Earlier on Saturday, Ian Rapoport reported that Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey was likely going to be fired if he didn’t beat the Chiefs.
The idea that Mike Mularkey is on the hot seat with the Tennessee Titans is not exactly a well-kept secret around the NFL. Even when the Titans decided to keep Mularkey as head coach after he replaced Ken Whisenhunt midseason as the team’s interim head coach in 2015 brought a lot of doubt and criticism. Two years later, perhaps those questions were well-founded.
The Titans have put up consecutive 9-7 seasons in the AFC South and have watched their own fortunes get passed by others like the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. Marcus Mariota has not blossomed as expected, instead putting up 15 interceptions after only throwing 9 all of last year.
It’s not a surprise then that Ian Rapoport said earlier today on Twitter that Mularkey could be cast aside as soon as Saturday’s game was over if the Titans are unable to pull off the road win. Mularkey’s playoff appearance this year certainly helps his cause, but going a quick one-and-out doesn’t create much in the way of momentum heading into another season.
So far, the Chiefs are making this a lopsided match as they’re up by 18 points at halftime. The Titans have a single field goal, by Ryan Succop, to their credit on the score board while the Chiefs have been moving the chains even without tight end Travis Kelce. The Titans are going to need some serious help along with some luck if they’re going to turn things around. If they can’t, we might be reading soon about the Titans’ head coaching search.