Ken Whisenhunt hasn’t been gone long, but when he goes back to Nashville Saturday night, it will be as a visitor.
The Chargers offensive coordinator gets to return to Nissan Stadium, where he was head coach of the Titans until midway through last season when he was fired.
“It will be tough coming back,” Whisenhunt said, via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. “I love the city and the fans, who were always very good to me. It’s ironic that last time I was there as a visitor was with the Chargers. I am grateful for my time there.
“I am especially thankful for our players and my staff. I am disappointed that we didn’t win enough games but the players worked and played hard for me and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Well, he could have asked for more time, after he was fired seven games into last season, with a 3-20 record. But plenty has changed around there other than the coach, with a new General Manager helping to rebuild a roster that was certainly a part of Whisenhunt’s demise.
But at least he left them a quarterback, as No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota is poised to become a franchise-stabilizer. There were suggestions last year that Whisenhunt’s scheme put Mariota at unnecessary risk, but Mariota said he looked forward to seeing his old boss.
“It’ll be different,” Mariota said of seeing Whisenhunt. “Honestly, I am looking forward to it. I have a lot of respect for the man. He really gave me this opportunity. So nothing but good words, and I look forward to seeing him.”
That might not be universal there, but it’s hard to argue that Whisenhunt wasn’t given enough time or help to fix things there.