*picture courtesy of ClevelandBrowns.com

Apparently the Tennessee Titans aren’t finished making moves on the non-player side of operations as well this off season.  According to @footballscoop, Luke Steckel has joined the Titans staff in a role yet to be known.

We hear the Titans have hired Luke Steckel who was with the Browns the past 4 seasons. Bright young coach, well liked in the profession

— FootballScoop Staff (@footballscoop) May 17, 2013

Luke Steckel has been with the Cleveland Browns organization for the past four years. His most recent job title was Assistant To The Head Coach under Pat Shurmer.  He acted as a go-between for Shurmer and the rest of the coaching staff to all other departments in the Browns organization. According to ClevelandBrowns.com, he also was involved on the defensive side of the ball, where he assisted in “playbook composition, scouting reports, film breakdown, and practice drills”.

Luke Steckel’s father is Les Steckel, the former offensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers from 1997-1999.

I’m not sure what the Titans have planned for Luke.  From digging around it seems this is much more than a hey-your-dad-worked-for-us hire.  His responsibilities at the Browns were vast and it seems that the Titans organization isn’t finished improving this year.  They’re not just bringing in fresh faces and competition on the player personnel side, but on the management side of the operation as well.

You can follow me on Twitter @gunnelsj

May 10, 2013; Houston, Texans, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Sam Montgomery (57) works out at Methodist Training Facility at Reliant Stadium . Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

While Tennessee Titans fans have been consumed with their own team’s draft, it’s important to note that the other teams in the division got some new players as well.  This is the first of a series where we take a look at what the competition has been up to, specifically how their draft went.

This week we start with the Houston Texans who are now at the top of the division and currently the team to beat.  The Texans look like they got a couple of steals on paper, but there are also a few character concerns on the roster now as well.  In order to help look at what the Texans have done in the draft, I turned to our friend  Ryan Clark, the Editor at The Toro Times, for an interview.

*Draft pick summary and analysis courtesy of NFL.com.

TS- When a team is as good and well rounded as the Houston Texans, it’s hard to upgrade positions.  Do you see any of the rookies starting opening day?

Ryan – There’s a lot of guys that can start for the Texans in Week 1, but a lot will have to prove themselves in training camp. The main guys to keep an eye on are of course DeAndre Hopkins, but also D.J. Swearinger and Sam Montgomery. The Texans are desperate for someone to fit in with Brooks Reed and Whitney Mercilus at the outside linebacker spot, so he’s the one to watch. He has to transition from defensive end though, which will take time.

TS- There was a lot of talk on draft day about DeAndre Hopkins and his trashing of the hotel room at the combine.  Are Texan fans worried about his attitude/ maturity at all?

Ryan – There’s a few people out there that will knock Hopkins’ attitude, but since the details are murky about the whole hotel incident, most are just excited about what he brings to the field. There’s nothing to say Hopkins played a huge role in trashing the room, and outside of that he’s a pretty clean player.

TS - The Texans’ defense is already stellar, do they have room for D.J. Swearinger and Sam Montgomery?  How soon do you see Swearinger getting on the field with Ed Reed signed as well.

Ryan – I see Swearinger sharing the workload. Reed will be the starter, but his recent surgery leaves a lot of questions. Swearinger was brought in to learn from Reed and develop into a soon to be star, so I expect him to see a good deal of field time.

TS – How confident are you in the Texans’ locker room to handle players like Montomery, who had a reported poor work ethic, and Hopkins?

Ryan – I’m confident Gary Kubiak can handle troubled or unmotivated players, since he has a good supporting cast around him. Just about everyone who is a current starter on the team is focused on winning, and if Montgomery came in with a poor attitude, it wouldn’t be tolerated. The Texans don’t have a great deal of experience with handling divas though, so this will all be kind of new.

TS – The Titans have been extremely busy this off season and should be much improved.  Do the Texans see them as any kind of threat this coming year? The Colts?  Or are you comfortable feeling the division is in the bag?

Ryan –  I’ve said since free agency began that the Titans aren’t to be taken lightly. There’s a lot of new faces in Tennessee, and even though both games last season were a little one-sided, I think most Texans’ fans are now wary of Chance Warmack and the Titans increased protection on the offensive line. The division is far from in the bag. All three teams had a fantastic draft, and look a lot different than they did three months ago.

It will be interesting to see if Montgomery pans out for the Texans.  Swearinger and Montgomery both were on a lot of Titans’ fans radar during the draft.  As a fan of an opposing team, you hate to see them stock up with quality prospects to take over for quality vets.  Good teams with a winning attitude and a good veteran locker room can usually handle good football prospects that may have been red flagged for character concerns. It will be interesting to see if Kubiak and the Texans are at that level now.

I was a little surprised when Ryan told me that Texans’ fans were wary of Chance Warmack.  That has to be the first time in draft history that an offensive guard has made opposing fans nervous.  When looking at the Titans through another fan’s eyes, you probably felt good going into a game last year knowing they had a sieve for an offensive line.  The Titans’ weak link.  No longer having that to exploit, opposing teams will have to look elsewhere in their game planning.

Overall the Texans seem to have gotten a good haul in the draft, and if Hopkins comes along fast, he could give the AFC South fits while trying to double team Andre Johnson.  Swearinger and Montgomery could start day one for a lot of teams in the league as well.  Titans’ fans will find out in the second week of the season who’s rookies will contribute the most in the beginning when they visit the Texans.

You can find me on Twitter  @gunnelsj

Feb 21, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been said time and time again that this is a make or break year for Mike Munchak.  The same can be said for a number of players such as Jake Locker, Michael Griffin and Kenny Britt as well.  While I agree on some of the players decisions, I can’t say the same for the coaching staff.

Just how good do the Titans need to play in order for everyone to keep their jobs?  Is it truly playoffs or bust?  Do the Titans need to make a huge leap and go from a top 10 draft pick, to dominating their division?  Or would a show of good steady growth be okay?

Keep in mind just how poor the Titans 6-10 season really was.  The Titans didn’t just get beat in a number of their games, they were throttled.  Any team that the Titans played last year that was even half way decent absolutely manhandled the Titans.

Let’s recap:

New England: 34-13

San Diego:  38-10

Houston: 38-14

Minnesota: 30-7

Chicago: 51-20

Green Bay: 55-7

That’s an average score of 41-12, for those of you with an abacus, in 6 of their 10 losses.  The other 4 were closer divisional games.

Titan Sized’s newest contributor, Carlos Beard,  put out a glowing piece of optimism the other day reflecting the difficulties of the Titans initial stretch of games in 2013.  With the first two games coming on the road against the Steelers and the Texans, a home opener against the Chargers, and back to back weeks of Seattle and San Fransisco, the Titans could very well be in the lurch before they even hit the bye week.  The schedule does look a little tough, but it’s way too early to try and predict how those other teams or the Titans will be playing next September.

Riddle me this:

Let’s say the Titans make obvious and substantial progress next year but miss the playoffs.  What if they end up 9-7 or 10-6, but still miss a wild card spot by a game?  Let’s say they play the Texans tough and only lose by a score in those games.  What about the Broncos, Seahawks, and 49ers?  If the Titans lose those games by 3 points each, are you still ready to blow up the team?

Quick Count:  If the Titans lose to the Broncos, 49ers, and Seahawks.  As well as split with the Colts and Texans, that’s already five losses.  Not too hard to imagine.

I’m not saying that losing is acceptable, and yes, winning is the ultimate goal.  But isn’t there a gray area between how deplorable this team was last year and the playoffs?  Like a really, really, really big gray area?

Obviously the Titans need to show more than marginal improvement, but not getting blown out by decent to good teams is a good start.  However, I do think it’s a bit rash to say they need to make the playoffs or else.  If the team makes drastic improvements on the field and have good momentum on a building product, it may behoove Bud Adams and Titans fans to show a little patience.  Something very hard to find in today’s NFL.

If they miss the playoffs by a game or two and played horribly doing so, then by all means, start over.  We’ll see how the season plays out, but it would be a shame to see the Titans cut off the nose to spite the face.

So what’s good enough for you?  Is there a win/loss benchmark?  Playoffs or bust?  Or is there any middle ground?

Let me hear it here or on Twitter  @gunnelsj