Who will be Jeff Fisher’s replacement as Tennessee Titans Head Coach?
No one saw it coming but it happened. After 17 years with the Tennessee Titans, the only head coach that the franchise by its new name has ever known, Jeff Fisher, has left the Titans. The Titans have started a head coach hunt
for the first time since moving to Tennessee.
No one knows the Titans better than Fisher. He made the Titans everything they are today; a coaching change for the Titans now is as big a change as can be. The Titans need an experienced coach. They need someone who can take what
Fisher built over the years and make it better than how Fisher left it.
The most likely candidate would be someone who is already on the coaching staff or someone who has some kind of history with the Titans. It isn’t clear what
exactly happened behind the scenes between Titans owner Bud Adams and Fisher, but it certainly came as a surprise. The team has a sticky quarterback situation and with the head coach gone, they need stability. Adams would probably be looking for a
coach he can trust and has dealt with before. That means that Mike Munchak, Dave McGinnis and Gregg Williams might be called in for interviews in the next few days or weeks for the head coach position.
Dave McGinnis is the assistant head coach for the Tennessee Titans. He hasn’t been as long as some of the others on Tennessee’s coaching staff but still could be an interim replacement for Fisher. McGinnis served as head coach
for one year with the Arizona Cardinals. He has nearly 25 years of coaching experience in the NFL, 6 of which have been spent with the Titans. McGinnis could be considered a Titans insider but there are others who have been with the franchise even longer.
Mike Munchak is serving as the offensive line coach for the Titans and is familiar with Fisher’s coaching system. Someone from within the franchise could incorporate his own style without it being too major a change for the players
to adjust to. He might not stay too long as the head coach but he is certainly the most likely candidate to fill the position as interim head coach. Munchak wouldn’t just be a force of stability within the organization; he has the credentials to be able to
lead the Titans.
Munchak has been with the Titans as long as Jeff has. He was an offensive lineman for the Houston Oilers and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Adams has spoken highly of Munchak on many occasions.
Greg Williams may no longer be with the Titans, but he has served on the coaching staff for Bud Adams for an entire decade between 1990 and 2000. He is currently acting as the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. The
Saints won the Super Bowl the year Williams joined the franchise. He has also spent time as head coach in the NFL. From 2001 to 2003, Williams coached the Buffalo Bills.
Titans’ current offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger could have also been a candidate but he is battling cancer. As of November, he relinquished his duties as offensive coordinator to undergo chemotherapy. If the treatment is
successful and Heimerdinger resumes his duties as a coach, Adams could consider giving him a promotion.
No matter who is selected as the new head coach, they would have some pretty big shoes to fill. Fisher might not have a Super Bowl Ring as head coach but he has an impressive record of 142 wins against 120 losses. He has led the
Titans to the playoffs in six seasons and has a winning record of 5-6 in the postseason. The Titans have appeared in the Super Bowl just once against the Saint Luis Rams in 1999. Since then, they have appeared in just one Conference Championship in 2002. Their
last playoff appearance was in 2008. They were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.
Tags: