Bringing my ‘A’ game
January 13, 2014Ohio State replaces Vrabel with Penn State’s Larry Johnson
January 14, 2014The Tennessee Titans have hired three-time Cleveland Browns interview candidate Ken Whisenhunt as their new head coach.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen first reported the news on Twitter at about 6:15 p.m. Monday. Within the next hour, the Titans officially confirmed the move.
Whisenhunt, 51, had just finished his lone season as the San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator on Sunday in the AFC Divisional Round. He had been the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2007-2012.
Last year, during the Browns coaching search, Whisenhunt interviewed for the position twice. Initially this time around, the Cleveland front office announced they wouldn’t be re-interviewing any repeat candidates. But as announced in the news on Thursday: The two sides met on Saturday in San Diego for Whisenhunt’s third and final interview of the week.
It had been assumed that the former Pittsburgh Steelers assistant was likely headed to Detroit for their head coach opening. The Lions have Matthew Stafford at quarterback and Calvin Johnson at wide receiver, making them a possibly enviable destination for a veteran head coach.
Additionally, Tennessee’s firing of Mike Munchak — also a reported new Browns interview target — was a bit suspect. The team was requiring their three-year coach to axe some of his assistants. But Munchak had spent over 30 years with the organization as a player and coach and was unwilling to do so. He was fired on Jan. 4.
Whisenhunt had moderate success with the Cardinals despite a rotating crew over at quarterback post-Kurt Warner. In Tennessee, he inherits a 7-9 squad that barely missed the playoffs. Young QB Jake Locker showed some signs of success this past year. The organization will have the No. 11 draft pick in April.
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Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
10 Comments
We will be stuck with someone who no one else wants. If they didn’t have a plan in place, then how did they know they were going to do better than Chud? They didn’t. It’s was a hasty move. Knee-Jerk reactions are no way to run a football team. Whomever we get now will be a first year coach who has to learn on the fly. We’ll get 5 wins at best next season, and only then will Haslem know that the real problem is Banner. By that point it’s too late. Banner will be fired and we’ll have to go get our 3rd head coach in 3 seasons and the fans will have finally had enough.
Granted, the Cards went 9-7 the year they did it, but the Whiz did take them to a Super Bowl after winning the division. I’d call that more than “moderate success.”
Butch Davis had moderate success with the Browns.
I FEEL AMBIVALENT!!!!
The only way I think this could be salvaged is if the team can somehow pry Malzahn away from Auburn and select Manziel in the draft. The combination of those two together – with Malzahn’s style and Manziel’s skill – would actually make sense. Drafting Malzahn’s RB Tre Mason in the 3rd / 4th round would round out the offense and make a lethal offensive group.
What the Browns don’t need to do – but definitely will – is scramble in an attempt to save face only to end up falling on their face by signing an ill-fitted coach just for the name value.
And then the team will move, and then there will be riots, and the city will burn down, and then…
and he resurrected the career of Kurt Warner to do it. then, Rivers had a very good bounceback year with him. with cruddy QBs, he had cruddy QB play.
doesn’t matter though. we’ll see who we can get and hopefully he is FINALLY the guy to turn us around.
We will have another rebuild?
We will have another rebuild?
To late to save face the only way they save face now is to put a team together that actually wins at least 8 games. Yes, .500 is considered a win!
I CANTS BELIEVE THE STOOPID FRONT OFFICE DIDN’T LAND THE GUY THEY DIDN’T WANT!!1!!!!!11 LUMBARDY SUCKS!!1!!