The Tennessee Titans are likely to have a new head coach leading the way next season. Ken Wisenhunt was fired by the team after their 1-6, allowing Mike Mularkey to hold down the job on an interim basis for the rest of the season.
Heading into Week 17, the Tennessee Titans have gone 2-6 under Mularkey, and it seems extremely unlikely that they will hire him back to lead the team next season.
After getting fired by Philadelphia Eagles earlier in the week, Chip Kelly instantly became one of the most interesting head coaching candidates on the market. With Kelly and Titans’ quarterback Marcus Mariota being so familiar with each other from their college days, Kelly’s interest in the Titans’ job was immediately speculated and consistently talked about.
Related Story: Who are the NFL's most untradeable players?
While I am sure the Titans will touch base with Kelly, he is not the best candidate available. Kelly’s time in Philadelphia was a disaster, and I have a hard time believing that he will allow enough help from throughout the organization to be a successful coach in the NFL. He is better off just heading back to the NCAA level.
More from Tennessee Titans
- 2023 NFL Season: 3 teams who are already doomed
- Ranking the 5 best NFL uniform changes for the 2023 season
- Malik Willis should be on the Washington Commanders radar
- Three 2023 free agents who won’t live up to their contract
- DeAndre Hopkins ends FA saga, signs with Tennessee Titans
So, if Kelly is not the right guy, who is? For this team as it is currently constructed, New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels feels like a perfect fit. Now, as a sharp offensive mind who screwed up his last head coaching job by having too much power, McDaniels will get a lot of comparisons to Kelly.
After his two-season run with the Denver Broncos, questioning McDaniels’ ability as a head coach is probably fair. He led an extremely talented Broncos’ team to an 8-8 record his first season, before completely losing control getting fired after a 3-9 start the next season.
Similar to Kelly in Philadelphia, McDaniels had a lot to say about the players the Broncos acquired, and that seemed to be his demise. He is clearly one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, but his ability to acquire talent is certainly lacking. Hopefully, McDaniels learned from his experience in Denver.
After his debacle in Denver, McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams for one season, before returning to his former position of offensive coordinator of the Patriots in 2012. A humbled McDaniels has been the Patriots’ offensive coordinator ever since, and has become one of the best in the league.
Sure, his time as NFL head coach did not go well, but McDaniels has spent the last four years learning under arguably the greatest NFL head coach of all-time, Bill Belichick. After experiencing the job first hand in Denver, don’t you think McDaniels has picked up on a thing or two from Belichick this time around?
I have to imagine that he has paid much closer attention to what Belichick does to be so successful in his return to New England, just waiting for that next opportunity.
McDaniels is a bright offensive mind, and his tutelage under Belichick could end up becoming extremely valuable. Somebody is going to give him another chance to be a head coach. Why not the Titans? Getting McDaniels to direct their offense would be the best thing for Mariota’s professional career, as he knows much more on how to form a successful NFL offense than Chip Kelly.
Next: Who should the Titans take at No. 1?
The progression of Marcus Mariota at the quarterback position is the single most important key to the Titans’ success going forward. Why not give him the best to work with? Make no mistake, when it comes to coaching offense in the NFL, McDaniels is one of the best.