You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy!™
Tennessee Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher being fired. Or perhaps he quit. Or maybe he is just riding off into the sunset. It’s still kind of unclear.
DATELINE: MUSIC CITY, Tennessee
The media frenzy pouring out of Nashville the last 72 hours is over the top.
Media outlets blew out entire newscasts to bring us coverage.
It was a WHO concert of distortion and white noise feedback. It was a tornado of scattered information and lots of guess-work.
It was inebriated fan reaction from sports bars. It was video retrospectives showcasing the almost Superbowl touch down and 1997 footage when the coach had black hair and less chins. It was chronic conjecture by sportscasters and radio talk show hosts who had less facts than a fortune cookie.
And then, somewhere in the middle, like the center of a tootsie roll lolly pop, was the sweet nugget or reality, a reality that the coach was no more.
That is how it unfolded around 5:45pm January 27th as this news room put on its combat helmet, gassed up its live trucks and crawled into its news fox hole.
Nashville is a small market. It’s a creative siren of a city where superstars like Keith and Nicole can go to StarBucks with hardly a stare.
Nashville is also a knee jerk reaction town that comes to a grinding halt after a 1/4 inch of snow.
I’ve seen News Directors create hour long newscasts and blow out entire episodes of Dr. Phil to cover the threat of precipitation still moving in from Montana.
Jeff Fisher leaving the Titans was a blizzard in its own right.
12 hours elapsed and then the press conference came. It was carried live by all three stations in town.
It was one part emotional farewell tour and one part theater of the absurd.
There was a lot of new information, but even more question marks.
First and foremost, the Titans said Fisher was the coach. Suddenly he was leaving.
What gives?
Fisher would not discuss details. He would only say it was surreal that he was gone after 17 years. He would not say whether he was forced out or whether it was a conflict with front office personnel or a battle with QB Vince Young.
Fisher took the furtive high road. He thanked the city and its fans, simply saying he was tired. He would not illuminate what he would do or where he would go. Fisher would not say if he got a pay off – a buy out – or a swift kick in the ass from 89 year old team owner, Bud Adams.
Jeff Fisher is arguably the face of the Titans Franchise. Some would say his omni-present mustache and gravely voice is the symbol of Nashville.
In my crazy opinion, the news coverage was a tad excessive, but perhaps warranted.
I don’t pretend to think Fisher leaving is bigger than the political unrest in Egypt, but it beats the hell out of a random convenience store burglary.
So in that respect, perhaps the coverage was just what the doctor ordered.
I guess the ratings, as they always do, will let each newsroom know if it won or lost.
Fisher has all ready won. He got paid millions to leave town to either broadcast, go fishing, or coach another team.
The Titans? They are in questionable shape. No coach. No quarterback. No sense of equilibrium.
And that is crazy.