Jeff Fisher named head coach of Michigan Panthers for new USFL
Head coach Jeff Fisher of the Los Angeles Rams looks on during the first half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 4, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Michigan Panthers, one of the first eight teams in the new USFL, will have former NFL coach Jeff Fisher leading the team for its inaugural season this spring.
The league announced the former longtime coach will be leading the Michigan Panthers. At the same time, it also announced veteran college coach Larry Fedora will be in charge of the New Orleans Breakers.
Fisher spent 22 years as an NFL coach. He led the Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl XXXIV appearance and also coached the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams for five years.
The USFL revealed its coaches over the course of the month. On Jan. 6, the league announced its first four coaches: Mike Riley (New Jersey), Kevin Sumlin (Houston), Todd Haley (Tampa Bay) and Bart Andrus (Philadelphia).
Last week, the USFL revealed two more: Skip Holtz (Birmingham) and Kirby Wilson (Pittsburgh).
Games will be played in the spring and early summer. Each team will play a 10-game schedule, and all games in the inaugural season will be played in one host city, to be revealed soon. In future seasons, the USFL expects teams to play in their own markets.
"We now have eight unbelievably qualified head coaches leading USFL teams," Woods said. "They’re all looking forward to putting together staffs, evaluating talent, and planning the player selection strategies they’ll need to build championship-caliber football teams. The anticipation is growing as we reach each major milestone on the road to kick-off in April."
The USFL is a new, independent American football league controlled by FOX Sports through NSFL HoldCo, LLC, a new business entity. It is not associated or affiliated with the USFL of the 1980s or its owners.
FOX Sports is an official broadcast partner of the USFL and will air games on a weekly basis.
Birmingham will host all of this season's games at Protective Stadium and Legion Field. League officials hope to play games in future seasons in the teams’ home markets.
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