AFC South Notes: Titans, Webster, Colts

It’s been an eventful week in the AFC South, where two teams have made coaching changes, with the Titans firing head coach Ken Whisenhunt and the Colts parting ways with offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton. Our round-up of division links this afternoon focuses primarily on those two teams – and those coaching moves – so let’s dive in and check out the latest….

  • Whisenhunt’s firing could be the first of many major moves for the Titans‘ franchise over the next several months, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. La Canfora doesn’t expect general manager Ruston Webster to continue on with the team through 2016, noting that many rival clubs couldn’t find much talent on the Tennessee roster worth pursuing before the trade deadline. And while the team’s ownership group continues to insist the franchise isn’t for sale, there’s skepticism around the league on that front as well.
  • Rumors of a potential Marcus Mariota/Chip Kelly pairing in Philadelphia dominated the news cycle prior to – and during – this year’s draft. Now that the Titans‘ permanent head coaching job is available, could such a reunion happen in Tennessee? I wouldn’t expect Kelly to get serious consideration for the role, or to have real interest in leaving the Eagles, but the Titans could pursue the possibility after the season if they so choose, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk details.
  • Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com identifies seven more realistic potential choices for the Titans‘ full-time head coaching position.
  • Given their struggles this season, the Colts had to make a change at some point, and Hamilton was the easiest person to fire at this point in the season, says Mike Wells of ESPN.com. One person in the organization tells Wells that they’d been asking Hamilton to play with tempo for more than two weeks. However, those suggestions “weren’t being received.”
  • Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star views Hamilton as a fall guy, though he doesn’t think the former OC is entirely blameless for the Colts‘ disappointing first half. In Doyel’s view though, GM Ryan Grigson bears more responsibility for Indianapolis’ underachieving performance.
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