The Jeff Fisher Leverage Game takes a bizarre turn

[Truth]

Rams have made their offer and are not willing to pay the high price tag. Fisher is negotiating with the Fins as to front the office pecking order. So he is using the Rams to get the more control over the Fins as I see it. the Rams are being used, pull the plug on this guy already.

I think Stan is perfectly willing to pay the price of hiring Fisher. It's likely both teams have offered to make him the highest paid coach in the NFL. As for negotiating the FO pecking order, the Rams have made it abundantly clear that if Fisher accepts the position with the Rams, he will be involved in choosing the next GM. So, I'd say the Rams are willing to give Fisherplenty of pecking power. As I said earlier, none of us know what has been said, offered, or what is being considered. Is the wait frustrating? Yes, but what are you gonna do? We've waited this long, a day or so more isn't going to make much of a difference.

[GROUND DOG 39]

Rams have made their offer and are not willing to pay the high price tag. Fisher is negotiating with the Fins as to front the office pecking order. So he is using the Rams to get the more control over the Fins as I see it. the Rams are being used, pull the plug on this guy already.

Your probably right Rambo's.? Some team is being used in this saga. Who better than the team he lost the SuperBowl too.?

[Truth]

Bottom line: The Rams are not going to pick someone else until Fisher is off the board... it's not like there's a hot, can't miss candidate waiting in the wings.

[MadCard]

When did PFT become a valid source of information? I can't believe that NBC gave this site legitimacy even though it's nothing more than a bad rumor mill.

[Rambos]

I think Stan is perfectly willing to pay the price of hiring Fisher. It's likely both teams have offered to make him the highest paid coach in the NFL. As for negotiating the FO pecking order, the Rams have made it abundantly clear that if Fisher accepts the position with the Rams, he will be involved in choosing the next GM. So, I'd say the Rams are willing to give Fisherplenty of pecking power. As I said earlier, none of us know what has been said, offered, or what is being considered. Is the wait frustrating? Yes, but what are you gonna do? We've waited this long, a day or so more isn't going to make much of a difference.

I do agree with most of what you are saying but just like you, I can only take in the information and try to make sense of it. You must have read something different in regards to Rams willing to pay Fisher.

Jason LaCanfora says Rams are struggling with $6-$7M for Fisher.

Jason LaCanfora was live on the DP this morning and said the Rams already told Fisher they will not pay the 7Mil per year... too steep.

Other then the money, I agree with you the Rams will give him everything he wants. The Fins will give him the money, but need to restructure their front office to make the deal. Here is the unknown to me... are the Fins working on an org restructure to meet his needs or are have they told Fisher no. Leaving Fisher to pick between the two... my gut tells me the Fins are making changes and it's taking some time.

La Canfora notes that Fisher "likely will command" the title of executive vice president wherever he ends up. So if he does take the Fins and gets the money and the title, we will then know we where just a pawn.

GROUND DOG 39 Your probably right Rambo's.? Some team is being used in this saga. Who better than the team he lost the SuperBowl too.?

When it's all said and done I can't wait to see the deal he gets. If he takes the Fins job and they reshuffle the organization he's going to be under the gun from day one IMO.

[sb2sb2sb]

It doesn't look like money is the problem. I am reading articles. The main thing right now is that fisher has already put together a staff. So the problem is getting them right money (buying out the ones that are already at a job i.e. maybe gregg williams). So trying to see if Dolphins are Rams are willing to do that to accommodate his list of the entire staff requested.

[MauiRam]

When did PFT become a valid source of information? I can't believe that NBC gave this site legitimacy even though it's nothing more than a bad rumor mill.

The best source of information will be Jeff Fisher when he is introduced as the next head coach of __________?? This is why Av wisely closed all the "latest rumor" threads on the hiring of Jeff Fisher.

[sb2sb2sb]

On Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Jeff Fisher isn’t leveraging the Dolphins against the Rams, and that neither team has made Fisher an offer.Schefter elaborated on the situation during an appearance with Sid Rosenberg on WQAM radio . Although Schefter continues to insist that no financial offers have been made (and we continue to insist that’s ludicrous), it’s clear that leverage is being exercised in other ways.“Jeff Fisher is trying to make sure that the situation is exactly the way that he wants it,” Schefter said. “OK, that the organization lays out the travel, the trainers, the chiropractors, the budgets, the payrolls. I mean, there’s a lot that goes into this, OK? And he’s trying to sew this up with both sides.”In other words, Fisher is . . . wait for it . . . exerting leverage.But Schefter insists Fisher isn’t exerting leverage: “This is 100 percent, and trust me I’ve spoken to enough people on this to know, not a leverage play, not a power play, not anything. It’s making sure when you’re in the position that he is to get the situation exactly the way you want it to be.”Adam, we love you, but that’s the very definition of a leverage play. Even if no financial offers have been made, Fisher is pitting the two teams against each other in order to get what Fisher wants as to issues like, as summarized by Schefter: “Who’s got final authority? Who makes decisions? How does this work? Who gets final decision on draft day? Who gets final decision on the 53-man roster?”After being badgered for several minutes by Rosenberg (in only the way that Rosenberg can), Schefter acknowledges (perhaps unwittingly) that, indeed, this is a leverage game: “He’s got leverage in the sense that he can create things the way that he’d like them to be.”Bingo!And that’s the bottom line. It is a leverage game. Fisher wants things his way. And he’s pitting the Rams against the Dolphins to get things his way — “exactly” his way, as Schefter says.Even if no offers will be made until Fisher completely gives up his leverage by telling one team to make like a tree and get out of here and then tells the other team to pay him whatever the winner chooses to pay him (which gets more ludicrous the more I think about it), the fact remains that Fisher is playing a leverage game between the two teams. Even Schefter, who in one breath denies it, can’t ultimately disagree with that reality.

[Rambos]

It doesn't look like money is the problem. I am reading articles. The main thing right now is that fisher has already put together a staff. So the problem is getting them right money (buying out the ones that are already at a job i.e. maybe gregg williams). So trying to see if Dolphins are Rams are willing to do that to accommodate his list of the entire staff requested.

Gregg Williams’ contract will quietly run out after New Orleans’ season is over... not an issue

[sb2sb2sb]

Gregg Williams’ contract will quietly run out after New Orleans’ season is over... not an issue

True but there might be other staf members jeff fisher has put together that we might need to buy out. I was just using Gregg as the example

[Rambos]

True but there might be other staf members jeff fisher has put together that we might need to buy out. I was just using Gregg as the example

I think the post you just made about Adam Schefter saying Jeff Fisher isn’t leveraging the Dolphins against the Rams... is spot on. Fisher is hammering out his deal at the cost of both teams.

As far as hiring coach goes there are rules:

During the Season

Teams may not interview assistants from another team for either a lateral move or a head coaching opportunity during the season. The lone exception to this rule comes when teams want to interview assistants for head coaching jobs while the current team is in the playoffs. As there is an urgency to hire new head coaches for some non-playoff teams, the NFL does allow teams to request permission to interview a postseason participant's assistants during the wild card week for teams who have the bye that week. They can also request permission to do so during the first week of Super Bowl preparations as long as there is a two-week break between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. The team only has one chance to talk to the assistant coach, once permission is granted, before the coach's team is eliminated from the playoffs.

[mde8352gorams]

In the context of money, one thing we tend to overlook is that the Rams will not simply have to pay Jeff Fisher or whomever we hire a salary (in the case of Fisher extraordinary $), but Stan will be paying Steve Spagnuolo $2-3 million for the final year of his contract. I must admit the numbers I use are speculation as I don't know what his salary was. Plus I have no idea if Devaney is also due some type of payout. These issues will have to addressed somewhere.

Not that it really matters, but I've moved from the "gotta have Jeff Fisher" camp to let's find our own OC/DC who will be the next Payton, Tomlin, Belichik or McCarthy. Coupled with a strong GM who can evaluate talent. My wish is Charlie Casserly, but I doubt he comes out of retirement.

Go Rams!

[Rambos]

Jeff Fisher Bargaining Centers Around Issue Of Control

by Ryan Van Bibber on Jan 13, 2012 10:30 AM

Most expect Jeff Fisher to choose between the Miami Dolphins and the St. Louis Rams today. Maybe. Almost two weeks into this, what's another 24-48 hours, huh? Despite all the public whispers about money and relocation and all that other jazz, it looks like the biggest issue may be one of power and control, the lingering result of something that happened in Tennessee that ultimately ended Fisher's seemingly endless run in Music City.


Fisher, Vince Young and getting what he wants ... after the jump.

Star-divide

The Titans drafted Texas quarterback Vince Young with their first-round pick in 2006 at the behest of owner Bud Adams. It's not at all who Fisher wanted to draft, and in the years that followed Fisher and the Titans brass skirmished over Young. At one point, Fisher was finally told to play Young. He did, and got results. However, it ended badly with the very public meltdown between the coach and his quarterback in 2010. We covered that here.

Fisher's holding out for control. He wants veto power, at least, over personnel, wanting to avoid another situation like he went through with Vince Young in Tennessee. That's what was suggested in Adam Schefter's conversation on Miami radio, summarized by Tevin here. Bernie Miklasz and I also discussed that same topic last night on Twitter, as well as the potential risk posed by too much power for the head coach.

Handing over that much control to a head coach is a concern. The biggest question is how the balance of decision making is shared under such a structure. An organization needs a power structure, with an end point of accountability. That's Stan Kroenke for the Rams, the owner who doesn't seem to meddle much, making his standard for success the bottom line and the win-loss record.

That's okay too, but the Rams cannot afford another situation that turns into complete dysfunction at Rams Park. And there's nothing that says an exalted status for Fisher on the org chart would result in more of the same. I don't wonder if the matter isn't more to do with the financial decision making as it relates to the personnel side. The Rams are willing to spend money on free agents, but with a very sensible approach, one that doesn't get them stuck with dead cap money. Is Fisher so hungry to win that he wants to blow big bucks on free agents, compromising the bottom line and risking the team's future?

Let me be clear, I'm just speculating on the financial aspects of the personnel power for Fisher. It is pretty clear that Fisher is holding out for the title and the power it confers, and that's what all the public back and forth is about here, not relocation or quarterbacks or even salary dollars, which would most certainly have to be even ... though I think the Rams might be smart to put some conditions on the salary numbers, i.e. get the playoffs, get a big bonus.

There's precedent with what FIsher wants inside Stan Kroenke's sports empire. Arsene Wegner, the coach and head honcho for the Arsenal of the English Premier League.

The Gunners get some flak for not being big spenders, preferring an approach that Kroenke himself compares to that of Billy Beane. Though the team is certainly willing to carry a payroll. That's the vision Kroenke has for the Rams, made abundantly clear in our cap conversations with COO Kevin Demoff. Fisher would likely have that same level of control, providing he buys into the same vision.

[md8]

I want this to end too. I check this site to see if there is any news probably 20 times a day, but there is no reason for Fisher to rush.

Based on his history, he hopes to stay here a long long time. Possibly until he retires. So he could be making sure he's making the right choice, or he could be negotiating with each team. Or he could be looking at things in his personal life, like how each city would affect his family. We have no idea what is happening behind the scenes.

And it's not like either team, is a dream job for a coach. We shouldn't be offended if he doesn't jump at the first chance he gets to come here.

All of us should think of what we would do. If you got offered 2 jobs where they really wanted you, so you know you could negotiate. And the job didn't really start for a month or two. Would you jump at the first offer, or spend time deciding and working on the best offer from each team to help you decide?

If you liked one place slightly more, but the other was offering you much more money. Would you jump at the one with more money, or see if the one you preferred match or came close enough to the offer?

We have no idea what is happening, the media has done nothing but guess. The only thing we know is Fisher is working on what's best for him (could be money, could be power, or it could be what he feels gives him the best chance to win). Just like the players, owners and everyone else in sports does. As long as it doesn't hurt the Rams(and this doesn't with the off-season activities so far away), I'm not going to hate the guy.