Jeff Fisher, former head coach of the Tennessee Titans, spoke to the Daily News about his role with the Nashville Kats arena football team. The Kats have been revived in 2024 after folding in 2007.

Jeff Fisher isn’t ready to give up the lifestyle he discovered after losing his last head coaching job in the NFL.

After an incredible 22-year run as a head coach at football’s highest level, including leading the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise from 1994-2010, Fisher was more than ready for a reset.

He visited his cabin in Montana for the first time – a property Fisher has owned for 25 years. He followed every dream trip he could imagine, fishing and occasionally hunting from South America to Alaska.

Fisher, who coached the Titans to their lone Super Bowl appearance against the St. Louis Rams in 2000, still dabbled in football after he was let go by the Rams – by then in Los Angeles – late in the 2016 season.

He served as an adviser in the Alliance of American Football League, then moved on to the USFL, where he agreed to serve as head coach for the Michigan Panthers for one season (2022).

That continued involvement in football has found a new outlet in Nashville for Fisher, who agreed to serve as a senior adviser for the Arena Football League’s Nashville Kats as the AFL reboots under new ownership and leadership after four seasons off.

“About three months ago, one thing led to another and I ended up in a meeting with the two co-owners of the then new Arena Football League,” Fisher said. “Obviously since then, we’ve become the Kats, got the Kats name back. We kept meeting and meeting and meeting and was helping them out from a football side and wanted them to be successful. The more and more I got into it, the more I realized this is going to be really fun and it’s going to be completely different.

“I’m not going to coach, but because of my familiarity with Nashville and friends like (fellow senior adviser and Nashville media personality) Greg Pogue and just everybody there, we’re going to bring the Kats back.”

The Kats, which operated in two separate stints (1997-2001 and 2005-07) have a new ownership group led by sports and entertainment attorneys Tamara Dadd Alan and Nancy D. Eckert and former Penn State football player Gregg Johnson, who is also the team’s general manager.

Fisher has spent much of his time in the Nashville area serving as a volunteer adviser for Tennessee State football coach Eddie George, his former star running back with the Titans, and supporting his son Brandon Fisher, who serves on George’s staff as Tennessee State’s defensive coordinator.

Although he admits not getting to see much of the Kats during their previous incarnations in Nashville playing at what is now known as Bridgestone Arena, Fisher knew the franchise had a loyal following and a successful track record in the AFL. The Kats were named the league’s organization of the year after their inaugural season in 1997, made the playoffs every season and played in the Arena Bowl in 2000 and 2001.

Fisher is convinced the right leadership is in place to revive the franchise.

“There’s going to be 14 teams this year, they’re very well-funded and they recognize the potential in Nashville,” Fisher said. “We’ve all witnessed Nashville change over the years, anybody that’s been there recognizes the changes. But the one thing that’s still there is the run that the Kats made in the late 90s and 2000s – 12,800 people they averaged (at home games). There’s a great deal of those people, those old Kats fans still around.”

The Kats, who will play home games at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium, still have to put together a roster ahead of the April 27 season opener at home against the Minnesota Myth. The franchise named AFL veteran Dean Cokinos head coach and vice president of football operations last week.

Fisher likes the new home arena for the Kats.

“It’s an extraordinary venue, kind of a retro feel,” Fisher said. “It’s really cool.”

Fisher said the Kats are in the process of setting up tryouts and already have a short list of available players they’re interested in signing. The AFL will field 25-man rosters, with 21 active on game day. That places a premium on finding “iron man” players capable of playing on both offense and defense in 8-on-8 league.

Fisher helped spearhead the Kats’ coaching hire and will have a hand in the roster construction, among other duties. Beyond that, Fisher is happy to pitch in as needed – but he isn’t planning on making it his day job.

“I’m not the head coach, I’m not the majority owner – I just want to help,” Fisher said.