Mike Munchak went to bat for his coaching staff and struck out.
Munchak, who was fired Saturday as head coach of the Tennessee Titans after posting a 22-26 record in three seasons, said the team offered him an opportunity to return for the 2014 season — but only if he made wholesale changes to his coaching staff.
He refused, saying that he didn’t want to be a head coach under somebody else’s “plan.”
“I can’t fire someone when I don’t believe they should be fired,” he told the Tennessean on Sunday. “Firing someone is awful. Too many people were going to be affected. I didn’t do anything to look like I was a great, loyal guy who went above and beyond the call of duty by not firing coaches. I did what you should do and what I thought was right. For me to maintain a job and a lot of guys lose jobs on a plan I didn’t think was right, I couldn’t do that.”
It was also said that Munchak didn’t see eye-to-eye with team president Tommy Smith and general manager Ruston Webster.
According to the Tennessean, some of the coaches that Munchak was asked to fire were offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and defensive coordinator Jeremy Gray.
He would also have to ax two of his best friends — offensive line coach Bruce Matthews (a Hall of Fame offensive lineman who spent his entire career, as did Munchak, with the Oilers/Titans franchise) and linebackers coach Chet Parlavecchio.
“It wasn’t just about Chet or Bruce,” Munchak explained. “People say, ‘Those are Munch’s guys.’ It was about the big picture. A lot of guys were going to be affected. If it was the right thing to do, I would do it. I have fired offensive coordinators (Chris Palmer) before. And I let go of a special teams coach (Alan Lowry).
“It’s not like ‘Munch isn’t here anymore because he wouldn’t fire two guys.’ In my eyes, that’s not what we disagreed on. There was more to it than that. Obviously they made it easy. They fired all of us so they could start over.”
Munchak was fired after a 7-9 season — the fifth straight year in which the Titans failed to make the playoffs. The team hasn’t won a postseason game since the 2003 season. Munchak, 53, said he believes the Titans will be a playoff team in 2014 and is sorry he won’t get the chance to be along for the ride.
“This is not the result I wanted at all. Being in Nashville all these years, I loved it,”’ he said. “I am upset for myself and the rest of the coaching staff that had to leave with me. I worry more about them and the coaches with the families and kids in school.
“This is hard for me. For me, it is an era. I was hoping to retire a Titan. I was hoping to say, ‘Hey, I made it 40 years with the same organization.’ I’m disappointed it didn’t work out.”