The Tennessee Titans can’t misfire with their head coaching hire, and Matt LaFleur is absolutely the right guy.
When the Tennessee Titans fired Mike Mularkey, it was a revelation. Not because they had fired a head coach a week removed from a stunning playoff upset, rather because the front office saw through that mirage and did the right thing.
The future of the Titans rests on everything that Marcus Mariota is. His arm, his mobility, everything. Two years under Mularkey showed us was Mariota looked like if he wasn’t allowed to shift out of second-gear, and bringing in an offensive-minded head coach to sculpt him into the superstar you should hope the No. 2 overall pick becomes is the most critical move the franchise has made in years.
Josh McDaniels was the logical choice, but he seems to have eyes for the job in Indianapolis. Instead of wallowing or panicking, the Titans should go out and hire the guy who might be even better for the job than McDaniels: Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur.
The resume speaks for itself with LaFleur, and actually mirrors Sean McVay’s rise. The Rams offensive coordinator was the quarterback coach in Atlanta last year, coaching Matt Ryan to an MVP season. This year he has helped turn Jared Goff around from a broomstick with a wig on into a potential MVP. Remember Robert Griffin III’s only good season in Washington; guess who his quarterback coach was. There’s a record of success and that should absolutely sell the Titans on LaFleur.
The problem with McDaniels is he has no track record — he has Tom Brady. That’s not an indictment so much as it is a caution for anyone leaning into the ‘quarterback whisperer’ cliche. McDaniels has done a lot in New England, but he’s also done it with Tom Brady. LaFleur has helped engineer three of the best seasons three different quarterbacks have had.
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Mariota is the future of the Titans, full stop. His career trajectory is directly tethered to how good Tennessee can be, and all indications are that Matt LaFleur is the guy the team needs to sculpt the future everyone wants.