Both sides are right. In a way, Jeff Ireland was the reason why Fisher didnt come here. That being said, it wasnt because he thought this front office was a mad house or because he hated Ireland.
Above all else, Fisher didnt want to a repeat of his experience in Tennessee. He wanted a owner who wasnt afraid to spend money. He wanted a owner who would differ decisions to his "football people". And he wanted to be a location that wasnt rumored to be moving in a few seasons. He would have had all of that in Miami.
Unlike what people on here are saying, Fisher didnt want full control of his team. He is one of the few coaches who actually likes the "traditional" front office setup. Hell, he won something of a power struggle while in Tennessee and had more control there then he would have here(save for their meddling owner of course). What Jeff Fisher did want was a say in drafts and free agency. He didnt want players forced upon him by fiat like the situation with Vince Young(and the new coaching staffs situation with Peyton Manning). He basically wanted roughly the same level of power that Tony Sparano had in his final offseason.
Despite those, what i would consider reasonable, demands Jeff Fisher was denied. I recall Fisher's final offer to Ross was a plan that if he and Ireland disagreed on a draft pick they would seek out a mutually agreed upon third party to settle any dispute. Ross wanted Ireland to have full control, so he denied the suggestion. It has been speculated that Ross felt confident with denying the suggestions because Fisher did in fact love the idea of being the coach of the Dolphins. Its more than a bit ironic because Jeff Fisher DOES like Ireland and had Ireland been free Fisher would have pushed the Rams to hire him.
In the end it didnt work out. Fisher took less money, a more financially conservative owner, and dealing with a potential move to coach the Rams. Oh, and how "he could trade the number 2 pick away" thing people keep pointing out, according to Peter King that was mostly driven by their new GM, who has earned alot of points around the league for not playing the Browns and Redskins off each other.....despite the sob story Mike Holmgren is spinning.
