Friend of the site Dan Ariks, hope he doesn't get his credential taken away because I called him that, has a good interview with Rob Bironas over at Titan Insider. Bironas is entering the last year of his four-year contract, and he wants a new deal before the season starts. He told Dan that he will not negotiate with the Titans during the season:

"I'm out of the contract at the end of the season, I won't be negotiating during the season and that's how I feel about it." Bironas said. "Unfortunately, it's a business. They understood that six months ago and they understand that now. We have four or five weeks before the season starts, so hopefully something gets done. If not, I'm going into the season looking at it as my final year, or they will have to compete with the free agent market."

There is no doubt how important Bironas is to this team. With some many games being decided by a touchdown or less in today's NFL, you have to have a kicker that you can count on. Bironas has been that guy for this team for a long time now.

That being said, I doubt the Titans give Bironas a long-term deal before the season starts. The most likely scenario is that they use the franchise tag on him at the end of the year and work out a deal before the 2013 franchise tag deadline.

The Titans will have a lot of contract decisions to make before this time next year with Jason McCourty and Jared Cook also playing in the final year of their contracts. I would assume the front office has a priority on those guys over Bironas, but those guys are also going to command a lot more money.

*Because he's Mr. Vain. Was that headline misleading?