Interim Titans President & CEO Steve Underwood yesterday "shot down rumors that ownership was looking to cash out" when introducing Mike Mularkey as the team's interim coach, according to a front-page piece by Jason Wolf of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Underwood said, "The team is not for sale. It's never been for sale." Wolf notes GM Ruston Webster yesterday "was not made available to answer questions," while Controlling Owner & Co-Chair Amy Adams Strunk was not present. Underwood said that Webster "has the support of ownership and will have input in the coaching search" to find a replacement for Ken Whisenhunt, who was fired after a 1-6 start this season. But he noted that Strunk "will hire" the next coach. Whisenhunt "was hired" by former Titans President Tommy Smith. Meanwhile, the team's recent on-field struggles have "hit ownership where it hurts -- in the pocket." Underwood said, "You have some attrition in your season ticket sales, it affects your suite business, and it affects how interested your fans are in the game. Really, I have to say this, our fans have been very loyal. Our PSL holders have really hung in there. We’re still having great crowds this year. There has been some effect and we know it, we hear from them, our ticket service personnel hear from them" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 11/4).
NOT BUYING WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: CBSSPORTS.com's Jason La Canfora noted "no one has ever reported" that Titans ownership has solicited offers to sell the team, and while the team reiterates it is not for sale, some league peers "aren't buying that." Many league personnel "believe real movement toward a change could come by the spring or summer." Yesterday's news "only reaffirmed that for some inclined to believe as much, causally linked or not." Strunk made the announcement of Whisenhunt's firing instead of Underwood, and La Canfora notes that "drew attention around the league." Underwood "has been representing the Titans at league meetings and generally is the face of ownership," while Strunk "made the decision to fire Whisenhunt from her home in Houston and generally has been in the shadows" (CBSSPORTS.com, 11/3). ESPN's Chris Mortensen noted the Titans' ownership group "has been dysfunctional for a while." Mortensen: "They're operating their ownership out of the city of Houston. Not a coincidence they just lost in Houston to the Texans. ... Even though they won't say it, this franchise can be for sale, should be for sale. You can't have ownership in Houston trying to run this thing.” Mortensen added the Titans are "not a franchise you would say is stable right now." He said, " They need to be sold, and they need to be sold to local ownership” (“NFL Insiders,” ESPN, 11/3).
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES? In Tennessee, Greg Pogue writes it "would have been nice to have seen" Strunk at yesterday's news conference "talking about the family's commitment to the franchise." Instead, Underwood "was left insisting the team isn't and never was for sale, but we all know how that works." There is "no clear indication just how quickly a new president will be in place." If it is "going to be Underwood, then so be it," as the Titans "could do a lot worse." If not, then "waiting long after the season is over to get the position filled is not the best way to go" (Murfreesboro DAILY NEWS JOURNAL, 11/4).
