By Jordan Long
The Tennessee Titans ended the year in a Divisional loss to the New England Patriots, 35-14. I thought by advancing in the NFL playoffs, it would save Head Coach Mike Mularkey’s job. On Monday, the Titans decided to part ways with Mularkey who had one year left on his contract. According to ESPN, Titans Owner Amy Adams Strunk said, “It is certainly unfortunate that we couldn’t find enough common ground. I generally believe that continuity is the best path for success, but I also view this as an important moment for our football team as we try to make that next step to sustained success on the field. Jon will begin the search immediately to identify that person.”
Mularkey had been the Tennessee coach for the last 3 years. He replaced Ken Whisenhunt in week 8 of the 2015 season. During his 3 seasons the Titans were 20-21, a winning percentage of .488.
This year was his best year there. He was 9-7 and the Titans reached the playoffs for the first time since 2008. They knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round 22-21 for the Titans first playoff win since 2003. This should have been enough for Mularkey to keep his job.
The Titans must have felt moving on from Mularkey was the right decision. There are not many teams who make the playoffs let alone fire a coach who wins a playoff game. They are thinking long-term. They have a young team and want a coach who will coach them further into the playoffs.
Tennessee may want to hire a defensive minded coach. Mularkey’s background was offense. The Titans know they have a decent productive offense. The way they will win a Super Bowl is defense. The next head coach should have a defensive background to stop teams from scoring and create turnovers. Hopefully the Titans will go that direction.
What do you think of the Titans firing Mike Mularkey?
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