I have never heard of anyone claiming Bud Adams had the wisdom of Solomon.  Today, however, Bud made a Solomon-like decision. He split the baby.

Bud’s decision today to retain Jeff Fisher for the final year of his contract was disappointing but not entirely unexpected. Bud had a chance to make a clean sweep by getting rid of both Jeff Fisher and Vince Young.  As it is, we’re rid of Vince but not Fish.  It could have been worse.  Bud could have announced, in a senior moment, that he was going to give Fisher an extension.

At least you can say Bud was smart enough to keep the better half.

We’ll have more on this breaking news later, I’m sure.

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Who else might Jeff Fisher outlast?

If Floyd Reese was still the Titans general manager, I wonder if he would argue on Jeff Fisher's behalf as Bud Adams evaluates Fisher's performance.

Ironically, Fisher outlasted Reese, who was dismissed three years ago, in January, 2007, ending a power struggle between them. Reese was hired shortly thereafter as an analyst for NFL Network and later accepted a front office position with the New England Patriots.

I believe that one of those occasions when Adams was about to fire Fisher was early in the 2002 season, and Adams said the Titans were being out-coached.  Adams' comment came after a 1-4 start and four straight losses.  This after the Titans had finished 7-9 the previous season.

The Titans entered the offseason with two particularly big questions to answer, one at the quarterback position and one at head coach.  We got an answer at the quarterback position yesterday, when owner Bud Adams announced Vince Young would not return in 2011.  The way the battle was normally portrayed, it was a question of bringing back either Vince Young or Jeff Fisher.  Adams' statement, though, included the following language:

"I also informed Jeff (Fisher) today that I was continuing the evaluation of the coaching staff and I am hoping to make a decision soon." 

Is Jeff Fisher's job safe now that the Titans are making a change at quarterback?  Should it be? The latest reports are that Fisher himself is probably safe, but that some of his staff is not.  As to whether or not this would be a good thing, I think it would be useful to compare how the Titans' results have fared to preseason expectations for the last six seasons and why they've departed.

According to a statement released by the team, the Tennessee Titans have decided to either trade or release QB Vince Young.

The logical assumption to make is that since Young's on his way out, we should expect Jeff Fisher to return to his customary role of roaming the Titans' sidelines as their head coach in 2011. Of course, we'll have to stay tuned to witness whether that occurs or not.

We'll certainly have more on this breaking development later. For now, feel free to voice your opinions about the decision to jettison VY in the comments section below.

Thanks to a 1-8 finish, the Tennessee Titans ended their once-promising but ultimately disappointing 2010 campaign with a 6-10 record. As a consolation prize for their inept play during the second half of the season, the Titans are now the rightful owners of a top ten draft selection in the 2011 NFL Draft.

That's right folks, with pick #8, the Titans will have a chance to grab a blue-chipper who can hopefully step right in and become a contributor from day one.

With several months to go and events such as the Senior Bowl, Combine and Pro Days looming on the immediate and not-so-immediate horizon, we'll have plenty of time to discuss what the Titans will do with their high first round selection.

Let's take the first of many looks at what the Titans may have in mind with their shiny, new top-ten draft pick.

Justin Gage (L) shouldn't be back in 2011.

I wrote in a recent article, Six positions the Titans need to upgrade in 2011, about the positions that needed an upgrade, either by a current Titan or a newcomer. In most cases, it will take a newcomer to accomplish the upgrade, and we’ll be looking at possible additions in the coming months.

This article focuses on the noteworthy Titans who probably won’t be back this year. We’ll look at this in two sections. First are those players who I am reasonably confident will not be back. The players in the next group have a chance of returning.

We’ll start with those who shouldn’t be back, after the break.

The Tennessee Titans weren't expected to put up much of a fight today with a wasted season. They ended up giving the Indianapolis Colts all they could handle, though, before a sadly familiar chain of events ended the Titans' dreams of an upset and left the Colts with a 23-20 triumph.

The game was a mix of the familiar and unfamiliar from the get-go.  The unfamiliar came first, with wideout Damian Williams taking a direct snap on the second play from scrimmage. Order was quickly restored after that, as the Titans punted after a Chris Johnson run on third and one failed to yield a first down.  The Colts drove down the field on mostly short plays but including a third-and-long conversion (all too familiar), after a sack, but were held to a field goal (unfamiliar).