Music City Mess

Nothing has gone right for the Tennessee Titans in the past eight months. First, they lost all world defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to free agent wasteland that is the Washington Redskins. Then, the Detroit Lions hired well-respected defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz as their head coach. The buzz in Nashville was that the Titans would be fine.

They couldn’t replace Haynesworth with one body, but they could rotate a few younger studs in to pick up the slack. Chuck Cecil, previously the defensive backs coach, was elevated to the defensive coordinator position, and promised not to tinker too much with the philosophy that gave the Titans a league best 13-3 record in 2008.

Fast forward to 2009. As we sit in week seven, the Washington Redskins (2) and the Detroit Lions (1) have more wins than the winless Titans. The Titans were dominated by Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and perhaps most notorious by New England, who handed them a 59 point beatdown in week six.

Fisher has also attracted some negative attention for his activities at a recent Tony Dungy charity event. Fisher appeared in an Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning jersey, joking that he “just wanted to feel like a winner.” Although it was obviously a poor choice to don a division rival’s colors in the midst of a losing season, lambasting Fisher over such a decision is an equally poor choice.

The NFL is known for parity, which really means that from one year to the next, you never really know what you’re going to get. Great teams can easily become decent ones, while mediocre teams can fall off the face of the competitive map overnight. The Titans won games last year with great coaching, solid effort from the players, and a turn-back-the-clock type of performance from grizzled quarterback Kerry Collins.

The Tennessee Titans are still a good team with a great coach. The current test for Coach Fisher and his players is to show their meddle now, before the fans can question the team’s heart, and not just its performance. Titans owner Bud Adams has publicly questioned the coaching staff after a horrendous start, and that’s his right.

The time for the Titans to rally together for themselves, for their top-tier head coach, and for their football crazy fanbase is now. If that rally falls short, Fisher may lose his job, but does anyone think Fisher would last more than 24 hours on the free agent market? Me neither.