The Tennessee Titans planned on retaining head coach Mike Munchak, but when he was asked to change his assistant coaches, Munchak balked and said he wouldn't coach under someone else's plan, leading to his departure as the head coach of the team.
According to reports, Munchak said he believed his assistants didn't deserve to be fired.
"I can't fire someone when I don't believe they should be fired. Firing someone is awful. Too many people were going to be affected,'' Munchak told the Tennessean. "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. I'll make tough decisions, but not if they're not right."
According to the report, if Munchak parted ways with his assistants, his job would have been saved and he would have even gotten an extension on his deal. According to NFL.com, the team was looking to replace offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, offensive line coach Bruce Matthews and linebackers coach Chet Parlavecchio.
The coach told the paper that the argument went beyond just who would and wouldn't keep their jobs and noted that he's made changes to his coaching staff in the past but he only wanted to make the changes that he believed were best for the team.
"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," Munchak said via the Tennessean. "There was more to it than that. Obviously they made it easy. They fired all of us so they could start over."
Munchak spent three seasons as the Titans head coach and was with the organization since the Houston Oilers drafted him in 1982. After finishing 7-9 and in second place in the AFC South division, Munchak finished with a 22-26 overall record in his three seasons at the helm. The Titans haven't made the playoffs since 2008.
Munchak addressed that it could have been his final time in the NFL.
"I wanted to be here," he said via the paper. "I have been here for over 30 years. These jobs are hard to come by. I know the chance of me being a head coach again in the NFL aren't that great. Most guys get one shot at it. But I wanted to do it with the right people, and do it the right way."
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