The Titans and coach Jeff Fisher have elaborated on the one-sentence statement announcement that the man who’d coached the franchise since it was known as the Houston Oilers will be leaving the team.
“We will be forever appreciative of Jeff Fisher’s leadership and accomplishments through his time with our franchise,” the Titans said in a statement attributed to no specific person. “We reached some of our greatest heights and experienced some unforgettable moments during his tenure.
“After the season was complete, we had numerous discussions on the direction of the team and were pleased that we were moving forward with Jeff at the helm. Since that time, it became evident that consensus was increasingly hard to find and reality wasn’t matching the vision we discussed. It is unfortunate that this decision is coming at this juncture, but we believe that we have reached the point where change is in the best interest of both parties.
“We will start the head coaching search tomorrow. We expect to talk to a broad and diverse group of candidates. We are confident the coaching pool still has a number of quality candidates that can lead our football team.”
Multiple reports have indicated that offensive line coach Mike Munchak is the leading candidate to replace Fisher. He can’t be hired, however, until at least one minority candidate has been interviewed.
According to TitanInsider.com, Munchak recently signed a new contract with the team. Apparently, it doesn’t specify that he’ll be the next head coach of the team; otherwise, there would be no reason to “talk to a broad and diverse group of candidates.”
Fisher chimed in with a statement of his own. “I want to thank Mr. Adams and the organization for a special 17 years,” Fisher said. “I can’t thank the fans enough for the support they showed us through the years; it has been a tremendous experience. We all did our very best and I think I can look back with fond memories and be very proud of what we accomplished. I want to wish the organization, the current players and the fans nothing but the best in the future.”
A press conference will be conducted on Friday at 11:00 a.m. local time, with "[a]ll of the parties involved” available to the media at that time.