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There were reports last night that the Titans were talking about an extension for coach Mike Mularkey, before today’s news that they “mutually parted.”

That makes it seem that the Titans must have offered Mularkey a low-ball deal, after he complicated their plan to change coaches by winning a playoff game.

The team issued a statement from controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk which also makes it apparent that things were never quite right in their talks.

“I want to thank Mike Mularkey for his contributions to our franchise over his tenure with our organization,” she said. “He took over our team during a low moment and together with Jon built a solid foundation for our franchise. I appreciated that Mike devoted himself to this team and the community.

“In fact, we did discuss extending his future with our team over the past week, but in those discussions about the direction of the team, it became evident that we saw different paths to achieve greater success.

“It is certainly unfortunate that we couldn’t find enough common ground. I generally believe that continuity is the best path for success, but I also view this as an important moment for our football team as we try to make that next step to sustained success on the field. Jon [Robinson, the General Manager] will begin the search immediately to identify that person.”

With all the chatter about the job, it looks clear now that Mularkey would have been let go if he hadn’t won the wild card game against the Chiefs.