The St. Louis Rams got their guy Friday when Jeff Fisher agreed to take over as head coach, choosing the NFC West cellar-dwellers over South Beach and the Miami Dolphins.
A footnote throughout the courtship of Fisher has been the fact that Rams executive vice president of football operations and COO Kevin Demoff is the son of the coach's agent, Marvin Demoff.
Sports Illustrated reported Monday that some in the league believe there could have been possible collusion on the part of Fisher and the Demoffs. Fisher denied the claims, saying his agent had no influence on his decision to go to St. Louis.
"Under no circumstances at any time," Fisher said. "I have 100 percent conviction on that. This was my decision, and Marvin assisted me. I was the one who decided. No one pushed me anywhere."
Fisher was the top head-coaching candidate of both the Rams and Dolphins, and NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora reported throughout the process that numerous league sources expected the former Tennessee Titans coach to choose St. Louis. Fisher explained the process of how he settled on the Rams.
"From (Day 1), when I began this process after the season, I felt Miami and St. Louis were my best options," Fisher said. "I did my research. I looked at every team that had an opening. I looked at the personnel on each team, I looked at the owners, I looked at the cap situations, and I narrowed it to two. Not Marvin. Me. Marvin didn't push me. I am convinced he was completely objective."
