Why the Titans and Mike Mularkey will ‘mutually part ways’ despite making the playoffs

It’s been a strange weekend for the Tennessee Titans and head coach Mike Mularkey. On Sunday night, a day after their Divisional Round loss to the Patriots, the team had reportedly offered Mularkey a contract extension. By Monday morning, they had decided to “mutually part ways,” according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

The Titans’ postseason performance wasn’t the upgrade the team expected coming into the 2017 season after a 9-7 2016, which was a big step from their 3-13 2015 season.

Only a win against the Chiefs could have secured Mularkey’s job, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Mularkey’s Titans pulled that off with a thrilling 22-21 upset win in Arrowhead, but fell to the Patriots 35-14. The Titans’ front office felt that despite the quick turnaround between his first season and the 3-13 season before, Mularkey was no longer a good fit for the team.

Owner Amy Adams Strunk released a statement thanking Mularkey, confirming that extension talks occurred, and explaining the reasons behind the decision.

“In fact, we did discuss extending his future with our team over the past week, but in those discussions about the direction of the team, it became evident that we saw different paths to achieve greater success,” the statement read.

“It is certainly unfortunate that we couldn’t find enough common ground. I generally believe that continuity is the best path for success, but I also view this as an important moment for our football team as we try to make that next step to sustained success on the field. Jon (Robinson) will begin the search immediately to identify that person.”

The quick reversal may have been based on Mularkey’s decision at offensive coordinator. The head coach defended incumbent OC Terry Robiskie, and said he did not anticipate changes among his coaching staff.

“I think Terry did a very good job, a very good job,” Mularkey said, despite the unit’s inconsistent results. “Being a play-caller, that’s not easy. I thought he did a very good job.”

Though it’s not confirmed, Rapoport said the move may have been the result of Mularkey’s reticence at bringing in a new offensive coordinator.

New OC or not, the Titans needed an overhaul of their coaching staff to make the most of Marcus Mariota’s potential, after a down season.

Here’s why the team decided to move on.

The Titans hit a roadblock last season at the most inconvenient time, when Marcus Mariota suffered a season-ending injury in Week 16. It resulted in a loss to the Jaguars, and made the Titans finish 9-7 instead of 10-6, missing out on a playoff appearance.

With an upgraded roster, the Titans were expected to take a jump in the AFC South. The Texans came into the season with low expectations, along with the Colts and Jaguars. While Jacksonville had one of the most impressive turnarounds this season, the rest of the division was weak enough where Tennessee could have still made a big impression, and they didn’t outside of it.

After an 8-4 start, the team fell to 8-6. Despite this, Mularkey was feeling good about the team and its mood. “I would say it’s pretty good right now based on Monday and the half of this day, it’s been pretty dang good,” Mularkey said via PFT. “I’m very pleased – good approach, focused, ready to go.”

The team was reportedly interested in Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who’s been at the helm of one of the league’s most consistently competitive offenses in New England since 2012, which makes perfect sense. McDaniels has been linked to the head coach vacancy with the Indianapolis Colts, so if the Titans want him, they couldn’t afford to hold on to Mularkey any longer.

Marcus Mariota is in his third NFL season, and he regressed after a great sophomore season in 2016. Last season, Mariota threw 26 touchdowns against just nine interceptions with over 3,400 yards passing. This included a stretch of eight games where he threw for 2,073 yards, 21 touchdowns, and just three picks.

However in 2017, he was hot and cold, with more cold than hot. Mariota has just two games in which he’s thrown for over 300 yards this season — both being 306-yard performances. He also hasn’t had a game with three touchdown passes, and had two more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (13) this season.

Mariota is still just 24 years old and has plenty of growing to do, but in today’s NFL where the quarterback is more valuable than ever, teams are less inclined to watch a coach struggle with a team that once showed great promise. There’s enough talent on the Titans where Mariota can succeed, and surely after seeing the Rams and Jared Goff’s turnaround after hiring Sean McVay, teams like the Titans are willing to see if they can make similar improvement.