Titans fire GM. Mularkey may survive per Yahoo sports
Ruston Webster did the right thing and didn't trade the second pick in last year's draft, giving the Tennessee Titans the biggest piece to every NFL puzzle, a potential franchise quarterback in Marcus Mariota.
The rest of Webster's tenure as general manager with the Titans wasn't so good. There were more Bishop Sankey failure picks than Mariota home runs. As such, Webster won't be back as the team's general manager,*the Titans announced.
There are a lot of changes coming for the Titans, but head coach might not be one. There was the big midseason change when Ken Whisenhunt was fired, but interim coach Mike Mularkey apparently impressed the franchise enough that he'll be interviewed for the full-time job. The Titans announced Mularkey is a candidate for the job. Mularkey went 2-7 after Whisenhunt was fired on Nov. 2, but he took over a roster that was in really bad shape thanks to a bunch of failed drafts and unsuccessful free agent signings under Webster.
The Titans also announced that*Steve Underwood will serve as the team’s president and chief executive officer on a permanent basis, as the interim tag was removed from his title. Underwood will lead the GM and coach searches. Also, vice president of football administration Vin Marino will oversee the Titans’ football operations during the GM search.
While the Titans have been one of the worst teams in the NFL for a few years, with four straight losing seasons and 27 losses the last two years, the GM and coach jobs are intriguing. Mariota had a nice rookie year and looks like a future star. The Titans wrapped up the first pick of the 2016 draft by losing in Week 17, so another impact player will be added.
Given how much the Titans have to sell to coaching candidates, it would be a bit surprising to just hire Mularkey. Mularkey has a good reputation as an offensive coordinator but has never succeeded as a head coach. He coached the Bills from 2004-05, going 14-18. He was coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012 and went 2-14. His 2-7 stint this season puts his four-year career record at 18-39 with no playoff appearances as a head coach.
The Titans are making a lot of changes this offseason to try to get out of their losing rut. Mularkey hopes he's one of the few key figures who keeps the job he had at the end of the season.