USFL 2022: Jeff Fisher on Panthers' QBs, toughest opponents

By RJ Young
FOX Sports College Football Writer

After 22 seasons as an NFL head coach, leading the Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl appearance and being part of two franchise relocations, Michigan Panthers coach Jeff Fisher returned from his six-year hiatus because he missed pro football.

He missed it so much that he has given up his long stays at his cabin in Montana, fishing from Argentina to Alaska and traveling the world on hunting expeditions to coach in the United States Football League because the fit was just too good to pass up.

With a home in Nashville, just three hours from Birmingham, Alabama, where all eight USFL teams will practice and play this season, Fisher can be near his grandkids and still pursue his passion as a football coach.

"And the bottom line is I caught enough fish," Fisher said during an interview as part of the USFL Coaches Series on "The No. 1 Ranked Show."

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In becoming the Panthers' coach, Fisher gets to do what he believes he was meant to in the sport: help young coaches and young players achieve their dreams of not just coaching or playing professional football, but also returning to or reaching toward the sport’s highest level, the NFL. 

"I want to help guys realize their dreams," he said.

Indeed, since being named Michigan’s head coach, Fisher has lost not one but two potential assistant-coaching hires to NFL jobs — which is the kind of effect he wants to have.

Fisher understands he is uniquely positioned to help those in and around the game because of the respect his word and his résumé demand. 

But right now, just days after drafting the newest members of his team, he has one goal: Beat Kevin Sumlin’s Houston Gamblers in their opener April 17.

That mission began in earnest with Thursday's supplemental draft. Over Zoom, with each of the coaches and his staff running over their draft boards for the 10-round selection process, Fisher was locked in on whom the Gamblers selected, even remarking on how Sumlin took control of each pick his team made.

"The guy does everything," Fisher said, "and there’s a lot to be said for that because of the small roster."

Fisher was effusive in his praise of Sumlin’s identification of players who could fill multiple positions, especially given that the former college coach is used to having 85 scholarship players on his roster, as opposed to the 45 he’s working with in the USFL.

Having studied the offenses Sumlin ran at Arizona, Texas A&M and Houston, Fisher is already looking for ways to attack the kind of offensive scheme he might see from the Gamblers.

For Fisher, answering the question of the team he is most concerned about is easy: "Our biggest rival is the team we’re gonna open with."

For his part, Fisher has put together a stout roster, too, beginning with his two quarterback selections. While he knew the Panthers would have the No. 1 overall pick following the draft lottery held Feb. 17 — just five days before the inaugural 2022 USFL Draft — and that the first round was reserved for quarterback selections, he did not know in advance who his selection would be.

In fact, after several weeks of evaluation, he did not know that former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson or former NFL first-round selection Paxton Lynch would be available in the USFL Draft. USFL coaches and staffs were given a draft pool of players who had signed contracts with the USFL, but in the first week of February, there was still the thought that both Patterson and Lynch could be playing in the Canadian Football League.

"[Patterson] was not on that list," Fisher said. "And he didn't pop up until the very end because of his commitment to the CFL."

Had Fisher not had the No. 1 pick, he’s sure he wouldn’t have been able to select Patterson. 

"I was the fortunate one," he said.

After learning Lynch signed on for the USFL just a day before the draft, Fisher selected him in the second round for quarterbacks. He's confident the Panthers have one of the most talented QB rooms in the league.

Even better, Fisher's track record the past 25 years speaks to his ability to both identify and develop quarterbacks. With Fisher as the Titans' coach, Steve McNair was an All-Pro selection and the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2003, and Vince Young was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2006 and earned two Pro Bowl selections. 

Fisher plans to push and coach his Panthers quarterbacks much like he did McNair and Young.

"Paxton is just looking for the right opportunity," Fisher said. "His skill set is certainly a little bit different than Shea's. We may use them both — who knows? It’s fun. This is what this league’s about. 

"We all saw what happened in Buffalo this year with Josh [Allen], with the way [former Bills coordinator and current New York Giants head coach] Brian Daboll used Josh there and his legs. We're gonna use Paxton's legs. You’ll see where we're coming from. We’ve got a lot of exciting things going on right now with respect to what we're going to do on offense."

In addition to the Gamblers, Fisher readily acknowledges he’s also concerned about the Philadelphia Stars and their coach Bart Andrus and QB Bryan Scott. Andrus was Fisher’s quarterbacks coach on the 1999 Titans team that played in the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams. 

Andrus also played quarterback on Fisher’s Pop Warner team. He remembers putting on his helmet for the first time, looking through his facemask and seeing Andrus as the first leader he ever followed on a football team.

"We were, I don't know, 8, 9 years old," Fisher said. "So, we played Pop Warner football together, and I was a receiver and running back. And he was that quarterback. Our relationship goes way back."

Fisher is also well-aware that Andrus and Scott won a Spring League title two years ago, and Andrus is one of the better QB coaches he has worked with. He said Scott is the one opposing player in the USFL who gives him pause.

They met on the first day of the draft.

"Really, really impressive guy," Fisher said of Scott. "You can see why Bart’s so excited about him, so that’s going to be a concern — just to see how he’s going to operate. …"

"Somehow, some way, [Andrus] ended up with the quarterback he wanted, so that’s going to be a concern."

As I spoke about my conversations with Scott since he was selected No. 3 in the USFL Draft, Fisher broke in. 

"Next time you see him, could you do me a favor and break a finger on his throwing hand?" he said, kiddingly.

But the tone speaks to his competitiveness and his desire to win even after more than four decades around football.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young, and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube. He is not on a StepMill.