FanPost

What is all the malarkey about Mularkey?

There have been rumors that Mike Mularkey will be the next head coach of the Tennessee Titans. The next GM of the Titans is unlikely to agree that M Mularkey will continue as head coach. His former colleague in Atlanta and current Jacksonville Jaguars, David Caldwell, when he became GM of the Jacksonville Jaguars in early 2013, relieved Mike Mularkey of his duties as HC as the first order of business. That chain of events is bound to be repeated in early 2016 but this time Tennessee.

Then Why is Mike Mularkey still Interim Head Coach?

The real reason is that the front office like the defensive staff and they have them all under contract. The next coach will be asked if he wants to keep LeBeau and crew. That could be a deal breaker.

The Titans want to keep a person who has been close to Marcus Mariota from the time he came to Nashville so that every face is not new on the coaching staff. M Mularkey might therefore be kept as tight ends coach if the QB coach or OC are not kept on staff.

The comparison has been drawn that Jeff Fisher only won 1 game as interim coach. However in reality Jeff Fisher had no track record as a head coach. Mularkey however has a record outside this organisation as a head coach. That record is damning: 2-14 in Jacksonville(which is the worst in the history of that wretched franchise) and better at 16-18 with the Buffalo Bills and I remember going over to the Jacksonville Jaguars fansite bigcatcountry and looking at the thread of the hiring of Mike Mularkey.

Reaction to the hiring of Mike Mularkey

Celebratory mode

Just ecstatic that Mularkey had been hired. The Jaguars hate the Titans because the Titans beat them the 1999 AFC Conference Game. It is believed in Jacksonville that the Titans cheated. It is ominous to see them so happy.

Mularkey’s record

Jacksonville

Let ESPN tell us what happened:

Mularkey's brief tenure -- he didn't even last a year -- was filled with mistakes. His biggest one may have been his loyalty to Smith, who assembled a roster that lacked talent on both sides of the ball.

Mularkey probably stuck with Smith's franchise quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, longer than he should have. And the coach's insistence that the team was closer than outsiders thought and his strong stance that he had the roster to turn things around became comical as the losses mounted. The Jaguars lost eight games by at least 16 points, a staggering number of lopsided losses in a parity-filled league.

Mularkey would have been better served had he said publicly what he voiced privately: That the Jaguars didn't have enough playmakers or a starting-caliber quarterback.

Instead, he never conceded that Jacksonville was a rebuilding project that needed time.

Now it is -- and Khan made that clear Thursday.

"A year ago, when I came here, the organizational judgment was we were a pretty good team, just a few players and a draft away from really competing for a playoff spot," Khan said. "As the year progressed, it was pretty obvious that was not the case, and we would need a fresh start and a rebuild from the ground up."

Mularkey signed a three-year contract on Jan. 11, 2012, getting a second chance to be a head coach six years after resigning with the Buffalo Bills.

His return was shaky from the start.

His best player, running back Maurice Jones-Drew, skipped offseason workouts as well as training camp and the preseason in a contract dispute. His first draft pick, receiver Justin Blackmon, was arrested and charged with aggravated DUI in June. And his team was riddled with injuries, including key ones to linebackerDaryl Smith and Jones-Drew.

Even things Mularkey had control over went awry.

He had to backtrack after saying Chad Henne would compete with Gabbert for the starting job in March. He created a stir by threatening to fine players up to $10,000 for discussing injuries. He initially played rookie receiver Kevin Elliottover Cecil Shorts III early on. And he really irked some players with tough, padded practices late in a lost season.

Throw in the way he handled injuries to receiver Laurent Robinson (four concussions before going on IR) and Jones-Drew (admittedly should have had foot surgery sooner), and there were reasons to doubt whether Mularkey was cut out to be a head coach. Dating back to his final season in Buffalo, Mularkey has lost 20 of his last 23 games.

Caldwell and Mularkey spent four years together in Atlanta, getting to know each other well enough that Caldwell didn't need a sit down with Mularkey after he got the GM job Tuesday.

"It was tough," Caldwell said. "I have a ton of respect for Mike. ... It's never easy and that's probably the worst part of the business."

Buffalo Bills

Mularkey resigned from the Bills after the GM had been fired. He did not believe the manner that the GM had been fired was conducive to success in the future.

Conclusion on Mike Mularkey

Titans great Keith Bulluck on Midday 180 does not think M Mularkey should given another chance here so do most people. His reasons are compelling and it is a good listen during the first few minutes of that interview. One of his reasons was that after some of the bad losses the team should have been galvanised to respond by getting more wins. The players endorsement is suspect because the players are still endorsing and talking up Whisenhunt as of today. Mularkey says the team is close. That is the same thing he said in Jacksonville. I quote from ESPN. Khan is the owner of the Jaguars.

A year ago, when I came here, the organizational judgment was we were a pretty good team, just a few players and a draft away from really competing for a playoff spot," Khan said. "As the year progressed, it was pretty obvious that was not the case, and we would need a fresh start and a rebuild from the ground up."

The Titans are in the same position. Mularkey was wrong when it concerned Jacksonville and is wrong today. He is simply reading from the same playbook devoid of the facts on the ground. This roster is a 3-13 roster. 2 coaches affirm this. We are not close. If we are close then 31 teams are ahead of us. Maybe Mularkey cannot judge talent.

I think Mike Mularkey will be suited for a job in the Titans front office. There are insufficient number of ex coaches on that staff. He worked at IBM before.

Chris Ballard in this interview gives what needs to be done. The Titans have the pole position in the waivers market. The Titans can pick from the group of waived free agents. Kansas City Chiefs were 2-14 in 2012 and 11-5 in 2013. The Kansas City Chiefs replaced 30 players from the 53 man roster in 2012 mainly through the waiver system.

Martin Mayhew/ Jim Schwartz talk about the same thing in Detroit. Just go to the waivers and get better players regardless of the need. If the waived player is better than what you have, take him generally. These players who are subject to waivers are in the first 4 years in the league and are being paid towards the minimum wage. In a little while the roster will be better.

Imperative

No matter who is hired GM and HC, as fans we expect to win the division next year. This is a weak division and we have the best position on the waivers. This feat has been done before. If that is not achieved we will be disappointed.