Tennessee Titans Fire Mike Munchak
Dec 29, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; 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
Team sources confirming Munchak is out with #Titans. He finished 22-26 in three seasons with the team
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 4, 2014
Among the coaches Munchak was going to have to let go: DC Gray, OC Loggains, OL coach Matthews and LB coach Parlavecchio #Titans
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 4, 2014
Mike Munchak is out after three seasons as the Tennessee Titans head coach. It appears as though he was unwilling to sacrifice a large portion of his coaching staff. Entering the last season on his contract, Munchak would’ve had a difficult time trying to convince anybody to join the staff of a lame-duck head coach.
Read that second tweet from Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. This implies that ownership would’ve kept Munchak had he accepted their demands. This includes firing both coordinators and two underachieving position coaches. The third-year head coach already had two different offensive coordinators and linebacker coaches. He had to get a senior defensive assistant (Gregg Williams) who could complement with ineffective defensive coordinator Jerry Gray.
Giving a head coach the ultimatum of firing both coordinators and multiple position coaches? Then why did ownership even consider bringing Munchak back? All of the aforementioned coaches were Munchak’s hand-picked men. If ownership felt like they needed to micromanage a head coach, then why keep that head coach around? Get a head coach who everyone has confidence in to make head-coaching decisions, otherwise known as doing his job.
Munchak would’ve been nothing more than a face. It’s baffling to see this franchise would’ve been okay with that as their coaching situation in 2014. Maybe they were 100-percent certain that he wouldn’t accept the ultimatums and that he’d step down afterward.
Here’s a full statement from general manager Ruston Webster. He thanks Munchak for his years of service and claims that they’ll start a coaching search. No word on any potential candidates.
In the end, everything turned out swell. They cleaned house and moved on from the Munchak Era. Hopefully, they’re moving on into a new era that distances itself from the nepotism that has been associated with this franchise for the past few decades. I’m sure a new head coach will get the luxury of hand-picking his own staff members.