NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was just over two weeks ago that Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, following his team's terrible loss to the Buffalo Bills, made the strange comment that the team wouldn't be changing their approach moving forward.

Since then, he's seemingly had a change of heart, as the Titans (2-4) are making a drastic change heading into their Week 7 matchup against the Chargers.

Ryan Tannehill, not Marcus Mariota, will start at quarterback for the Titans on Sunday. It will be the first time in his career that Mariota has not started a game for a non-injury reason.

"We're trying to get a little spark, trying to evaluate what we're doing and how we're functioning as an offense," said head coach Mike Vrabel, who wants to give his sputtering offense a way to get going and score points.

Vrabel's apparent change of heart is a change for the better. His decision to relegate Mariota to the bench in favor of Tannehill is a wise one, and he executed it to perfection.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

When a process is not yielding the desired results, changes have to be made to that process.

Otherwise, you fall into the void of trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Albert Einstein famously deemed that sort of approach the definition of insanity.

For the Titans, starting Mariota at quarterback has become a process that no longer works. The fifth-year Oregon product has, through the first six weeks of the 2019 season, looked like a shell of the version of himself that was named a Pro Bowl alternate in 2016.

He has drifted and run into pressure on many occasions, he's missed several easy throws and the Titans offense, currently 26th in the NFL in scoring, has just been dreadful with him at the helm in 2019.

And, so, the Titans did what they had to do to avoid the path of insanity.

The move may not make much of a difference in terms of the Titans' offensive output, and it will almost certainly hurt some feelings. But it was the decision that had to be made.

Every part of the Titans offense is broken. Coordinator Arthur Smith has called some dumbfounding plays, the offensive line has allowed so many sacks that the Titans are currently on pace to allow the most sacks ever in a single NFL season, the receivers have not made enough big plays, and both RB Derrick Henry and RB Dion Lewis have been liabilities in the passing game.

But Mariota has also been poor. He's certainly a victim in some respects, but he's not without fault by any stretch of the imagination.

THE RIGHT TIME

Vrabel was asked about the potential for a QB change following the Titans' Week 3 blowout loss at the hands of Jacksonville. He denied the possibility, saying, "I don’t think that that’s something that we’re looking at right now."

The day after the Titans' Week 4 win over the Falcons, Vrabel joked with the media that there were "no 'fire the QB' questions."

But based off of Vrabel's comments on Wednesday, it seems that the team has been pondering the potential of a change under center for a while.

It looks like what kept the Titans from pulling the trigger on the switch sooner was a hope that the return of Pro Bowl LT Taylor Lewan from suspension and the development of rookie G Nate Davis as a starter would yield positive change for Mariota.

"I wanted to give him some time with Taylor [Lewan] and with Nate [Davis]'s progression, sort of what we were doing," Vrabel said. "But I just felt like now was the time."

Changing quarterbacks when your starter has held his position for over four seasons is a major decision, and Vrabel did not take it lightly.

He waited until every last vessel of hope was empty. Once that was the case, Vrabel made the change, something the players-first coach deserves to be commended for.

ENTER TANNEHILL

Another reason that benching Mariota makes sense for the Titans is that his replacement, Tannehill, is more than capable of running the offense.

Vrabel compared the situation to when veteran linebacker Wesley Woodyard, who is now a backup for the Titans after starting in each of the previous few seasons, had to enter the team's Week 6 loss to the Broncos after an injury to LB Jayon Brown.

"No different than the million times I've talked about Wesley Woodyard and how I feel like he's a starter at that position," Vrabel said. "It took him about half a second to be in the game last week and make huge impacts. To have depth at every position that's proven and that's played in this league and can do well is critical."

Tannehill's skill set is somewhat similar to Mariota's, and he became an outcast in Miami for some of the same reasons that Mariota lost favor with the Titans' coaching staff.

His entrance as starting QB will not revolutionize the Titans offense, but it could provide a sense of freshness, like a much-needed pressing of the reset button.

"Go out and produce, make plays, take advantage of the opportunities that are there and don't try to do too much," Tannehill said of his goals. "Just play QB to the best of my ability. If we go out and score points, the spark will be there."

Cover image: Ron Chenoy/USA Today