NFL Coaching Rumors: Titans Expected to Keep Mike Munchak

Mike Munchak
Mike Munchak
Jacksonville FL USA Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak looks up against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second half at EverBank Field Tennessee Titans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 20 16 Kim Klement USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak wasn’t one of the many coaches let go on Black Monday but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods yet as the third-year head coach is set to meet with team brass on Friday to discuss the team’s future.

Despite finishing under .500 in back-to-back seasons, the Titans are reportedly expected to retain Munchak but may look to shake up the coaching staff after another disappointing season. Munchak led the team to a second place finish in the AFC South in his first season as the team went 9-7. In 2012, the team fell back to 6-10 and, struggling without Jake Locker at center, the team finished 7-9 this season. His contract still has one more season left.

The team finished 22nd in total offense and 19th in scoring as they were without quarterback Jake Locker for more than half of the season. Despite a much-improved secondary, they ranked 14th in total defense and 16th in points against.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network points out that the Titans could look to move former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who the team hired after the league reinstated him from his Bounty Gate suspension as a defensive assistant, to the defensive coordinator position. Williams has previously worked as the defensive coordinator with the Titans from 1997 to 2000 before being hired as head coach of the Bills. That run ended quickly and he went on to serve as the defensive coordinator in Washington, Jacksonville, and New Orleans before being hired by the Rams prior to his suspension.

Munchak has been with the franchise his entire career as a player and a coach, going back to the Oilers days. An offensive lineman, he was drafted by the Oilers as the eighth-overall pick in 1982 out of Penn State. He’d go on to play 11 seasons with the Oilers, earning nine Pro Bowl selections along the way. Since his retirement, he has worked as the Oilers’ offensive assistant and spent 13 seasons as the now-Titans’ offensive line coach before being promoted to head coach.

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Igor Derysh
Igor Derysh is Editor-at-Large at XN Sports and has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sun-Sentinel, and FantasyPros. He has previously covered sports for COED Magazine, Fantasy Alarm, and Manwall.com. !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');