2019 NFL Power Rankings: Who heads into summer at No. 1?

No. 24 – Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans have gone 9-7 the past three seasons. In 2016 and 2017, it was Mike Mularkey who saddled a talented unit and exhausted their window. In 2018, it was Mike Vrabel who tried to lead a fringe contender back to glory.

Both failed in their ultimate goals; to win. But in 2019, Vrabel will get another shot. Reviews were generally good for Vrabel in 2018, as they’ll often be for a head coach who went 9-7 in his first season. But now, the Titans are in a similar spot as they were in 2017. They have undeniable talent, but on the offensive side of the ball, there are tremendous questions. Is Marcus Mariota a quarterback who can lead this team past 9-7? And does the team have an offensive mind capable of elevating an unproven unit?

To both those questions, “no” is not a definite answer, but an instinctual one. Mariota has become a shell of his former self. Since his 2016 season, in which Mariota threw for 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions, Mariota has thrown for a combined 24 touchdowns and 23 interceptions over the span of 29 games. Once deemed a rising star, Mariota has sharply regressed, devolving into an inaccurate, non-dynamic threat. He still has 2019 to win back the Titans, and earn a new contract, but that’s where the second part of this equation complicates things.

As we’ve seen in recent years, for an offense to be successful, it generally has to have a suitable offensive mind running the show. There are exceptions to the rule; Russell Wilson shines despite Brian Schottenheimer’s ineptitude, and Aaron Rodgers produced in spite of, and sometimes to spite, Mike McCarthy. But generally, an offensive coordinator who doesn’t “get it” will provide an adverse effect that trickles down to every player, and especially the quarterback.

So, with that being said, how much confidence should be given to the Titans’ new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, whom the team had been grooming since 2011? The coordinator who was hired for continuity above all else? Effective, modern offensive minds don’t grow on trees, so it’s easy to be skeptical. And Vrabel is a defensive mind; he can rally the team, and he can help maximize the defense, but he can’t compile an offensive game plan. That’s not his specialty.

The Titans have a good amount of talent on the defensive side of the ball, and that unit could prove to be top ten in the NFL. But the offense is mired in uncertainty, and at its worst, it could be a very ugly 2019 campaign. The team’s best chance might be to engineer the offense around the run game, and that’s an inefficient style that leads to no sustainable success in the NFL. In a way, it’s cruelly fitting that the Titans find themselves where they are now. Because where they are, is where they’ve been all along.