Mike Munchak talks about the Titans firing him

I have transcribed the first half of the interview.  You can listen to the whole thing here.

What was most disappointing to you about the way the whole thing played out?

I guess going in I really thought the whole thing would work out, and in a lot of areas we were on the same page about how to go forward.  I felt really good that they felt the same way I did.  Not being able to finish something we started three years ago, for me there were a lot of signs that we were heading in the right direction.  I really thought next year would be something fun to watch and be a part of.

What was the toughest part of the deciding if you wanted to be a part of the plan going forward?

The result of us not agreeing and what that meant for my family, myself, our coaching staff and all of the people that would affect.  You always think of them in the back of your mind.  It is easy to talk about we will make a change next year, but it is hard to make it happen.  I love the team we were putting together and what was going on in the building.  Yeah, the results weren't exactly what we wanted yet, but I feel like that was on the verge of happening.  As we all know, a play or two and things are different this year and we are not even having this conversation.  That is the hardest part of this business.  I really thought we would see eye to eye on it and realize it was the best plan going forward and go for it.

When you got back to Nashville on Friday night were you starting to know which way you wanted to go?  Were you leaning in a certain direction?

Unfortunately, I think both of us were. So when I came home, the big thing was, I didn't want to make a big decision like that after a long conversation in Houston.  I wanted to speak to my family and some other people that would be affected by the decision and what may or may not happen.  And I hoped that they would do the same thing- give some thought to it and think that there is a better way to do ths.  By the time we talked on Saturday, between the two of us, we could find some common ground.

Do you think they sandbagged you by giving you a contract extension but figured you wouldn't take it because of the staff firings?

No I don't.  I think they felt very comfortable that it would work out because we had everything on the table.  We talked about a lot of things and there are a lot of things that are going to go forward with this organization that I am really excited about.  Unfortunately I won't be a part of it, but I think we are on the same page about what needs to be done that will change how things turn out on Sundays.  I think they were looking at it their way.  They wanted certain things, and I didn't.  I am a big planner.  I think you should always have a plan a figure out how to execute the plan, whether it be short-term or long-term, and look at each consequence of that plan.  If I am going to do this how is it going to affect these players or these coaches and how do we get to the bottom line of winning football games?  I didn't think some of the actions we were going to do wouldn't result in the result we all wanted.

What about the plan wouldn't have worked in your opinion?

I just think the disruption, you want continuity to some degree.  I have made quite a few changes while I've been head coach, last year we put a lot of time and effort into re-shaping the offensive coaching staff.  When you re-shape something it is for a lot of different reasons.  You get the right people working together- taking the noise out of the building as far as the coaching noise of guys not agreeing.   You saw some of the results this year with Jake and how he responded the first month of the season, how he was playing, being 3-1 with no turnovers.  You saw the system be a really good fit for him.  You saw Ryan come in, the system change, and adapt well too.  So certain things were working and when you start making changes it affects what coaches stay and go and it affects the relationships with the players and affects what is going on.  That is just one example, but that is my type of thinking, and if a change was necessary I would have done it.  So those were the kinds of roadblocks along the way.  The bottom line was that you might not agree with everything that was going on, but you would see a plan in place.  I think when you believe in what you are doing you have a great chance of making it happen.