Is Mike Mularky the right coach for the Tennessee Titans

Since Jeff Fisher was fired in 2010, the Tennessee Titans have been looking for a coach to lead the team back to the super bowl. The latest Coach, as most of you know is Mike Mularkey. Mularkey is a career football man that played in the NFL and eventual became head coach of three football teams. This hire was shocking because Mularkey already failed in two other destinations. To make matters worse he did not exactly impress as coach last year either. It did not seem like there was a true search for a new coach this past summer. Mularkey was the choice of ownership while new general manager Jon Robinson knew that going in. Normally, this is a recipe for disaster, but somehow it has worked out in the 2016 season.

Some may say he is the perfect fit for this team, others may think he is just getting lucky. What do you think? Is a man with a career head coaching record of 26-45 really who you want leading your team?

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Ignoring his resume before 2015, lets look at what he has accomplished as head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Mike Mularkey deserves credit for getting the players to believe in him. In the NFL, if you have the confidence of your players you are already halfway to winning a championship. He has successfully motivated this team and somehow continues to win games no matter how hard he makes it on himself.

Lets take a look at the magical win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Using the term “magical” is the only way to describe it. The Kansas City Chiefs are a very solid football team with a great coach. They were dominating the game and making the plays they needed to make to win the game, while the Titans looked lost at times and had trouble converting on third down. No matter how good the running game is this year, Tennessee was having trouble converting the third down conversions. Mularkey insisted on going to the running game no matter how many times they were stopped at the line. The third down efficiency was terrible with a 42% completion percentage according to the NFL Box Score. Basically, the coaching staff needs to trust Marcus Mariota to make a play.

Ultimately, this problem was washed away when Mularkey made the gutsy call to go for two with the game on the line. This move could have made Mularkey a hero or a villain the next day. If you win the game it’s the best move you made in your career, but if you lose the game you get second guessed all the way to the off-season. Throughout the game, Mularkey was calling a passive game and finally took a risk when he went for two. Even when they failed to convert, the players did not quit.

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Because Dick Lebeau’s defense took care of business after the missed conversion, the Titans had a chance to win the game. The play calling on that final drive was skeptical at best. They barely got to a position where Ryan Succop could even pray to make the kick in the frigid cold. Luckily for some magic, the kick was good and everyone can look the other way on Mularkey’s faults.

If the team continues to win, I can say no matter how much I think it was a bad hire, he is the right man for the job. In contrast, if his “playing not to lose” mentality does not go away during the games, Mularkey may be looking for a new job sooner than later. Overall, the last two games of the season will show what kind of Coach Mularkey really is.

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Is Mike Mularkey the Right Coach for this Team?

By Kyle Zwiazek | Dec 22, 2016

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