5 Signs Los Angeles Rams Will Most Likely Keep Jeff Fisher Beyond 2016

Nov 27, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher talks to officials in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately for Los Angeles Rams fans, all signs point to Jeff Fisher sticking around beyond the 2016 season.

At the beginning of the 2016 season, there were plenty of discussion surrounding the possibility of Jeff Fisher receiving an extension from the Los Angeles Rams, despite his inability to record a winning season since coming on board in 2012. While most coaches in this situation would have been fired by now, signs as of late point to the Rams keeping Fisher around beyond the 2016 season, which is certainly going to draw a mixed response from the fan base.

Despite showing potential at the beginning of the season with a 3-1 start, Los Angeles has struggled to earn wins over the last two months as they head into their Week 13 meeting against the New England Patriots with six losses over their last seven games. That lone win came three weeks ago during a 9-6 victory against the New York Jets, which also marked the second time this year in which the Rams won without scoring a single touchdown.

When taking all of this into consideration, it’s amazing to see Fisher still have a job this late into the season. As bas as it sounds, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see the organization to give Fisher another shot and provide him with an extension once this season comes to an end.

Don’t think so? Take a closer look at these five signs and it’s easy to assume Fisher is going to stick around, whether fans are happy about it or not.

Nov 27, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (16) warms up before a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Chance to Develop Jared Goff

If his first half performance against the New Orleans Saints is any indication of what’s in store for the future, the Rams could have a potential star in Jared Goff after the No. 1 pick recorded three touchdowns before halftime against Week 12. Even if Los Angeles failed to score a single point in the second half of that game, the team has to be thrilled with Goff throwing three touchdowns early on when considering how much the offense has struggled throughout the 2016 season.

For reasons that can’t be explained, Fisher seemed to have all the confidence in the world with Case Keenum at the beginning of the season as he believed the veteran gave the team their best chance of making a postseason run, despite his inexperience. Watching Keenum struggle the way he did all year made it even more frustrating that it took Fisher so long to finally give Goff a chance as the starter.

With that being said, it’s difficult not to wonder if Fisher decided to make the move with the hope Goff would help save his job if the quarterback showed potential. After watching him shine in the first half against New Orleans, it’s hard not to wonder if the organization wants to keep Fisher around to give him a chance to help him develop at quarterback.

Oct 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Lions won 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Defense Continues to Show Potential

If there’s anything to take away from the Rams over the last three seasons, it would be Aaron Donald deserves to be in the category of being one of the league’s best defensive players and the team should do whatever it takes to make sure he sticks around for the long run. After recording 20 sacks over his first two seasons in the league, Donald continued to be a leader for the Rams’ defense in 2016 with six sacks through 11 games, although it’s tough to ignore how the unit broke down against the Saints.

Still, it’s tough to ignore how effective the defense of Los Angeles has been this season despite their disappointing 4-7 record as they’ve found a way to hold opponents to scoring 17 points or less six times. Not to mention the defense the main reason why they were able to record wins against teams with high-powered offenses like the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.

When looking at how awful the offense was in 2015, it was the defense that played a key role in helping the Rams finish 7-9 last year as the team was hoping to take the next step this season by becoming contenders. Clearly, Los Angeles still has plenty of work to do before that happens, but at least Fisher has one thing to be proud of during his tenure when seeing the progress made by the defense over the years.

Sep 18, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) looses the ball as he is sacked by Los Angeles Rams defensive end Robert Quinn (94) during the first half of a NFL game against the Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Rams Can Compete Against Division Rivals

Minus the embarrassing loss in Week 1 to the San Francisco 49ers, it’s amazing to see how much different the Rams look when they face their other division rivals in the Seahawks and Cardinals. For reasons that can’t really be explained, Los Angeles looked like serious contenders in the NFC at the beginning of the season thanks to key wins against Seattle and Arizona, leaving many to believe they were actually capable of making a run for the division title.

Obviously, that is no longer the case when considering the Rams have only recorded one win since their Week 4 victory over the Cardinals, but at least there’s one positive factor to take away from all of this. If anything, these two wins against Seattle and Arizona prove Los Angeles is taking a step in the right direction when it comes to being contenders in the division.

Fisher may not have many positives from his last five seasons as head coach with the Rams, but if the offense can figure out a way to improve along with the defense playing like they have over the last two seasons, the future may be bright for this team. If Los Angeles can cause these types of problems against their division rivals with their current roster, just imagine what they can do if the offense finally improves.

Nov 6, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) rushes against the Carolina Panthers during a NFL football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Fisher Was Dealt a Tough Hand For 2016

When watching HBO’s Hard Knocks during the preseason, it was clear how confident Fisher was when it came to Los Angeles having the potential to be contenders in 2016. While that may have seemed like the case early on, the truth is Fisher found himself in a tough position when considering the only significant change made by the Rams during the offseason was at the quarterback position.

Not only did Los Angeles surrender a ton of future draft picks to the Tennessee Titans in order to acquire Goff, but the team made the wise decision of parting ways with Nick Foles before the first preseason game. Originally, the Rams thought Foles was the answer they had been searching for after acquiring the quarterback from the Philadelphia Eagles prior to the 2015 season, but that clearly wasn’t the case after he threw just seven touchdowns in 11 games.

As exciting as drafting Goff was, Los Angeles knew this decision also meant they would be taking a step back when it came to improving the offense as they knew it would most likely take some time for the rookie to develop. Between Goff needing to develop along with the Rams having one of the league’s weakest receiving corps led by Tavon Austin, Fisher should have lowered his expectations at the beginning of the season instead of believing this team was capable of being serious contenders in the NFC.

Oct 23, 2016; London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher walks off the field after game 16 of the NFL International Series against the New York Giants at Twickenham Statdium. The Giants defeated the Rams 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Fisher’s Four Game Test Is Over

After Los Angeles came up on the losing end against the New York Giants in London, reports surfaced about how Fisher’s fate with the organization would be determined over the next four games. Well, it’s been four games, and Fisher is still the head coach heading into Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, which means it looks his fate may have already be determined by the organization.

If this happened to be true, Fisher would have been fired by now as the Rams have gone 1-3 over the last four games while scoring a combined 50 points. While there was never any official confirmation from the organization about Fisher’s fate being determined over those four games, it’s easy to see why the head coach was receiving the test.

Unfortunately, it looks like Fisher’s test was meaningless as any other head coach in that scenario would have failed and been fired by now as it seems to be clearer the organization seems to be leaning towards giving the head coach another chance. Assuming Los Angeles loses at least one more game this year, it would be amazing to think that Fisher could possibly receive another deal despite failing to record a single winning record in five seasons as head coach.

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