Tommy Smith Has a Tough Decision to Make

Usually there are a lot of positives and negatives to come out of each Titans game, and there will be time to review each category this week before Titans fans turn their attention to the Colts game on Thursday.

Every once in a while though there comes a loss so ugly, so embarrassing and so disheartening that it forces fans to re-evaluate their whole stance on the team. That happened this week. The players performed terribly and the coaching was awful.

If this story feels familiar, it's because we've seen it before. As many have pointed out now, the Titans lost last year to the winless Jaguars and in 2011 to the winless Indianapolis Colts. This last game was particularly egregious as the talent difference between the two rosters is monstrous.

That brings us to the question of the week: How does a team with talent at several key positions lose to the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars? There's a plethora of correct answers to that question. If you watched the game you likely saw mistakes, errors, injuries and bad decisions pile up early and continue for most of the game. The team deserves it's fair share of blame, but Mike Munchak has to be held responsible for the overall outcome. This organization has changed a lot of its players in the last year, and certainly comparing Munchak's initial 2011 roster to the 2013 version, one will find even more change. One of the few constants in what is now becoming an annual embarrassing loss is Mike Munchak.

His tenure as Titans' coach probably needs to end if the team is ever going to point itself in the right direction again and achieve greatness. There's a chance he manages to save this season but it appears unlikely at the moment Tommy Smith is the man controlling Munchak's fate and it's yet to be seen if that's a positive or negative for Titans fans. Bud Adams made the mandate clear this offseason- win or else. Will Smith share that sentiment? He's been with the organization a long time but being the man in charge is quite different. It's never easy to fire someone, particularly one that is both a family friend and long-time employee.

The easy solution for Smith is to stay the course. He can claim that he wants to give this current regime one more year to right the ship as he takes on a larger role with the organization. Bosses aren't there to merely sign off on the easy decisions though - sometimes the unpleasant option is the right one.

Does Tommy Smith have the courage to fire Mike Munchak? Most importantly, is that the right decision?