter of the season.

Unfortunately, the team’s success didn’t last as the Rams have lost eight of their last nine games including a 42-14 thrashing at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The Falcons were playing without either of their top two wide receivers, Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, and were still able to put 42 points on the board despite only gaining 286 total yards.

The biggest reason for the blowout was the five turnovers committed by the Rams’ offense. Rookie quarterback Jared Goff contributed three of those turnovers with two interceptions and a fumble while the other two come via fumbles by running back Malcolm Brown and kick returner Michael Thomas.

The ugly display was so horrible that the Rams decided to fire Fisher on Monday afternoon, just a couple months after giving him that contract extension. Rams COO Kevin Demoff said that the decision was based solely on performance and that Sunday’s game was inexcusable.

“I don’t think he was certainly expecting it,” Demoff said of Fisher’s reaction, which he described as professional, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Demoff also wouldn’t confirm whether or not general manager Les Snead would return next season.

With Fisher out the door, who are some possible replacements as the Los Angeles Rams’ head coach? Here are five head coaches who could possibly fill Jeff Fisher’s shoes.

Josh McDaniels – McDaniels is the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots and there’s a solid chance that he will be a head coach somewhere in 2017. He’s one of the brightest offensive minds in the game and could go a long way in progressing the career of Goff. The only question is whether the Rams will be able to lure the former Denver Broncos head coach across the country.

Kyle Shanahan – Shanahan has never been a head coach in the NFL, but he is the son of two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Shanahan and runs one of the best offensive schemes in the NFL. He’s currently the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons who are the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL with 32.9 points per game.

David Shaw – Shaw is currently the head coach at Stanford and seems to be pretty happy in that role. That being said, there may come a time when the NFL comes calling and Shaw just can’t say no. The Rams’ opening could be one of those situations as Shaw would be able to stay in the state of California. Shaw is also a former quarterbacks coach with the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens.

Jim Harbaugh – As reported earlier today by The Inquisitr, Harbaugh’s name has been mentioned as a possible successor to Fisher. It’s unclear whether the Rams would be comfortable with someone like Harbaugh running the show as he likes to have full control. It’s very possible that he would ask for control of personnel decisions which could make a marriage impossible between the two sides.

Jim Bob Cooter – Cooter will be one of the hot coordinator names this offseason when it comes to open head coaching jobs. He’s helped lead the Lions to a 9-4 record this season by instituting a short-passing game which makes things easier for Matthew Stafford. Cooter’s scheme could be the perfect solution for Goff as he gets used to the NFL.

[Featured Image by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images]

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