Dolphins bring in Fisher for visit

~ The former Titans coach reportedly will speak with the Rams later this week

DAVIE, Fla. -- Jeff Fisher landed at the Miami Dolphins' complex Tuesday. Now the question is whether the Dolphins will land Fisher.

Fisher interviewed for their coaching job Tuesday, arriving via owner Stephen Ross' helicopter. He flew off several hours later.

Fisher is believed to be the Dolphins' top choice, and Ross is willing to pay big money, but competition from other NFL teams may be fierce.

The Buccaneers and Rams fired their coaches Monday, increasing to five the number of coaching vacancies. The Rams' vice president and chief operating officer, Kevin Demoff, is the son of Fisher's agent, Marvin Demoff. Fisher reportedly will speak with Rams officials later this week. St. Louis fired coach Steve Spagnuolo on Monday, a day after completing a 2-14 season.

All the teams interested in Fisher caught a break when the Chargers announced Tuesday they'll keep coach Norv Turner. Fisher, a Southern California native, likely would have found the San Diego job appealing.

Fisher appears to be the highest-profile candidate available. He coached the Titans franchise for 17 years and led Tennessee to the 2000 Super Bowl. He stepped down a year ago as the league's longest-tenured coach, saying he needed a break, and sat out the 2011 season.

The Dolphins fired Tony Sparano last month with three games to go in his fourth season as their coach. They satisfied the NFL's Rooney rule requiring an interview with a minority candidate when they met Monday with interim coach Todd Bowles.

Fisher has a career record of 142-120 (.542). He led his team to at least 12 wins four times. He coached more games for one franchise than all but six coaches, all Hall of Famers.

However, his most recent playoff victory came in January 2004. His most recent winning record was in 2008 when the Titans squandered the No. 1 seed in the AFC by losing in the divisional round.

The Dolphins (6-10) missed the playoffs for the ninth time in the past 10 years. The losing season was their third in a row, the franchise's longest such stretch since the 1960s.