Titans are setting themselves up for chaos with ‘day late’ head coach interview trend as NFL carousel heats up

The Titans keep drawing the short straw, and it’s shaping up for an uncomfortable conclusion.

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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Tennessee Titans fans across the land are hoping to see their team’s list of head coach finalists grow before this process ends.

That’s because over the weekend, we learned of the first three coaches scheduled for second official interviews in Nashville: former Browns HC Kevin Stefanski, Packers DC Jeff Hafley, and Chiefs OC Matt Nagy.

Former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is also firmly in the mix, though he is not technically a “finalist” at this point. His first meeting with Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker early in the process wasn’t an official interview, so his very finalist-esque, multi-day visit to Nashville this weekend counted as his first official interview. But functionally, I believe he is also under consideration. My full report on McCarthy can be found here.

So that’s at least four names, right? Well, not exactly. Two of them are about to become the latest data points in an ugly trend for Tennessee in this cycle.

Titans head coach finalists keep landing with other teams first

This all started with the John Harbaugh sweepstakes. The Titans were the second-place finishers in that race, but he was a New York Giant all the way. They were scheduled to fly out to meet with Harbaugh the day after his visit to New Jersey, but the Giants got him to commit before he left town. The Titans were “the other guys.”

Then the news of their first official finalist, Stefanski, came out in tandem with the news that the former Browns coach would be heading to Atlanta the day before meeting with Tennessee. It was publicly understood that there was strong interest from the Falcons, and this was framed in reports as Atlanta jumping the Titans to ensure they got their guy.

And sure enough, before the clock struck twelve on Saturday night, Stefanski was a Falcon. Tennessee was a backup plan (at best) once again. The Titans weren’t even getting a chance to get physically near these guys, let alone hire them.

Suddenly, the official list of finalists was down to two. And I’d be willing to wager it drops to one within 48 hours of this article’s publication, unless more names are added. Because Jeff Hafley is in the exact same boat with the Dolphins as Stefanski was with the Falcons. The public mutual interest is as strong as it gets, and his second interview in Miami is — you guessed it — the day before he’s scheduled to visit Nashville.

But wait, you may have said to yourself at some point, what about the Rooney Rule? Sure, new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan has a bond with Jeff Hafley from their time together in Green Bay. But they haven’t interviewed two minority candidates yet.

That argument lasted all of 24 hours this weekend, with a rather shameless report coming out Sunday morning about the Dolphins’ busy Monday plans. Josina Anderson had already reported last Tuesday that Raiders DC Patrick Graham would interview in Miami on Monday, the 19th, and then ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard would be headed down there as well.

So after a weekend news cycle of making heart-eyes at Jeff Hafley, the Dolphins are suddenly squeezing a pair of interviews with two black men into their Monday schedule before meeting with (and presumably hiring) Hafley. A blatantly B.S. process as it pertains to the Rooney Rule — a rule with good intentions on paper but awful in practice — seems to take place with at least one team every cycle. And it always rubs me the wrong way.

But it will allow the Dolphins to lock up Hafley before he ever sets foot in Nashville, so who cares? Barring a surprise change, the Titans will once again be left holding the bag. Third time’s a charm!

Where does the Titans’ coaching search stand after near misses?

Where does this leave Tennessee? With one official finalist in Matt Nagy and one unofficial finalist in Mike McCarthy. Now, things will remain fluid across the coaching carousel this week. I won’t yet rule out my steadfast prediction for this hire, 49ers DC Robert Saleh (whose initial Zoom interview is on Sunday), nor former Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel yet.

As a matter of fact, anyone on their list could still make it as a finalist. Broncos DC Vance Joseph, Chargers DC Jesse Minter, and Steelers OC Arthur Smith are still technically possible. But the longer we go without hearing another name, the more it seems they’ve made up their minds.

If I were the Titans, I would be frustrated with how this has played out narratively, especially, that is, if the plan really is to hire Nagy. Fair or not, the truth of the matter is that the PR of a Nagy hire will be about as tricky as it gets for a new head coach. A large portion of the fanbase openly hates the idea and has feared it for months at this point.

Convincing fans that he was the honest-to-God winner of the interview process was already going to be difficult. But now, it’s shaping up to look like they got passed over by more sought-after candidates and had to settle at best. And at worst, that they only feigned interest in top candidates on their way to landing Nagy, which was the plan all along.

It’s still not a forgone conclusion Nagy will be hired. And my personal opinion of him as a candidate is that he’s very, very far from this nightmare so many people seem to think he is. But as I observe the room’s temperature, there is no denying the potential ugliness on the horizon.

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