Titans ease into head coach search

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Ruston Webster is in charge of his first coaching search in the NFL and only the Titans’ second since moving to Tennessee, and the general manager says his goal is finding the man who is the right fit for the franchise.

He’s also not limiting what he wants in the Titans’ next coach.

“The biggest thing to me that you can’t do is rule out guys,” Webster said. “ ‘I want an offensive guy or a defensive guy, previous head coaching experience.’ . It causes you to miss out on possibly some good candidates.”

Webster wants to start interviewing candidates as soon as possible to replace Mike Munchak, who was fired Saturday after three years as head coach and 31 seasons with the franchise overall.

The general manager says some of the candidates he wants to interview still are coaching in the playoffs. With the Titans firing Munchak six days after the regular season ended, they missed the window to interview candidates whose teams had a bye this week.

The last time the Titans went looking for a new coach was late January 2011 after Jeff Fisher was fired with all other openings in the NFL already filled. Munchak was hired Feb. 7, 2011.

This time, the Titans became the seventh team in the league to fire a coach, but only the Texans and Buccaneers have hired replacements.

ESPN.com reported Sunday that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is a leading candidate.

Quinn was assistant head coach in Seattle in 2009 when Webster was vice president of player personnel for the Seahawks. Other coaches being mentioned include Cowboys special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and Vanderbilt coach James Franklin.