A long time ago, in an NFL franchise far, far away, Jeff Fisher was the head coach of the Houston Oilers. Bud Adams, the Oilers owner, was unhappy with his stadium, and was threatening to move the team. When his demands weren't met, he struck a deal to move the Oilers to Nashville, Tenn.
Fisher was the coach of the Oilers as they transitioned to being the Tennessee Titans, and it was a miserable experience.
The Oilers had a promising young team that went 8-8 in 1996. However, they went 6-2 on the road and only 2-6 at home, because the crowds were so thin. Support all but vanished, and who can blame the Houston fans?
Things got so bad that the Oilers were released from their stadium lease early, and to make matters worse, the stadium in Nashville wasn't ready yet. So the Tennessee Oilers arrived picked up and moved to Memphis, where they played their games in the Liberty Bowl.
That's right, the Tennessee Oilers were based in Nashville, but played their games in Memphis. That is over 200 miles on a bus, one way, to play your "home games" every week.
It was a miserable experience for the players and the coaches.
Fisher remembers all of this. He wants no part of going through it again, and it is being reported that the possibility that the Rams might move to St. Louis is the only thing stopping him from taking the Rams' coaching job.
Should Rams fans be concerned about any of this?
The Rams lease agreement in St. Louis runs through 2025. However, in 2015 there is an opt out if the Edward Jones Dome is not a "top tier" stadium. Are Missouri tax payers willing to foot the bill on a publicly funded project that might cost $500 million dollars, or more?
Probably not in this economy.
So are the Rams going to stay in St. Louis? If Jeff Fisher is taking this long to make up his mind, maybe he knows something the rest of us Rams fans don't.
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