Per Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean, Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams has informed head coach Mike Munchak his job is safe and he will be back to coach the team in 2013. Adams indicated to Wyatt he believes Munchak needs the right people around him. It's easy for me to think that believes Jerry Gray will not be back as defensive coordinator in 2013, but we'll see.
Not returning to the team for next season for sure will be Senior Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer Mike Reinfeldt. As Adams told Wyatt, "He had two years left on his deal but I thought we'd be better off without him. He is out." Reinfeldt served as general manger of the team from 2007-2011, then was promoted to COO last January when Ruston Webster was installed as general manager. In his job as COO, he oversaw all football and non-football operations.
It's difficult to know what exactly led to Reinfeldt's ouster. I was not really a huge fan of the job he did as general manager, but he's no longer general manager. It could be the failure of Bud's pursuit of Peyton Manning, especially with the Broncos taking the top seed in the AFC after finishing with a worse record than the Titans had last year. It could be business-related. It could be a delayed evaluation of the job Reinfeldt did as general manager. It could just be Bud wanted to see somebody's head roll after a fall in the record from 9-7 to 6-10. Either way, Reinfeldt is gone.
It'll be interesting to see what the Titans do now in the front office. Adams also indicated to Wyatt that GM Ruston Webster will remain with the team. I assume that means as general manager, but the Titans still have that COO vacancy. I assume there's basically no chance Steve Underwood comes out of retirement, but could Bud bring somebody else over from his non-football operations and have them run the off-the-field side of the business? I highly doubt Webster takes over both roles, but it wouldn't surprise me if he becomes the sole man to answer for football decisions. We shall see what the Titans do.
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