Ken Whisenhunt Fired As Tennessee Titans Head Coach

Ken Whisenhunt has been fired as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, according a report from ESPN.

We are close to halfway through the NFL season, and the Tennessee Titans are sitting near the bottom of the standings, holding a 1-6 record. Titans management were hoping for much better results, especially since they drafted what they thought would be a franchise quarterback in Marcus Mariota. Some changes obviously needed to be made.

Since he was only into the second year of his contract, there were those that believed that Ken Whisenhunt was going to make it through the regular season. A season and a half isn’t really enough time to turn around an NFL team, even with the recent display in parity. The Tennessee Titans felt different, however.

The decision to fire Ken Whisenhunt, whom the team had to outbid the Detroit Lions to hire a year and a half ago, was made early on Tuesday. The Tennessee Titans released an announcement to the public, informing them of the change. Assistant head coach Mike Mularkey was announced as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.

Mike Mularkey has been tasked with making changes to the offensive scheme. Ken Whisenhunt was very unwilling to make those changes, even at the insistence of management. That is one of the biggest reasons why the Tennessee Titans decided to let him go.

The lack of victories on the field are another reason why the Tennessee Titans decided to fire Ken Whisenhunt. As the head coach of the team, he has a 3-20 record, including six straight losses before his termination. The Titans have also lost 16 out of their last 17 games, which is an embarrassment for any NFL team.

One of the biggest fears of keeping Ken Whisenhunt around for the entire season is the effect it will have on Marcus Mariota. Being a quarterback in the NFL is hard enough as is, but it becomes even harder when your head coach is not playing to your strengths. The Tennessee Titans are banking big time on Mariota to become their franchise player.

News of the Ken Whisenhunt firing played like music to the ears of one of his former quarterbacks. Matt Leinart immediately took to social media to say that Marcus Mariota now has a chance at success because Whisenhunt is gone. Leinart holds a bit of a grudge from his time with Whisenhunt when he was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

While the Tennessee Titans are not mathematically eliminated from the NFL playoffs just yet, the odds of them making it, though, are extremely slim. Mike Mularkey would have to pull off a historic comeback of a season. The firing of Ken Whisenhunt is not about trying to get to the Super Bowl this season.

It is interesting to note that the firing of Ken Whisenhunt was announced by Amy Adams Strunk, who is the controlling owner of the Tennessee Titans. That has led to a lot of speculations about interim team president Steve Underwood and general manager Ruston Webster. Whisenhunt might not be the only person jettisoned before the start of next season.

There are rumors floating around the NFL that the Tennessee Titans are up for sale, though the current owner has been steadfastly denying it. Firing Ken Whisenhunt would make the team a bit more appealing to the potential new owner. That way, they can handpick and choose the person that will be in charge of their franchise.

For Tennessee Titans fans, the Ken Whisenhunt era is over. It will not be fondly remembered because of all the losses.

[Featured Photo by Jeff Gross / Getty Images]