Quote:Not even. Give me Gus anyday.


 

It just doesn't get worse than Mularkey. At least Gus can be motivating. 

I'm not going to sit here and argue that Mularkey was anything close to even being a good coach in the small sample size we got, but it's hard for me to agree with the notion that it doesn't get any worse than Mularkey. He was hired by a GM who was already thought to be clinging by a thread as draft pick after draft pick failed to work out, and his hiring did absolutely nothing to quell the conversation that Smith was a short-timer. Mularkey was the quintessential "base hit" play by Gene Smith, a guy who had a record of success with quarterbacks and a reputation as a good offensive mind.

 

Frankly, I'd argue that Mularkey was doomed from the start. The hire was instantly panned by the local and national media, reports almost instantly filtered out that had the Jaguars not hired Mularkey, the Falcons would have fired him, and he inherited a roster in such bad shape with a GM circling the drain that there was just no way he'd be successful in Jacksonville. Even if he'd overachieved and taken that roster to 6-10, the new GM that we all knew was coming at the end of the year would almost certainly fire him and bring in his own guy.

 

So, yeah, I can't argue that Mularkey was a better/worse/equivalent coach to Bradley, because we just didn't get a big enough sample size. I don't think Mularkey is as bad a coach as he appeared to be here, but I also don't think he's particularly good. If he does hold onto the Titans job, I'll be equal parts happy for us and sad for Mariota, whose career will very much be on the line if he's stuck in Mularkey's system.

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