These are trying times for Jeff Fisher.
The coach can't get his team to stop losing, news of a toothless extension only fueled speculation about his possible dismissal and he's so busy trying to right the ship he was unaware of a major franchise decision regarding a key colleague. Or so he says.
We had a microcosm moment of Fisher's plight on Sunday, when he failed to locate his challenge flag during a loss to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. We all had our fun with Fisher's struggle, and the coach was surely thrilled to talk about the incident in greater depth on Tuesday.
"I thought it was hilarious," he said, according to ESPN.com, "and I appreciate you asking."
You see, Fisher has a system. He always keeps his challenge flag in his back right pocket of his pants. If he needs to challenge a play, it's a quick reach back and toss. But a cold December afternoon in New England complicated matters for Fisher, a SoCal native.
"I started to get cold," he said, "so I put some wind pants on, and then I put a jacket on. I had this really long jacket, and then I was wired for NFL Films, and then I have a belt pack with two things on the side."
Fisher never did find the damn flag -- it was in one of his overcoat pockets -- but got the challenge in anyway. The call was overturned and Brian Quick got his 17-yard reception en route to a Los Angeles field goal.
This might be the most positive Rams story I write this month.
