One day after being named head coach of the Tennessee Titans, Mike Munchak’s first order of business? Fire offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, one of the four men who interviewed for the position that the Titans ultimately gave to Munchak.
It seems strange to some that Heimerdinger wasn’t retained as offensive coordinator when the team viewed him worthy of being hired as head coach. But interviewing Heimerdinger for the head coaching position was vice president Steve Underwood and GM Mike Reinfeldt’s decision – not Munchak. And it’s clear by the firing of Heimerdinger that Munchak is putting his stamp on the Titans right away.
Heimerdinger was a warrior this year. Even though he was diagnosed with cancer during the season, he barely missed any time and didn’t want his situation to be a distraction for the team even though nobody viewed it as such.
But there’s no doubt he had a rough year as coordinator. He failed to use Chris Johnson to exploit opponents’ weaknesses and his handling of Randy Moss was absolutely puzzling. How he and Jeff Fisher never devised a plan to get both Moss and Kenny Britt on the field at the same time is beyond me. Heimerdinger may have been worthy of being interviewed for the head coaching position, but it’s understandable that Munchak wanted to break ties with someone he competed with for his job. Throw in the fact that the Titans finished 27th offensively last year and it’s not surprising that Munchak wanted to go in a new direction.
His next decision is even more important than his last, however. Munchak now has to find a coordinator that will design his offense around Johnson, who is easily the team’s best player. Who a first year head coach chooses as his coordinators is arguably the biggest decision he’ll make.
