Look back: A Rams WR brought a woman into his dorm, lost his job and became the face of Jeff Fisher’s ‘7-9 bulls—’ | NFL News
In the archives of NFL training camp chaos, most players get cut quietly. A phone call, a handshake, a box of belongings. Deon Long did not get that luxury.Back in August 2016, HBO’s “Hard Knocks” cameras caught one of the more unfiltered cut scenes in the show’s history, an undrafted wide receiver, fighting tooth and nail for a roster spot with the Los Angeles Rams, losing that fight not on the field, but in a dorm room at the University of California-Irvine. What followed was a public dressing-down that the NFL internet has never really let go of.Here’s the full story.
Jeff Fisher set 2 rules at the start of 2016 Rams training camp: Long broke one immediately
At the beginning of training camp, Fisher instituted exactly two rules for his squad: be on time, and no guests in the dorms. That was the entire list. Two rules. Both of them simple. One of them apparently not simple enough.Fisher called Long into his office and reminded him of the strict no-visitors policy, before asking why Long had brought a woman into his dorm at camp. Long’s defense was that the visit happened before curfew and he had no intention of letting her stay. Fisher listened to the whole explanation and then did not move an inch.“What part of the rules, what part of ‘no female guests in the room,’ did you not understand?” Fisher told Long, per ESPN. “Sorry, but this is our world, man. We have rules and we have to abide by them. Not the first time I’ve done this for this particular violation, but I thought I made myself really clear.”Long was released on the spot.
Fisher took it straight to the locker room, and the ‘7-9’ speech became the stuff of NFL legend
Cutting Long was one thing. What Fisher said to his team afterward is what people still talk about.Fisher addressed his players directly after letting Long go, and made it clear that small violations lead to small seasons. “Little things are important, you follow me?” Fisher said, per ESPN. “I am not f—ing going 7-9 or 8-8 or 9-7, OK? Or 10-6 for that matter. This team is too talented. I am not going to settle for that. We had some 7-9 bulls— this morning. Now, Deon’s gone. That is 7-9 bulls—. We don’t need it.”The speech landed. It also aged in a very specific way. At the time Fisher delivered those words, he was 27-36-1 in his tenure with the Rams, with four consecutive losing seasons and a .430 winning percentage, 26th in the league over that stretch. The team’s point differential from 2012 to 2015 was -145, ranking 25th in the NFL.Fisher was not coaching from a position of sustained success. He was coaching from a position of desperation. The “7-9 bulls—” speech was as much about himself as it was about Deon Long.The Rams went 4-12 that 2016 season. Fisher was fired before it ended.
The 2016 Rams camp had bigger problems than a dorm room violation
The Long incident was the loudest moment from that first “Hard Knocks” episode, but it was not the only sign of a team under pressure.Receiver Tavon Austin failed to eat lunch, reportedly surviving on two bananas, before practice and cramped up. Fisher called him out during the same 7-9 speech. Rookie quarterback Jared Goff, the No. 1 overall pick that year, struggled with the pro-style offense, fumbling and misfiring through early reps. Assistant coach Chris Weinke let Goff have it in the quarterbacks room after an early practice session.Penalties had been a persistent issue for Fisher’s Rams, ranking in the bottom eight in the NFL in penalty yards per game in each of his four seasons as coach, 25th in 2015, 32nd in 2014, 29th in 2013, and 30th in 2012. He was openly calling it a “culture change” he needed to make. Cutting a receiver for a dorm room violation was, in that context, very much on-brand.
Deon Long landed with the Eagles, never played an NFL regular-season game, and the story did not end there
Long, 25 at the time, had previously spent time with the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins without appearing in a regular-season game. The Philadelphia Eagles picked him up shortly after the Rams released him. He did not make their 53-man roster either.His NFL window closed without a single regular-season snap.Then, in October 2017, per a TMZ Sports report citing law enforcement sources, Long was identified as a suspect in an armed robbery case involving a Craigslist transaction. A separate chapter entirely, but one that made his already brief NFL story feel even more like a cautionary tale.The dorm room rule cost him the only legitimate shot he had. The “Hard Knocks” cameras made sure the whole country saw it happen in real time. And Fisher’s speech, delivered by a coach who had lost far more games than he had won, became one of the more ironic pieces of NFL training camp theatre on record.
