Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak during warm ups prior to the game against the Houston Texans at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
While it’s important to be prudent, there’s a fine line between patience and indecisiveness, and I firmly believe the Tennessee Titans have crossed the threshold of patience and have ventured into the realm of indecisiveness. Most teams have been quick to either fire or commit to a head coach on the hot seat, but the Titans have done neither of those. No, before yesterday, we had no indication of where the Titans were leaning on the decision to fire or keep Mike Munchak, who clearly isn’t the answer. I mean, how long does it take for Tommy Smith and the Titans to decide the future of a head coach who has been coaching for three seasons now?
The longer a team takes to make a decision on a head coach, the more likely it is that this team will be forced to keep their coach. Why? Well, not only do they become late to the game when it comes to searching for new head coaches, a lot of the good coaches will be gone by the time they do enter the fray. I mean, we’ve already seen Lovie Smith and Bill O’Brien- arguably the two best previously on the open market- hired away, so who would the Titans hire to replace Munchak?
Apparently nobody, because it sounds like the Titans are going to keep Munchak despite the fact that he has failed to lead the Titans over the hump. They were supposed to make the playoffs by now, and yet all the Titans have done is disappoint, even though they have a pretty deep roster (only true needs are ILB and QB, but Jake Locker is actually OK, and I would definitely fault Munchak for failing to develop him further) and had playoff aspirations earlier. I’m sure you’ve all seen the stat regarding how bad the Titans are against teams that are actually, you know, good, and it’s ridiculous how the Titans couldn’t make a quick decision and have somehow managed to overlook what should be obvious; that Munchak is a bad coach who has brought absolutely nothing to the table.
Seriously, what has he done to help this team? Can you name one? Chuck Pagano made the playoffs in his first year as the Indianapolis Colts head coach, Gary Kubiak was the most successful head coach in Houston Texans history, and Gus Bradley has immediately made the CBs a strength for the Jacksonville Jaguars and instilled a level of credibility and discipline in the organization that hasn’t been seen since Tom Coughlin was on the sidelines in J-Ville.
Those examples from other AFC South squads serve to show that Munchak’s resume pales in comparison. Mediocre records and a 3-20 record against winning teams are the two things that stand atop his resume, in addition to failing to develop a talented, former first-round pick in Locker, who was compared to Brett Favre by the same scout who called Titans star DT Jurrell Casey being a star.
Yesterday, the Nashville Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt reported “indications are” that Mike Munchak will be retained by the Tennessee Titans. At this point, all we can hope for is that the Titans will come to their sense and change their minds, unless if they actually like endless mediocrity and an inability to win big games.