The Tennessee Titans said before their playoff game against the New England Patriots that head coach Mike Mularkey would be returning in 2018, but somebody must have had a sudden change of heart over the weekend.
The Titans announced on Monday that they have mutually agreed to part ways with Mularkey. Team owner Amy Adams Strunk said a contract extension was discussed, but the two sides failed to find “common ground.”
“In fact, we did discuss extending his future with our team over the past week, but in those discussions about the direction of the team, it became evident that we saw different paths to achieve greater success,” Adams said in a statement. “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.”
The Titans have a ton of talent on offense with playmakers like Marcus Mariota, Derrick Henry and Delanie Walker, and the belief has been that Mularkey is not the right person to get the most out of that talent. Tennessee ranked 23rd in total offense, 23rd in passing yards, 15th in rushing yards and 19th in points scored this season. After getting off to a strong start, they limped their way into the postseason before pulling off a huge upset over the Chiefs at Kansas City.
Tennessee went 9-7 the last two seasons, and they will likely look for a head coach who can help develop Mariota. Josh McDaniels will be one name to watch with the new job opening, though the New England Patriots offensive coordinator appears to be the favorite to land another head coaching job.
