Ideas for changes

[mightybosstone]

So, I think we can all pretty much agree that this current team is awful. And I'm sure we all wish we could be in Bud Adams shoes to make changes all over the place. But where would you start? Who would you put in place? And what kind of changes would you make?

While it might seem like a pointless exercise to talk hypotheticals when we have no real say in the matter, at least it gives us something to talk about during this excruciating season. And maybe it will give us all a glimmer of hope for next year...

[mightybosstone]

Since I started the thread, I'll start with the suggestions.

1. Fire Mike Munchak, Jerry Gray and Chris Palmer and bring in a completely different head coach. I would not go the college coaching route, because that never works out, but would rather see them go with a veteran guy who can attract his own coordinators and staff, as well as contribute with evaluating talent, helping with the draft and free agency. The three guys off the top of my head that would be perfect are all in broadcasting: Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy. The problem Tennessee had was that these guys walked away from better franchises after winning titles. What could the Titans provide them? Well, a crapload of money and a chance to have almost 100 percent control over football operations might convince them. If not those three guys, perhaps they could woo Wade Phillips away from Houston.

2. Make Jake Locker the face of the franchise. He clearly has some star potential from his time in Washington, and I think he could be a very good quarterback in this league if given the opportunity. CJ is the face of this team right now, and I think it's a mistake. Instead, build the team around Locker's strengths and weaknesses. More play action, more bootlegs, more short passes and opportunities to let him make plays out of the pocket. Whether it's bringing in a new QB coach or a coordinator who can work with him, he has to be the face of this offense, whether it's winning or losing.

3. Build from the lines and worry about everything else later. This has to be the focal point of roster changes. Look at most of the best teams in the NFL and they have strong offensive lines and strong defensive front sevens. The Titans' interior offensive line is pitiful, they have no pass rush whatsoever, and they have some talented guys in their front seven, but no scheme to utilize their abilities.

This is also the perfect time to evaluate the schemes on both sides of the ball. Would a zone blocking scheme better create holes for CJ in the running game if they brought in the right personnel? Would a 3-4 better help these guys get pressure on the QB? And a lot of that will depend on who gets brought in to coach. Cowher is clearly a 3-4 guy, while Dungy is clearly a 4-3 guy. But whatever the Titans are doing to get pressure, it's not working.

4. Aside from one or two o-line pickups, focus strictly on defense in the draft and free agency. Look what Green Bay has been able to do by just focusing on defense this year, adding a number of contributors on that side of the ball in a single draft. They should start with an impact pass rusher in the first round, but also look to add impact players at every level, including a better SS to play next to Griffin.

[killthesux]

Jon Gruden and Wade Phillips would be a great pick up and could turn the franchise around in a hurry, also i think it might be Bud Adams best interest to sell the team, maybe Eddie George gets a portion.

[steelcityroller]

Will be a long post

The Coaching Staff

This team needs so many changes that in my opinion it makes absolutely no sense to keep this coaching staff. Especially when I have seen nothing that makes me think they are capable of consistently putting together a solid team or gameplan. I think a problem is that they got rid of Jeff Fisher because they wanted change and then they just promoted a Jeff Fisher guy so what changed really?

At the bare minimum Jerry Gray has to go..... The defense is well on pace to set the record for points allowed in a season. They have allowed 308 points so far in 9 games through 2012. They gave up 317 points the entire season last year. According to Pro Football Focus the Titans are dead last in the league in overall defensive rating, defensive passer rating and defensive pass rush rating.

If you talk to anybody who watches this team and has football knowledge they will tell that the defensive schemes the Titans have used this year have been awful. How many plays a game are they only rushing 4 guys? You can't do that when those 4 guys are mediocre pass rushers. You can't do that when you are lining up your defensive backs 8-10 yards off the ball. Its just asking for teams to cut you up in the short passing game.

I didn't like the hiring of Chris Palmer at the time and feel even more so now about him calling the offense. This is 2012 the game has changed and his philosophy is out of date. I've said it on here several times that his offense is vanilla and predictable. You can look at the personel on the field and pretty accurately guess if its a run or pass play.

I can see them hiring somebody like Wade Phillips. Which I wouldn't have a problem with at this point because he could get things back on track so that we could get a better coach down the road. You guys can forget Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden. A coach of that caliber isn't gonna come to this franchise because of how we do business.

Management

The big question here is how much input Bud Adams has in roster decisions. But all the same I haven't been impressed with Reinfeldt or Webster. When you look neither guy really has a track record of any kind of success prior to coming to the Titans.

They touched on a big issue on the radio Friday about the Titans roster and how they seemingly go about making roster moves. The Titans have too many situational/project players. And that plays a part in them being predictable because they have a bunch of players on both sides of the ball that are only ideal in certain situations. That also makes it difficult on the salary cap because if you have to sign one of these guys to a big deal then you have a bunch of money tied up in somebody that isn't an every-down player.

But look at the players

Chris Johnson - The highest paid player on the team but he isn't a 3-down back. That is part of the reason I don't like him making $10-12 million a year. If a running back is gonna be making that kind of money then IMO they better be an every down back.

Kenny Britt - They said on the radio that he pretty much only runs 3 routes.

Craig Stevens - Is pretty much strictly a blocking tight end but is making $4 million a year. How many other blocking tight ends in the league make as much as Craig Stevens?

Jared Cook - He is a receiving tight end who is a free agent at the end of the season. But he is one of the biggest weapons on the offense and 2nd on the team in receiving at the moment. All the same the question remains how much money are you gonna pay a guy that has been on the field less than half the plays? Especially when you got Craig Stevens already making $4 million a year and getting more snaps.

Kamerion Wimbley - Has been one of the only guys to get a pass rush this year and was our biggest move in free agency. But all the same he is almost strictly a pass rusher because he isn't nearly as good against the run.

Karl Klug - Alot of people expected a good season from him considering that he had 7 sacks last year from the defensive tackle position. This year he has 1 tackle. Because he can't get on the field as teams are often in short-yardage situations and Klug is a liability on running downs as he only weighs 270 pounds.

Colin McCarthy - It may not be a fair assessment since he has been dealing with injuries. But this year he has been terrible in pass coverage. According to Pro Football Focus out of all the starting inside linebackers in the league he is 3rd from last in the league in coverage and only one other inside linebacker has given up more yards in coverage than Colin McCarthy.

Then you have the move of Michael Griffin at safety it has him all screwed up. Pro Football Focus has him graded as the worst starting safety and he has given up more touchdowns in coverage than any other defensive back in the league. Not really what you expect from a guy that you just paid top 5 safety money to keep....

What about Taylor Thompson and Zach Brown in this last draft. Both complete project players that need a ton of work. Thats what I'm talking about is this team going out and getting all of these guys and trying to have them switch positions or be situational players. Wouldn't it be better to have every down players? So that teams have a harder time to know what to expect. So that you don't have money tied up in multiple players at one position. So that you have roster spots to develop younger players.

Moves

(1) The coaching staff needs to go with the exception of Lowry because his is one of the best special teams coaches in the league. You go out and get an experienced coach who will clean up some of the smaller issues on this team. Then you go get an offensive coordinator that is gonna crank it up and take advantage of the talent and rules which are now geared for up-tempo offenses.

(2) At quarterback I have confidence in Jake Locker as long as he can stay healthy. But Matt Hasselbeck needs to be gone after this season. There are too many holes on this roster to pay a backup quarterback $5 million a year. I also am done with the Rusty Smith project especially now that they have Locker.

(3) Chris Johnson needs to go.... I know plenty of people won't agree with that but I feel this team needs to go another direction. He is making $10 million a year and isn't consistent enough or an every-down back to warrant that money. Also he never does good against top teams and pads his stats against the lesser opponents. This is a passing league and good teams plug running backs in and out and don't skip a beat. Just look at the stats and see guys like Stevan Ridley and Alfred Morris in the top 10 in rushing.

(4) Leroy Harris and Steve Hutchinson can hit the road. According to Pro Football Focus both guys are near the bottom of the league in offensive lineman efficiency at their respective positions.

(5) The Titans need to add depth across the board on the defensive line. Free agency this year looks to have a decent amount of defensive lineman so maybe they can add a veteran or two in free agency.

(6) It really all depends on the contract but they need to re-sign Jared Cook.

(7) We need more toughness and guys that can tackle at linebacker.

(8) Safety is a position of need alongside Michael Griffin. Probably a position that needs to be addressed in the draft looking at free agency.

But they currently have a decent amount of cap space left and they can cut or not resign the following

Chris Johnson (if he is released before March 2013)
Steve Hutchinson
Matt Hasselbeck
Eugene Amano
Leroy Harris
Jordan Babineaux
Lavelle Hawkins

And free up an additional $30 million in cap space which would give them $40-50 million in cap space.

[Dave Biggs]

This is cute. You all write these posts like coach Munch is looking. I am pretty sire he does not care what 'average joes' have to say. He is not going to hire you to be the next OC or DC. Now go on and enjoy your dead end job.

[steelcityroller]

This is cute. You all write these posts like coach Munch is looking. I am pretty sire he does not care what 'average joes' have to say. He is not going to hire you to be the next OC or DC. Now go on and enjoy your dead end job.

I'm not worried about working for Mike Munchak. Because odds are he will be working for me next year.... The same for the rest of this coaching staff.

By the way are you related to somebody on the team? Because having coached at the local level you sound like a butthurt parent who can't accept that their child sucks.

[Dave Biggs]

Close. But I actually have no children, due to the fact that I am just starting out in college at a university that surpasses your education easily. BTW. GOOD FOR YOU! Your a coach for a U11 football team. Thats must take a lot of guts. You are really helping the community. I think my mom could coach a football team of that age. HA

[steelcityroller]

Close. But I actually have no children, due to the fact that I am just starting out in college at a university that surpasses your education easily. BTW. GOOD FOR YOU! Your a coach for a U11 football team. Thats must take a lot of guts. You are really helping the community. I think my mom could coach a football team of that age. HA

So you are just starting out in college and have no actual degree and yet you have a higher education.... Uh huh.... I guess your freshman level courses make you more intelligent than people with a Bachelors or Masters degree?

You are making yourself look like an idiot. That has already been established by pretty much everybody on this forum.

And for the record I have 3 state championship football rings sitting on my dresser. I know a little bit about football....

You saying people on here are uneducated is debatable because we don't know each other

You saying that you are going to a really good school is debatable because I can tell you that I'm actually Bud Adams and it means nothing

You can say that you know more about football than anybody on here and it could be correct or you could be the dumbest person on this board.

BUT.... I have posted a great deal of things that are wrong with the Titans that are FACTS. And you respond back with 3rd grade arguments. Here is what a debate with you has looked like thus far.

Everybody else - The Titans have allowed the most points in the league. FACT

You - You guys are all uneducated and not as smart as me.

Everybody else - The Titans are on pace to allow the most points in NFL history. FACT

You - Oh yeah well you guys are stupid faces.

The Titans are 3-6 and statistically in the bottom 1/4 of the league in most categories. FACT

You - You guys will never be an NFL coach.

[steelcityroller]

Its amazing how they can go from looking like garbage last week to totally dominating the Dolphins this week.

Also I seen on Pro Football Focus that Fernando Velasco has got better every week. They now have him rated as the 8th best Center in the league in terms of offensive line efficiency.

[Dave Biggs]

What happened to locker? Are they resting him?

[mightybosstone]

This is cute. You all write these posts like coach Munch is looking. I am pretty sire he does not care what 'average joes' have to say. He is not going to hire you to be the next OC or DC. Now go on and enjoy your dead end job.

Perhaps you're unaware of how sports forums work. We talk about the teams and players, praising them when they deserve praise and criticizing them when they deserve criticism. And just like you would do with your friends, we like to discuss how we would do differently. If you even read the first post of the thread, I believe I even put in a disclaimer stating that our opinions mean little because we don't work for the team.

And stop insulting everyone's intelligence. No one is impressed with your college education and a lot of the guys here have gone to or are going to college. I graduated from the University of Texas more than two years ago and am a sports writer. I can assure you that your intelligence does not impress me in the slightest.

[mightybosstone]

Its amazing how they can go from looking like garbage last week to totally dominating the Dolphins this week.

Also I seen on Pro Football Focus that Fernando Velasco has got better every week. They now have him rated as the 8th best Center in the league in terms of offensive line efficiency.

This is good to hear. If they could at least see improvement on one of those three interior linemen positions, that's a huge step in the right direction. I would still like to see them address the guard spots with either a draft pick in the first 2-3 rounds or with a significant free agent acquisition in the offseason. Velasco and Harris are both UFAs this offseason, so hopefully the front office will do the right thing by re-signing Velasco and letting Harris walk.

[steelcityroller]

This is good to hear. If they could at least see improvement on one of those three interior linemen positions, that's a huge step in the right direction. I would still like to see them address the guard spots with either a draft pick in the first 2-3 rounds or with a significant free agent acquisition in the offseason. Velasco and Harris are both UFAs this offseason, so hopefully the front office will do the right thing by re-signing Velasco and letting Harris walk.

Yeah from the way things are looking Velasco might be a starting center to keep around this offseason. But they still need to address both guard positions unless Deuce Lutui can show something as well. Either way Eugene Amano and Steve Hutchinson can both be let go and that clears up almost $9 million in cap space.

[Boogeyman]

1. I start by replacing the whole staff with more of a pit bull coach. I like Munchak but these kids need someone to growl at them when they do stupid things on the field. Munchak just smiles like a clown and never shows any emotion.

2.Chris Palmer is so predictable that teams were teeing off on us by just watching which TE was in the game. If Cook was in it was a pass play if it was Stevens then run. The offense is vanilla and I would love to see what a talented and creative OC would do with these guys.

3. Jerry Gray I had very high hopes for but he seems to be lost. There always seems to be a soft spot in the middle of our defense. I have never seen us get killed by the run game so much right up the middle.

As far as players go I start with getting some damn pass rushing DES in here and I do it quickly. QBS have way to much time against us and our secondary gets strung out. I would be happy with a whole new defensive line. Hey Jerry Gray where the Hell is Karl Klug? Next I would get some interior oline that are actually better then average, Our interior oline is average at best and we could really improve here. We need a stud at FS because we are stuck with Griffin and somebody has to cover his shortcomings. I tink we also need one more good linebacker to go with McArthy and Ayers. This team desperately lacks leadership on defense and it shows. I think McCarthy could eventually fill that role but a veteran presence would be a great thing for this defense.

[Dave Biggs]

Give it up for father of the year. Your kid will amount to nothing