Gone are the days when NFL head coaches entered their first season with the license to develop a team over the course of a few years. The firing of Cleveland Browns head coach Rod Chudzinski marked the third consecutive season of a coach being fired after their first year with a team. Nothing is promised by desperate front offices. In 2011, Oakland fired Hue Jackson at the end of his first season after posting the franchise’s best record since 2002. The bar is at an all-time high for new hires. Last season, three coaches (Andy Reid, Mike McCoy, and Chip Kelly) took their teams to the postseason in their first year, while Chicago’s Marc Trestman and Arizona’s Bruce Arians missed a playoff berth by just one game.

Seven teams parted ways with their coach this offseason, and all seven new hires know that there are immense expectations to not only win, but to win immediately. We’ll be taking a look at a different first-year head coach each week, determining what they bring to the table, and just how well they will fit in with the current personnel.

Ken Whisenhunt, Tennessee Titans.

Coaching Experience

Vanderbilt, 1995-1996 (Special Teams/Tight Ends/Running Backs Coach)

Baltimore Ravens, 1997-1998 (Tight Ends Coach)

Cleveland Browns, 1999 (Tight Ends Coach)

New York Jets, 2000 (Special Teams Coach)

Pittsburgh Steelers, 2001-2003 (Tight Ends Coach)

Pittsburgh Steelers, 2004-2006 (Offensive Coordinator)

Arizona Cardinals, 2007-2012 (Head Coach)

San Diego Chargers, 2013 (Offensive Coordinator)

Personnel

When the Tennessee Titans selected Ken Whisenhunt as their new head coach, it was with the understanding that he would assume playcalling duties on game day. This role, in addition to his reputation as an offensive mind, meant that the major task for the largest retooling of the coaching staff in the franchise’s 15 year history would be in the search for a defensive coordinator. Many fans supported the idea of promoting Gregg Williams, who joined the Titans in 2013 as a senior assistant defensive coach,1 to be the new defensive coordinator, which would ensure that the defense would stay in the 4-3 scheme that it had been built around.

Loyalty to Williams was replaced with enthusiasm, however, when it was announced that Ray Horton was under consideration. Horton’s hiring soothed concerns about the personnel incompatibility of switching to a 3-4 scheme. In 2013, his first year as Cleveland’s defensive coordinator, Horton transformed a 4-3 defense that ranked 23rd in total yards in 2012 into a top ten 3-4 defense.2 Horton was a likely candidate for Whisenhunt. He was the secondary coach for the Steelers3 during Whisenhunt’s three seasons as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator, and he was also Whisenhunt’s defensive coordinator for the head coach’s final two seasons in Arizona.

The response to the hiring of Jason Michael as offensive coordinator was relatively subdued in comparison to the hype that Horton’s arrival garnished. With Whisenhunt assuming all offensive playcalling duties, the front office obviously felt confident in hiring someone with little experience. Michael has served as a quality control coach and tight ends coach for the majority of his career, so this is an unexpected promotion, regardless of the reduced role that came along with it. Michael was most likely hired for his familiarity with Whisenhunt’s offense. He spent 2013 under Whisenhunt as the tight ends coach for San Diego, and he also has experience as a quarterbacks coach.

The Titans also hired Bob Bostad from Tampa Bay4 to serve as the offensive line coach. In Tampa, Bostad turned the 23rd ranked offensive line into the 14th ranked unit, all without All Pro guard Carl Nicks and while starting four different running backs. Tennessee also retained wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson and running backs coach Sylvester Croom.

The Good

The Titans have obviously invested in quarterback Jake Locker, but through the injuries, lack of weapons, and inconsistency, Locker’s career has yet to pan out. Enter Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt has a reputation for putting new life into quarterbacks. He famously transformed Kurt Warner from a nearly-expired backup, back into Super Bowl form. He also revitalized Philip Rivers after a mid-career crisis. San Diego was ranked 31st in total offense and 24th in passing in 2012. In Whisenhunt’s sole year with the Chargers, they ranked fifth in total offense and fourth in passing,5 and Rivers would have been in serious contention for MVP, if not for this historical season of Peyton Manning. Whisenhunt could be just what Locker needs. The former top-ten draft pick could see the same growth that Ben Roethlisberger did in his first three years in the NFL under Whisenhunt. And one day, he might be the third quarterback that Ken Whisenhunt commanded to the Super Bowl.

Players not named Jake Locker could also benefit from the new coaching staff. Second-round draft choice Bishop Sankey could see a heavy load from the start, as Whisenhunt is not afraid to throw rookies into the fray. Keenan Allen managed over 1,000 receiving yards in his rookie season with San Diego. Also, running back Ryan Matthews rushed for 1,255 yards, a career best, which is certainly encouraging to the young Sankey, who has large shoes to fill following the departure of Chris Johnson.

The Bad

Whisenhunt’s flaws are few, and while they can be easily minimalized, they also have the potential to cut his tenure short. Whisenhunt can work wonders with adequate depth and weaponry, but he has shown a reluctance to address holes on the team that require outside talent to mend. Following Warner’s retirement in Arizona, he had several years to find a quarterback, but was never able to. There were chances in the draft and free agency, and he traded away Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for Kevin Kolb, who failed in his effort to be Arizona’s starting quarterback. Despite a glaring absence at a vital position, Whisenhunt failed to address it before the team fell to three consecutive seasons without a winning record.

Whisenhunt has also been criticized for his overly conservative playcalling, especially in San Diego’s recent postseason defeat. Titan fans hope that he can stray from his recent trend of repeatedly calling failed draw plays. Whisenhunt’s time as San Diego’s offensive coordinator frustrated many fans with the constant draw plays and runs in the face of third down with medium-to-long distance to go. If he didn’t show confidence in a player like Rivers to produce on third downs, especially with tools like Danny Woodhead, Antonio Gates, and Keenan Allen at his disposal, how much trust will Whisenhunt put on the shoulders of Locker and his relatively unknown cadre of skill players?

Verdict

Whisenhunt enters Tennessee as a final hope for Jake Locker. And while his history of getting the most out of his quarterbacks is certainly a cause for optimism, the injury-prone Locker has to be hoping that Whisenhunt has something up his sleeve, especially in a division that will have Robert Mathis, J.J. Watt, and Jadeveon Clowney all doing their best to make sure Locker spends time on the ground instead of in the endzone.