The overwhelming consensus among fans and the media is that Titans owner Bud Adams will choose between head coach Jeff Fisher or quarterback Vince Young.

One will stay, one will go.

My question is: Why not let them both walk?

Young may have a winning record as a starter but that doesn’t mean he’s a winning quarterback. This latest incident in which he threw his shoulder pads into the stands after one of Tennessee’s games this year once again proves that he lacks maturity. While there’s no doubt the guy has talent, he refuses to put in the work necessary to become a great player. Michael Vick had the same issue in Atlanta before he was hauled off to prison for two years and realized he actually had to work for what he wanted. Meanwhile, JaMarcus Russell never honed his craft and now he’s out of the league.

If Adams sides with Young, it would be a foolish decision. Word has it that even his trusted executives have told him to move on from the former third overall pick. Maybe Young would change his ways if Fisher was let go, but does Adams really want a player that will only work hard if he likes his authority figures? What kind of message is that sending to the rest of the team?

No, Young has to go. And Fisher should join him.

For the record, I like Jeff Fisher and I think he could have success again elsewhere. He’s a throwback coach of sorts, in that he teaches the fundamentals and demands that his players work hard. He would probably have success building a team like the Panthers from the ground up, because he knows what it takes to reach the Super Bowl.

That said, it’s time for the Titans to go in another direction. They had the best record in the league in 2000 and 2008 and failed to win a single playoff game. He’s won five playoff games in 16 years, with three of those five wins coming in 1999 when he took the Titans to the Super Bowl. In his 16 years in Tennessee, he’s never once developed a true No. 1 receiver or a quarterback who has thrown for 3,400 yards or 25 touchdowns. And while he’s supposed to be a defensive-minded coach, his defenses have finished 27th, 19th, 32nd, 5th, 7th, 28th and 26th since 2004.

Again, I don’t think Fisher is a bad coach and if it came down to keeping him or Young, the decision is an easy one for Adams. But you get the sense that the Titans aren’t really improving anymore under Fisher. They’re the epitome of blasé and they’re a team that lacks an identity.

It’s time for some fresh blood. It would be hard for Adams to part with both Fisher and Young, but maybe that’s the right choice in the end.

According to ESPN.com, the Titans will start Vince Young at quarterback this Sunday against the Jaguars. Young will replace Kerry Collins, who is 0-6 this season as a starter.

This move is long overdue. I’ve been writing for weeks how Young isn’t the answer, but Jeff Fisher had to do something because Collins just flat out couldn’t move the offense. Nobody should expect Tennessee to magically turn around its season now that Young is under center, but maybe he’ll give the team a spark.

The next thing Fisher should do is scale back the playbook and exploit Young’s athletic abilities. For Fisher and the Titans, now is about winning games and not trying to develop Young as a passer. So if that means he only attempts 15 passes and runs the ball 10 times, so be it.

It’s time for Young to prove everyone wrong. Obviously Fisher doesn’t have a ton of confidence in his abilities or else he would have been starting over Collins two weeks ago, so now it’s up to Young to produce. He showed in his rookie year that he could win in the NFL, so now he needs to rekindle some of that magic and win a couple ballgames to prove that he can be a starting quarterback in this league.

These next couple weeks are crucial for Fisher and Young. Winning is the only thing that will help them retain their current jobs, or at the very least ensure that they will find employment elsewhere.

Titans’ owner Bud Adams is getting even more vocal about his desire to see quarterback Vince Young start over Kerry Collins this week.

From the Nashville Tennessean:

In the past week the 86-year-old owner has been more direct, according to sources familiar with the situation. Adams wants the change now.

Adams and Fisher could not be reached for comment on Monday night.

At his weekly press conference earlier in the day, Fisher was non-committal when asked if Kerry Collins or Young would start this week, citing competitive reasons. It was the first time this season Fisher did not immediately say Collins would remain the starter.
This isn’t really anything new because Adams went on record a week ago that he’d like to see Young play. But if the report is true and Adams is getting more direct, the situation is starting to become interesting because it could play into whether or not Fisher is retained at the end of the year.

One would imagine that Fisher is on the hot seat after the Titans’ brutal start. If the owner wants to see more of Young, but Fisher sticks with Collins and the team continues to lose, will the long-time head coach been shown the door for not granting the owner’s wishes.

Young isn’t the answer, but he could at least provide a spark for a lifeless team. At this point, Fisher should be willing to try just about anything to earn a win and if that means starting Young, then so be it.