Marcus Mariota has faced a number of challenges during his four seasons with the Tennessee Titans. The quarterback will face another yet another when the 2019 season begins. The latest challenge is a familiar one.

Mariota will once again be forced to learn a new offensive system after offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur was hired as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers Tuesday. Mariota will be playing under his fifth offensive coordinator during his five years in the NFL. Just when he was starting to feel comfortable with LaFleur and his system, poof! He’s gone.

The Titans exercised their fifth-year option on Mariota, which will pay him $20.9 million in 2019. However, there’s plenty of speculation the Titans may take a wait-and-see approach before deciding whether to sign Mariota to a long-term extension.

Critics point to Mariota’s durability issues. He has yet to play a full season of 16 games. In addition, Mariota has regressed the past two seasons - he has thrown nearly as many interceptions (23) as touchdowns (24) combined in 2017 and 2018 - compared to his first two seasons (45 touchdown passes, 19 interceptions).

While the Titans decide if they want to re-sign Mariota to a long-term deal, Mariota should also be considering whether or not he wants to re-sign with the Titans. The former Oregon Ducks star has consistently said he wants to remain in Nashville, but there are plenty of reasons for Mariota to consider testing the free agent market.

Start with the constant change in coaches and assistants. Not only has Mariota played under five offensive coordinators, he’s seen three different head coaches. Many of the most successful quarterbacks usually have stability in the coaching staffs.

For example, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels since 2012 and McDaniels was also the offensive coordinator from 2005 to 2008. Peyton Manning had Tom Moore as the offensive coordinator for the first 13 seasons of his career with the Indianapolis Colts. Drew Brees has been with offensive coordinator Patrick Carmichael in some capacity since he arrived in New Orleans in 2006.

The revolving door of head coaches, offensive coordinators, quarterback coaches as well as ever-changing philosophies and styles would make any quarterback’s head spin. The constant turnover has stunted Mariota’s growth as a quarterback and forced him to constantly be adapting when he should be developing.

Mariota has also lacked playmakers during his time with the Titans.

Mariota’s most reliable receiver, tight end Delanie Walker, suffered a season-ending broken ankle in Week 1 of the 2018 season. Rishard Matthews, who led the team with four touchdown catches in 2017, was released in September and the Titans didn’t re-sign Eric Decker, who led the wide receivers in receptions in 2017.

Other than Corey Davis, the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Mariota was throwing passes to players such as Taywan Taylor, Tajae Sharpe, Darius Jennings and Luke Stocker. Those players had trouble gaining separation off the line of scrimmage, forcing Mariota to hold the football longer while waiting for them to break open. Not exactly Odell Beckham, Jr.-caliber receivers you need to be successful in today’s pass-happy, high-volume scoring NFL.

The Titans also suffered from the lack of a running game for most of the year until running back Derrick Henry gained more than half of his total yards in the final four games of the season. Without the consistent threat of the run, play-action was ineffective and defenses keyed in on Mariota.

Playing behind an offensive line that has struggled since a strong season in 2016, Mariota was sacked a career-high 42 times - including 11 sacks against the Baltimore Ravens - in 2018. Left tackle Taylor Lewan played well, but right tackle Jack Conklin - a first-team All-Pro in 2016 - played in just nine games and never seemed to fully recover from a torn ACL he sustained in the playoff game against New England last season. The middle of the line was a disaster, with coach Mike Vrabel making changes as late as December.

That kind of poor offensive line play also played a role in the majority of Mariota’s injuries. His two separate knee injuries occurred while getting sacked in 2015. The broken leg he sustained in 2016 occurred while being sacked. The issues related to his nerve injury began when he was sacked in the season-opening game in 2018.

Despite all of these hurdles, Mariota has proved he can deliver clutch performances. He has engineered 12 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime and eight in the past two seasons. Mariota has posted a record of 26-29 in the games he has started, but that record is 23-20 in the past three seasons in addition to a playoff win last season.

The Titans' decision on whether to sign Mariota to a long-term deal should be a no-brainer. What’s their alternative? Gambling on a draft pick or free agent signing? Who could do more for Tennessee than what Mariota has accomplished with the resources available? While a lucrative extension would be enticing for him, Mariota should at least explore the free agent market in a quarterback-hungry league. He would certainly attract interest from teams such as Washington, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos and New York Giants. A new team with more resources in a larger media market could potentially vault Mariota into superstardom, helping him reach the next level both on and off the field.

Mariota’s career and his legacy could hang on his decision.

-- Geoffrey C. Arnold | @geoffreyCarnold