Consider an 18-39 regular season record as a head coach, over three-plus seasons with three teams. Does that sound like a great NFL head coaching candidate? The Tennessee Titans think so, with their official removal of the interim tag from head coach Mike Mularkey’s title on Saturday. Mularkey replaced the fired Ken Whisenhunt in the middle of this past season, and the Titans had a 2-7 record with Mularkey as head coach.
Mularkey has coached in the NFL (mostly as an assistant) since 1994, with stints as offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2001-03) and Atlanta Falcons (2008-11) as the best marks on his resume. His first opportunity as a head coach came with the Buffalo Bills in 2004, and looked promising after a 9-7 record in his first season, but Mularkey was let go after a 5-11 campaign in 2005 and he was dismissed after a 2-14 season as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012.
Continuity is one thing, but the Titans should not be committed to anything other than the development of quarterback Marcus Mariota at this point. Having the No. 1 overall pick in this spring’s draft will allow new general manager Jon Robinson to add a significant piece of the future, but sticking with Mularkey puts the Titans on track to have one of the first two picks in the draft for a third straight year in 2017.
It would be hard for a new head coach to assemble a staff at this point in the process, but the Titans appear to have missed an opportunity if speculation that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels wanted the job is true. Sometimes the right candidate is worth waiting for, even if waiting for McDaniels into February would have been required.
It’s worth wondering if a possible sale of the Titans drove the decision to retain Mularkey, and thus maintain a dismal status quo for at least one more season. Based on what are sure to be very low expectations for the Titans heading into next season, any more than three or four wins could be painted as a success for Mularkey. Truly, that is pretty sad for all involved.
