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By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
March 18, 2012

It has been some off season so far and it is just getting started. Free agency began with a bang when the Colts released future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. He is recovering from a couple of neck surgeries and is looking to see what team fits him the best. It has come down to three and he should be making his decision in the next day or two. One of those teams is the Titans and they were not a player until late in the game. Owner Bud Adams made it known that he wanted Manning at any cost.

After working out for the Titans, Manning went to look at his notes and make his choice based on many things one would guess. Let’s take a look at his career and how he would fit in Tennessee.

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By Rafael Garcia Sr. Contributing Writer Southeast Region-Football Reporters Online

After a somewhat brief search Bud Adams and the Titans announced that Mike Munchak would become the franchises’ 16th head football coach. He becomes just the second coach this city will have and the second that was a former player. The task at hand is large, but he believes in himself as others have come to believe in him. Some fans have embraced the decision already while others still have questions. Adams said it was a special day for this team to have one of his former players take over. He said that Munchak has been successful at everything that he has done so why not choose him.

Munchak has a great history with the franchise. It is well known that he made nine pro bowls and will go down as one of the best offensive linemen to play the game. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 and has been the offensive line coach for the last 14 years. If you talk about him around the league you will find nothing but good things said about him. He does his homework and likes all his players to hold themselves accountable for his actions. He has always been the consummate pro and will demand that of his players. He is considered one of the best teachers of his trade and will require his players to learn like he did. He is not your yeller and screamer. He is a man that commands respect. He wants things done the right way.

He talked about how he has come to where he is and what makes him the right man for this job. He wants to be judged by his work and not the work done before him. He praised Fisher and thanked him for giving his chance after he finished his playing career. With every word you could see the excitement in him. It has been asked if he ever had aspirations to be a head coach. Though he may have never shown it, he talked like a man that has been waiting for this for a long time. He made it clear that players are going to be expected to be professionals and act as such. Behavior that is unacceptable will be handled immediately and will not linger. He wants to have a staff that can work with him as well as keep his mind open to fresh ideas. He acknowledged that he has a lot to learn but that is how every first time coach starts. He would not commit to strategy or how the team will do. He wants to take it day by day and be sure that he gets it right. He promised Bud Adams that he would not let him down.

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Tennessee Titans: The Aftermath

By Rafael Garcia Sr. Contributing Writer-Southeast Region-Football Reporters Online

It was the middle of the night in Arcola, TX in 1994, when the Oilers brass summoned Jeff Fisher. He met with Steve Underwood and signed an interim contract to take over the Houston Oilers. He signed the contract on top of a Houston Chronicle newspaper box at an Exxon two-pump gas station. He would go 1-5 after replacing Jack Pardee and the rest is history. Of course, history in the NFL does not mean forever.

Fisher would spend the next two years honing his skills as a head coach and in 1996 owner Bud Adams announced that the franchise was moving to Nashville TN. The way that Fisher handled the whole move showed he might be capable of running this team for real. First, the team would have to play at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN for the 1997 season. The next year the team played at Vanderbilt while their stadium was being built. In 1999 they became the Titans and they opened to a sold out crowd. The fun was just getting started. That season would see the team reach the playoffs. It was the year of the “Music City Miracle”, as well as “One Yard Short”. The one yard being the yard that cost them a possible Super Bowl against the Rams in 2000.

In between the glory years were seasons of 8-8, or 5-11 and even a 4-12 campaign. For three years the Titans played uninspired football and in 2006 Adams made the famous VY is my guy speech. With the third pick of that year they chose Vince Young. Adams had followed Young throughout his high school and college careers in Texas. Fisher may have wanted another player but Adams insisted he pick Young. Young would respond by winning the AFC offensive player of the year award. In 2008 Young got injured in the opener against Jacksonville and supposedly refused to re-enter the game. That was when Kerry Collins took over and they would finish the year 13-3. The loss in the playoffs that year finally took its toll on the fans and the call for somebody’s head started. They followed that up with a 0-6 start with Collins at the helm and then once again the call from the owner to Fisher came. This time he told Fisher to re-insert Young into the starting lineup. From there the Titans finished 8-2 and just missed the playoffs. Still, another 8-8 year was not enough for the fans. They started to ask how many 8-8 seasons is enough. How is it that this team looks to be satisfied with that kind of finish? The playing calling of Fisher and his staff came into question. The debacle that was special teams in 2009. It has been speculated that maybe Fisher over estimated his roster.

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By Rafael Garcia Sr. Contributing Writer

Southeast Region Football Reporters Online

The decision is now official. Jeff Fisher will remain as head coach of the Titans, but he will not get an extension just yet. Earlier in the week owner Bud Adams made the decision to dump Vince Young but had not decided on the future of the coaching staff. The decision to keep Fisher does not answer the question about the rest of his staff.

Fisher has become popular with many fans as well as fellow head coaches. He is the type that has earned his respect around the league. That has run its course with fans and others that say that 16 full seasons is more than enough to right a ship. His style of coaching has gotten old to many that say that it is too conservative. The critics say that it is an old school approach that needs to be updated. There have been many calls made by Fisher that have been questioned. It has been asked why he cannot find a way to get Randy Moss and Kenny Britt on the field at the same time.

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By Rafael Garcia Sr. Contributing Writer Southeast Region-Football Reporters Online

January 5, 2011

It has been a long tenure for Jeff Fisher as head coach of the Tennessee Titans. He has been loyal to the organization and vice versa. He is at a crossroad that all coaches face. If you lose in the NFL your job can be in jeopardy. Fisher has endured 8-8 seasons as well as worse than that. He has had the support of owner Bud Adams all along.  They have built this relationship for the better part of 17 years. Now the franchise and its fans are asking for change. Fisher wants to stay and Adams clearly supports Vince Young. The question that has yet to be answered is, will it be Fisher or Young? Will it be both?

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Owner Must Make a Decision For 2011

By Rafael Garcia / FRO Sr. Contributing Writer / Southeast Region

Way back we knew these Titans as the Houston Oilers. Back then we also knew names like Dan Pastorini, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson and Earl Campbell. They would play good football only to eventually lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Owner Bud Adams has football roots that go back to the old AFL days. Then, one day it was announced that he would be taking his team to Nashville TN. He would have to go to Memphis and then play at Vanderbilt before a stadium was ready. Once it was, it would be sold out for years to come and NFL football was born in Nashville.

In 1999 the city was buzzing and tailgating started at the crack of dawn. The first game was to be played against the Bengals at home and they did not disappoint. See, they had this kid from Alcorn St. at quarterback named Steve McNair. He set all kinds of records in college but did not become the starter until 1997. On this day he would begin one of the best seasons we have seen in long time from a quarterback. He would come to define the meaning of warrior.

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by Rafael Garcia / FRO  Sr. Contributing Writer – Southeast Region

In 2006 the Tennessee Titans and their fans waited to see whom they would draft with the third pick. It was known that the pick would be a quarterback. The choices were between Jay Cutler, Matt Leinart and Vince Young. It has been suggested that Jeff Fisher wanted to pick Leinart and owner Bud Adams wanted his guy VY.

Leinart and Young had just finished putting on a show in the BCS title game and they were very hyped coming in. Cutler earned his football degree by playing four losing seasons at Vanderbilt. So, with the third pick of the 2006 NFL Draft the Titans took Young out of Texas.

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