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There is buzz. There are small nuggets.

But as we try to predict what the teams of the AFC South will do in the NFL draft at the end of the month, let’s remember this: There are a lot of people with minimal or no track records involved in the process, and those people as much as anyone have the ability to keep their scouts quiet.

The Texans are the same as they’ve been.

The Jaguars aren’t vastly different, though new owner Shad Khan could be of some influence in the overall thinking.

The Titans have a new general manager. While Ruston Webster was very influential in last year’s great haul as Mike Reinfeldt’s right-hand man, this is the first draft where he’s running the show and making the final call.

The Colts have a new general manager, and Ryan Grigson is younger and less experienced than Webster, and we have very little actual idea of how exactly he will run a draft room and ultimately make decisions.

I don't think either guy is going to spend a lot of time serving up information, or misinformation, as they complete preparations. So the search for real signals can be even more difficult.

We know Houston GM Rick Smith likes to take tight ends. We know Jacksonville GM Gene Smith likes to mine small schools.

What we don’t know about Webster and Grigson limits our ability to make educated guesses about what they will do. But it sure adds intrigue to what will unfold.

So, 89-year-old Titans owner Bud Adams was bold in going for Peyton Manning.

He said he’d be disappointed if his executives were unable to land the quarterback.

What now?

I can’t imagine that team president Mike Reinfeldt or general manager Ruston Webster, both recently promoted, will lose any standing with their boss here, even though Adams can be unreasonable on such things.

If anything, they actually should get a little leeway.

The Titans missed out on other free agents because they prioritized Manning, and they prioritized Manning at the instruction of Adams.

So it’s not completely Reinfeldt's or Webster's fault the Titans couldn’t land defensive end John Abraham, center Chris Myers or center Scott Wells.

Reinfeldt and Webster appear to have handled a meddling boss as best as they could. From Adams:

“I want to thank the whole organization for their efforts in trying to sign Peyton and also to Peyton for the time he put into the process. Peyton called me this morning to inform me of his decision and obviously I am disappointed, because I thought we would be a perfect fit.

“Now that we move forward, I want our fans to know that our expectations haven’t changed -- winning a championship is still the goal. I like our quarterback situation moving forward and we will continue to build the team through free agency and the draft with that goal in mind.

“I also want to commend Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker. They were thrown into a very difficult situation. Matt was very good for us last year; and at some point, we expect Jake to be our future franchise quarterback.”

The Titans have former Oakland linebacker Kamerion Wimbley in for a visit today, per Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

If the Titans are able to come out of free agency with Steve Hutchinson (already signed) and Wimbley, that’s not a terrible haul.

The last time Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams forced a quarterback on his brain trust, things didn’t pan out so well.

“VY is my guy,” wound up causing all sorts of acrimony in team headquarters as Vince Young's tenure was an overall failure.

But Adams’ declaration Sunday to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean that he wants Peyton Manning — despite team brass indicating strongly it wouldn’t pursue him — could be an entirely different story.

Adams said he’s spoken with Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, to make his intentions clear. Team president Mike Reinfeldt and general manager Mike Webster will surely now do all they can to help execute their boss’ wishes.

“He is the man I want. Period,” Adams said. “And the people that work for me understand that. They know who I want. I want Mr. Manning with the Titans and I will be disappointed if it doesn’t happen.”

Adams indicated no decision on if a visit’s been made, but seems to believe Manning is willing to listen provided he believes Reinfeldt and Webster are in line with the owners’ desires.

Those extend beyond Manning’s playing days.

“I want him to be with me the rest of his working period of his life,” Adams said, “even when he doesn’t want to play anymore.”

There has long been speculation in Tennessee that Manning could be involved in Titans’ management or even ownership in the years to come, in large part because while succession plans are in place for the aging Adams, there is no one in his family lined up to take over his role. His grandson works in the front office, but isn’t too long out of college.

So, are the Titans the mystery team many suggested would emerge in the Manning sweepstakes?

It seems like.

The team isn’t too far away from being good.

And there are reasons Manning would consider it: Coach Mike Munchak and offensive coordinator Chris Palmer are flexible types who would be easy to work with. Pass protection was excellent for Matt Hasselbeck last season. Running back Chris Johnson has rebounding to do but would benefit from an improved passing game. A healthy Kenny Britt could be a big threat for Manning. Nate Washington, Jared Cook and Damian Williams could make for a pretty good core of options to throw to.

The defense is a work in progress, but if the Titans can find one special pass-rusher, it could be primed to make a significant jump.

Would Manning be averse to two games a year against the Colts? I don’t think he’d mind taking on his old team. But considering the feelings he expressed for Indianapolis and its fans, the idea of going back regularly to play as a guest in Lucas Oil Stadium could factor in and hurt Adams’ bid.

One other thing to consider here: With Denver and Arizona emerging as favorites for Manning’s services, just when did Adams make his feelings known to Condon? If it was days ago, OK, they could be in it. If he was late, things could have been far enough along that the Titans have a minimal chance. Maybe Adams knows he can’t get Manning, but realizes he can curry favor with his team’s fans by coming out and saying he wants him. When Manning winds up playing for someone else, the Titans can say they tried.

What if they try and succeed?

With a healthy Manning in place, the Titans could certainly challenge the Texans for AFC South supremacy and leave a bunch of teams like the Broncos, Cardinals and Dolphins scrambling for quarterback answers. One of them would likely wind up with Hasselbeck.

The Tennessee Titans might be looking for help at safety early in the draft. Could an injury that kept a prime prospect out of the combine help that prospect slip to the Titans at No. 20?

Alabama safety Mark Barron looks to be a player who could solve a big issue in Tennessee. He’s a big (6-foot-1, 213 pounds), rangy playmaker who should be an opening day starter. He played both free and strong safety for Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.

“Big safety, athletic, smart, rare size and frame,” a scout told me at the combine. “Runs the show in a difficult defense to absorb. Very good kid. No issues. Coaches love him and trust him. Immediate starter wherever he goes. Injury is the only way he is available at 20.”

Barron underwent double sports hernia surgery after the Crimson Tide won the national championship, so he’s still in a rehab stage and didn’t work out at the combine.

“I feel good,” he said. “As far as me working out, I’m just doing rehab. I feel good, I feel like I can do whatever I need to do. I just haven’t been cleared to do certain things. That’s where I’m at right now ...

“I don’t have an exact time for when I’ll be 100 percent but I plan on working out late March … From what I’ve heard, it’s not going to really affect anything as far as where I get drafted.”

ESPN’s resident physical therapist Stephania Bell said once Barron is fully healed from the sports hernias, he won’t have a health issue.

Titans GM Ruston Webster said he doesn’t think an injury that won’t be a concern down the road generally has much impact on the draft position of a player.

“People are going to draft off what they see on film,” he said. “… Mark Barron is a big, tough, instinctive safety. He’s got size, he can play in the box and he can play deep.”

Like guards, safeties are generally not regarded as first-round priorities. Jeremy Mills of ESPN Stats & Information said 4.4 percent of first-round picks have been used on safeties over the past 10 years. Nearly three times as many first-round picks have been used on corners in that time frame.

I understand that draft strategy when there isn’t much talent there, as the case was last year. Rahim Moore was the first safety off the board in 2011, 13 picks into the second round to Denver. There wasn't a safety selected in the first round in 2009, either.

But a chance to draft a difference-making safety should be regarded the same as one at any other position. Maybe it should be viewed as an even bigger opportunity, because it's rarer.

“I feel like it’s very hard for us safeties to get in the first round, so I think that shows you that the position of safety is being undervalued,” Barron said. “… If a guy’s a good player, then he’s just a good player. I don’t see why, position-wise, if you have a better player that’s a safety and then you have a corner that might not be a better football player, I don’t see a reason why the corner should go ahead of the safety.

“I’ve seen it happen. I just don’t understand it but that’s not my position to pick.”

When the Titans drafted Texas safety Michael Griffin 19th overall in 2007, they were oddly wary of how the move would be regarded. They went on an extensive, pointless charade of calling him a cornerback. After they wasted a lot of time with him at corner, he started the seventh game of his rookie season -- at safety.

Now he’s heading for free agency. The Titans would be wise to attempt to upgrade rather than retain him, as he’s far too inconsistent, missing tackles at key times and playing his best only when those around him are doing the same. I want my safeties to be steady.

The Titans' GM-turned-president, Mike Reinfeldt, was a successful NFL safety. Griffin was Tennessee’s first first-round pick with Reinfeldt at the helm. Webster is now the GM who will have the strong hand in making the draft-day calls, and the Titans shouldn’t be wary of taking a safety in the first round again if Barron is there -- provided they haven't restocked in free agency.

The importance of a player like him is on the rise.

He can be a key countermeasure in gaining ground in nightmare matchups with tight ends such as Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez of the Patriots and Jimmy Graham of the Saints.

“He can cover tight ends,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said of Barron. “I need him to cover Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and he can do that.”

Not all analysts are in love with the Alabama safety, however.

“I think there is a good chance there will be no safeties that get drafted in the first round,” said Russ Lande, a former scout who now is a draft analyst for The Sporting News and GM Jr. “The reality is Barron is a good football player, but he’s not a premier athlete and there are teams that definitely have questions about his ability to be effective in deep pass coverage.

“Although I think he’s a good player who’s going to be a solid starter, I think there is a real likelihood he will be there at 20, that he will even be there in the second round.”

One of the things most teams do like about Barron is his experience at Alabama. He was the glue of a complex defense. The Titans' D will likely be more straightforward, but they sure could use a guy like that.

The team that drafts Barron will be expecting an intelligent player who can be plugged in, learn quickly and reliably play a scheme.

“We played in a very difficult defense, first of all,” Barron said. “We did a lot of different schemes. As far as communicating, I had a lot to do with that on the back end. I feel like sometimes I brought some energy with the hits that I made and things of that nature. So, I did a lot of different things.”

Tidbits from around the division this afternoon:

• Beyond owner Bud Adams’ final say when he wants it, the Titans will be a “GM-driven” team on personnel matters with Ruston Webster in the post, said Mike Reinfeldt, who’s now COO. (I was at the press conference.)
• Archie Manning shot down Rob Lowe’s Twitter “report” that Peyton Manning will retire. From Chris Mortensen: “Archie Manning laughed when he heard @RobLowe said Peyton will retire, "Noooo...he ain't retiring. I think he would've told me."
• Offensive line coach Pete Metzelaars and receivers coach Frank Reich have been let go by the Colts, says Phil Richards.
• The Colts did not have an interest in Jeff Fisher, Irsay tweeted.
• Matt Schaub has joined Twitter.

How much do the Titans value vice president of pro personnel Ruston Webster and vice president of football administration Lake Dawson?

Enough that they shuffled their front office to keep St. Louis and Jeff Fisher from plucking either one away to become the Rams’ new general manager.

The team promoted Mike Reinfeldt to senior executive vice president/COO after serving as the team’s general manager for the past five seasons, and Webster was elevated to executive vice president/general manager after serving two seasons as the VP of player personnel. Dawson has been promoted to vice president of player personnel, replacing Webster.

It’s a bold move to keep together a trio the organization likes a great deal.

Reinfeldt will now serve as the primary Nashville connection to Houston-based owner Bud Adams and both Webster and coach Mike Munchak will be able to take issues to him. The last person to hold such a post, Steve Underwood, retired before the 2011 season.

“Mike has done a nice job for us as our general manager, but I believe we need someone in place who oversees the entire franchise there in Nashville,” owner Bud Adams said. “Mike is uniquely qualified for that position with his previous experience. Our VP’s have done an outstanding job over the past couple of years managing their departments, but this will streamline things to have someone on site to direct the entire organization and who will execute things the way I want them done.

“With this shuffle, we really have the best of both worlds -- as you might remember our final two candidates when we were filling the general manager position five years ago were Mike (Reinfeldt) and Ruston Webster. We now have both of them working for us and Ruston will take over the general manager role.”

It’s an effective move by the Titans to play keep-away with Webster and Dawson who were candidates for the general manager post in St. Louis, where Jeff Fisher is the new coach.

We know Jeff Fisher is in play for Miami and St. Louis. Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz told PFT he believes Fisher is in the mix in Indianapolis too.

Indications are Fisher will listen to everyone. But coaching code says you don’t talk about a job that’s not vacant, so I don’t think he’d go beyond backchannel communication while Jim Caldwell remains in place.

At any rate, Fisher is the hot veteran coaching candidate and until he’s coach somewhere, he still qualifies foremost as the Titans former head coach and falls under our purview. He said last week in an interview on Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone that a GM and a quarterback were the two biggest factors for him as he explores job opportunities.

So some thoughts on his eventual re-emergence in the coaching ranks.

Power: There can be a misperception he’d want general manager powers. He won’t. He wants to work with a GM he gets along with and can build consensus with. Fisher will want control of his 53-man roster. And he won’t want a situation where a GM is forcing free agents or draft picks on him that he and his staff don’t want. But wanting a voice is a lot different from wanting to be a de facto GM. He believes in the value of a traditional coach-GM split and has no desire to work the scouting end of things as a fulltime GM.

General manager friends: Fisher’s got strong relationships with Rich McKay of the Falcons and Bill Polian, just let go by the Colts, as he served with both on the NFL’s competition committee. McKay’s in an administrative capacity now, but could he want back into football? He wouldn’t come cheaply. Polian is probably too strong a personality. I have no feel for the relationship between Fisher and Chris Polian, who was also let go.

When the Titans replaced Floyd Reese in 2007 it was largely because Fisher and Reese’s relationship had frayed. Among the replacement candidates Fisher helped interview before the Titans hired Mike Reinfeldt were: Ruston Webster (now with Reinfeldt in Tennessee), Reggie McKenzie (Green Bay’s director of football administration), Ron Hill (NFL VP of football operations), Mike Ackerley (now a Texans scout) and Charles Bailey (former Jaguars pesonnel executive). The Titans wanted to talk to Randy Mueller, then with Miami, but didn’t get permission. He’s now with San Diego as “senior executive.”

Maybe Fisher hit it off with one of those guys and would like to work with them. At years of league meetings and functions, he’s likely formed friendships we don’t know about with other, future-GM types.

If Fisher lands in a situation where he comes in hand in hand with a GM or in advance of a GM, he’ll have a guy or two to put forward and be open to forming a new relationship if he hits it off with an existing GM or an owner’s candidate.

Assistants: His primary assistant coaches may be hard to predict.

His top defensive lieutenants from Tennessee are booked up. Gregg Williams is the coordinator in New Orleans and may be a head coaching candidate himself. If he was free, Fisher could pounce. Jim Schwartz is head coach in Detroit. (Brandon Fisher works on Schwartz’s staff.) Chuck Cecil may be radioactive as he was a central figure in things coming apart for Fisher with the Titans. He could return to the league as a defensive backs coach, but Fisher would have to answer for a lot if he wanted to make Cecil coordinator. He’d certainly take recommendations from Williams and Schwartz about up-and-comers from the defensive staffs with their teams. Detroit linebacker coach Matt Burke was a young assistant on Fisher’s staff who went with Schwartz for a promotion.

Fisher’s top offensive friend and long-time coordinator, Mike Heimerdinger, died recently after a battle with cancer. Fisher could look to his former running backs coach Sherman Smith, who’s now in the post with Seattle. But Smith’s lone stint as an offensive coordinator didn’t include play-calling duties under Jim Zorn in Washington. Titans quarterback coach Dowell Loggains is a bright young mind, but like Burke he may not be ready yet.

While Fisher spent time away from the game in a year off, he certainly has lists of coaches he would pursue and could get. But he’d be going with people he’s not worked with before at a lot of spots -- like on the offensive line, where his former position coach, Mike Munchak, and his best line player, Bruce Matthews, are not available.

Markets: He can be a star behind those shades. But don’t think he’ll take the bright lights of Miami over more low-key St. Louis or Indianapolis if he’s choosing.

Fisher enjoyed the ability to be anonymous at times in Nashville and the willingness of the population to allow him a large degree of privacy. He’s a Southern California guy who loves spending time at his Montana cabin.

He's not desperate for a beach, or television lights.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Halfway through the first season of what they’ve sold as a new era, the Titans are a wishy-washy team. They are capable of good, but often likely to mix in enough bad to offset it.

Sunday they played a solid first half, then basically disappeared. The half-and-half performance matched their halfway record of 4-4 and showed them to be a marginal team.

The 24-17 loss to the Bengals was built out of a 17-7 halftime lead. Cincinnati wore the Titans down and beat them up, showed them what it was like to have a productive premier young weapon, got better instead of worse as the game moved toward crunch time and established themselves as much more of a realistic AFC playoff contender.

The Titans talked a lot about their lack of plays while defending their alleged playmakers.

The lockout cost every team with a new coaching staff and every team with a new quarterback. This team has both and might still be suffering ill effects. But it’s long past the point where it can use that as an excuse.

“The record is what it is, so that’s what we are,” general manager Mike Reinfeldt said. “It’s frustrating because we’ve played really well at times. But we’ve played equally as poorly at times. I’m not quite sure what we are. When you see the glimpses in the first half of what we’re capable of, it makes the second half very frustrating.

“Maybe in a regular year, you would know, but I’m not sure what we are. We need to know in the next two or three weeks, we’ll know if we’re contending or pretending. I think we have a chance to get better.”

If you're still dealing with an identity crisis halfway through the season, you've got issues.

Among them...

Weapons: I understand why the Titans drafted a quarterback eighth overall, and I endorsed them taking one if they thought they were getting a long-term solution. But right now Jake Locker is about the future, not the present.

And, boy, could the present quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, use a deeper pool of receivers -- not that one was sitting there for them at No. 8 as the Bengals had already taken A.J. Green and Julio Jones was already wearing a Falcons hat. Without Kenny Britt, gone since suffering a torn ACL in Week 3, the Titans are unthreatening.

The Titans came into the season touting a trio of playmakers in Britt, running back Chris Johnson and tight end Jared Cook.

Johnson's miserable season's been well-documented. He had a good first half with 55 yards on nine carries, then took five carries 9 yards in the second. And although the team pushed the ball to Cook more against the Bengals, his lost fumble with 3:49 left in the game and the Titans down 21-17 meant the offense would be in complete desperation mode once it got the ball back.

“Of course we have enough weapons,” Cook said afterward. But what else could be said by a guy defending himself and his teammates who knows Calvin Johnson won’t be walking into the locker room?

Said offensive coordinator Chris Palmer: “We have the team that we have and it’s our jobs as coaches to try to get them to play as well as they can play. I think some guys are playing very, very well. I think there are some guys that are playing up to their ability and we just have to do it for 60 minutes. They show spurts.”

Very, very well? Really?

Out of sync: I think there are still too many plays on offense where Hasselbeck and his targets look out of sync. I tend to lean toward giving the veteran quarterback the benefit of the doubt in such situations, and coach Mike Munchak said last week that in such situations Hasselbeck is right more often than not.

But Palmer said sometimes against the Bengals, balls came out rushed. That can throw things off when the quarterback and intended receiver have to read things the same way.

Hasselbeck is clearly unhappy that such issues continue to linger and that he’s been unable to get them solved.

“It’s just us, it’s a partnership,” he said. “It’s frustrating. If we could just fix that part, we probably win this game. … We’ve got to be more crisp.”

The solution comes with doing things better in practice, then carrying them over, he said. The failures in this game mean the issue will be magnified as the team prepares for a trip to Carolina, and that emphasis could help get it fixed.

Or guys like Cook and receivers Damian Williams and Lavelle Hawkins might just not equipped to be the sort of crisp options the Titans need. I lean more and more in that direction.

Defensive shortcomings: Rookies roasted the Titans' defense. Andy Dalton threw three touchdowns for the Bengals while only taking one sack and Green caught all seven balls thrown his direction for a game-high 83 yards.

On a third-and-18 early in the fourth quarter when Dalton hit Green for 20 yards up the right side, the receiver was bracketed by corner Jason McCourty and safety Michael Griffin. While the ball was in the air, it looked as likely to be a pick as a catch.

But the two Titans smashed into each other as Green went up and made the catch, extending the touchdown drive that put Cincinnati up for good. Griffin and McCourty were down hurt for some time, though they returned to action later.

“It doesn’t matter about rookies,” Tennessee defensive coordinator Jerry Gray said. “He threw the ball up, we had two guys around him, he made the play. What else are you going to say? They made plays and we didn’t.”

He repeated that several times, as did many Titans players.

It’s a bit of a simplistic, one-note theme from a ticked-off coach and upset players. Gray is likely to offer deeper theories about why the Bengals made plays and the Titans didn't in the meeting room after he’s watched film.

But defensive tackle Shaun Smith knows this much already: “When you’re up by 10, there is no reason why you should lose a game. … The coach put us in position to make plays and we didn’t make plays.”

The Titans better flip the playmaking formula quickly.

Otherwise, they’ll be downgraded right out of the category of fringe playoff contenders, already a grouping far below the one they thought they’d qualify for back when they were 3-1.

When Jacksonville cut him just before the season, the widespread presumption was that David Garrard would be quickly scooped up. But the former Jaguars quarterback remains out of work, reportedly unsatisfied with a scenario Miami recently presented.

Jacob Ford was a pretty effective situational pass-rusher for the Titans, but didn’t rate as a fit for them as they changed their defense and went with bigger ends. When healthy, former Jaguar Vince Manuwai can be a top-flight run blocking guard. Like Garrard, they seemed like players who would land another job in relative short order.

But more than a month into the season, they and many others who may still be NFL-caliber players are floating around, jobless.

Why?

My theory is that when Team X spends a draft pick, money, time and resources to develop a player and ultimately decides he can no longer help, the rest of the league tends to think, “We’d rather develop our guy than take a chance on theirs, considering they’ve given up on him.”

“There are a lot of good players out there,” Titans defensive end Dave Ball said. “Look at guys coming through for workouts [and] not getting picked up. [Safety] Chris Horton came through here and worked out. He was playing a big role for the Redskins, a big role, a couple years ago.

“It’s tough. When you get cut, it can take a while. I got cut and it took me a year-plus to get back with somebody. I think it’s a big confidence-shaker for teams looking to pick people up.”

Teams typically have realistic views of their own players, at least in time. Fans can tend to overvalue their own.

Ball said Ford is a good pass-rusher who should definitely be on a team, and that it’s scary to look at the landscape of a league where there is not a spot for him.

As more and more teams devote themselves to building through the draft, they seem to be less interested in pulling in an outsider during the season if they don’t have a hole created by injury.

Surely former Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu expected to be working again by now.

For a lot of No. 1 picks, it’s different. Aaron Maybin, a defensive end drafted in the first round by Buffalo in 2009 but cut after two seasons, was of interest to more than one team and got signed by the Jets. The Colts scooped up former Atlanta No. 1 pick Jamaal Anderson and are getting good run-down work from him. Linebacker Ernie Sims was a similar acquisition, but he’s been hurt.

“There are a lot of people who will take that first-rounder, anticipating that they may not be able to get a full 60 minutes out of him, but maybe they can get two quarters of No. 1-draft pick play out of him, kind of using him in a role,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. “There are some teams that do a great job of that, take guys who have been No. 1s, plug them in and say, 'All I need is a quarter or two quarters' or 'All I need is third down from this guy' and try to utilize him that way.”

As for lesser picks who are still floating out there, Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt said he thinks it’s still early and a lot of those guys will wind up playing.

The lockout also contributed to less opportunity. Reinfeldt said the draft pick a team might have given up on after spending the spring and summer with him got the benefit of the doubt as teams needed more time to evaluate.

“It was all so quick,” Reinfeldt said. “You didn’t get the opportunity to evaluate them the way you did in the past, so some made it because of who they were. This year was so compressed, I think some rookies made it just because the period of inspection and scrutiny wasn’t what it usually was. And that came at the expense of those other guys.”

Draft picks are such a premium commodity. Teams love to gather them, hate to part with them, and believe their scouting system can find them quality with each one.

Linebacker Barrett Ruud moved from the Buccaneers to the Titans as a free agent this season. He sees building your own guys as the central theme when it comes to opportunity these days.

“Teams want to develop the guy they brought up,” Ruud said. “Sometimes you’ve got a young guy and maybe it’s his first chance to start a game. You bring in someone to start in front of him and his confidence is shattered.

“I don’t think it’s a reflection so much of how somebody got cut. I think it’s more a reflection of a team wanting to develop a guy they brought in.”

When the Titans' 2010 season unraveled, it was a huge disappointment. But it was laced with sadness too because in the middle of it all, offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger learned he had cancer and began a battle he couldn't win.

Heimerdinger, who had two stints in the coordinator post for Jeff Fisher in Tennessee, died Friday night at the age of 58.

It’s a big blow to those who knew him. He was a gruff and demanding coach, but his public persona was painted too broadly based on those qualities. He was not all about screaming and hollering, though he tended to be loud as he tried to help players see the error of their ways and come to understand the right way to do things.

Beyond that exterior coaching personality, he was funny and smart, loyal with high standards. He was a no-nonsense Chicago guy who I thought could one day wind up coaching the Bears and being reunited with Jay Cutler, a player who had some of his best days working with Heimerdinger in Denver.

Two successful NFL head coaches, Mike Shanahan and Fisher, counted Heimerdinger among their closest friends and valued his football opinion.

In Heimerdinger's first term as Fisher’s coordinator with the Titans, he helped round out the late Steve McNair’s game and was a big factor in McNair’s co-MVP award in 2003.

I got to know him as a Titans beat writer, and he was the kind of coach a reporter had to respect. If he saw something he thought was wrong, he would search for you and spell out why.

Once, after I’d written that the organization was simply too protective of McNair when it maintained a poor game was not his fault, he pulled me into his office.

He clicked through film of every drop-back McNair took in the game in question, his red laser pointer drawing my eye to the important spots. McNair made the right read and went to the right place with all but two throws that day. He showed me that in great detail, spelling out the reads. A lot of plays that didn’t come off correctly, he illustrated, were because of good defense, a bad block or route or a bad play call by the coordinator. I left with a new understanding I could put to use as I covered that offense going forward.

It amounted to the best, most memorable postgame review of a player I’ve ever had with a coach.

Heimerdinger was in Mexico, where his search for aggressive treatments led him, when he died.

His wife, Kathie, released a statement that’s part of Jim Wyatt’s piece on his passing.

We have been overwhelmed and incredibly touched by all of the support that we have felt from family, friends, fellow coaches, players, fans and the league this past year. It is with a heavy heart, but a trust in God, that we say goodbye to our beloved Dinger who lost his courageous battle with cancer yesterday. Mike approached cancer with the same vigor and tenacity that he approached any football game — to win. Even in the final minutes he never gave up — that was our Dinger.

He was a deeply devoted husband and father, loving son and brother, loyal friend and committed coach who loved the game and life. The coming days will be challenging for our family and we graciously and respectfully ask that you allow us to grieve privately.

Here’s ESPN.com’s story and Liz Merrill’s piece on Heimerdinger during his fight.

Here are statements on Heimerdinger released this morning by the Titans:

General manager Mike Reinfeldt

We are saddened today to hear the tragic news of Mike passing. Mike was a good man that brought a great level of dedication and professionalism to his job. He was brave in his fight over the last year and showed such a commitment to the game. Nothing was going to stop him last season from being a part of the team and having his stamp on the games. Our thoughts go out to Kathie and his kids through this difficult time. Mike and his family will always be with us.

Head coach Mike Munchak

My prayers are with his family. Mike was a great football coach; and over the years, we had a great relationship. I learned a lot of football from Mike and I have a number of great memories and experiences that will always be with me. It is just hard to believe his is gone. It is a sad day for his family and for those who knew him.

Running back Chris Johnson

He was a great coach and a tough coach. I know I wouldn’t have become the player I am without his confidence and the trust that he showed in me. My thoughts go out to his family.

Tackle Michael Roos

You don’t expect these types of things to happen and they shouldn’t happen. I felt confident that he was going to beat this after seeing his resolve last season in dealing with it. He was such a competitor and a fighter – the things that made him such a good coach were also the traits that I thought would lead him to beat the cancer. My prayers are with his family.

Former Titans center and current NFLPA President Kevin Mawae

It is with great regret and sorrow that we learn of the passing of Coach Mike Heimerdinger. "Dinger", as many people knew him, was a great coach and a good man. For those who knew him and played for him, they knew Dinger was a man who loved his family, enjoyed his players, and loved the game of football. Dinger's fight with cancer was indicative of the type of person he was; determined and courageous. It was my privilege to play for Dinger while with the New York Jets and the Tennessee Titans. I am better for having known and played for him. The NFL community has lost a great member of its fraternity this week. On behalf of the National Football League Players Association, the players offer their condolences to Kathie, Alicia, Brian and the rest of the Heimerdinger family.

Former Titans running back Eddie George

Any time you lose a friend, you feel it. My heart goes out to his family, it is a terrible loss. Mike was a highly competitive coach and person, who expected and demanded nothing but the best from you. He was a good guy to be around and he will surely be missed in this world.

Former tight end Frank Wycheck

I am really sad to hear the news today. Mike was a man of many qualities – he was humble, he was funny and he was demanding. I loved being with him on the golf course, he was a lot of fun to hang out with. From the coaching side, he brought a different element to our offense when he arrived. He took us to a different level in the passing game. He expected all of us to be accountable and he was a perfectionist when it came to executing his offense.

Over the last year, what he went through gave him great perspective of his life -- he was thankful and proud of what he accomplished.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- No offense to Sarah Hasselbeck, but in many ways when her husband decided to join the Tennessee Titans, he signed on for a second marriage.

Matt Hasselbeck and Mike Munchak are an NFL couple.

A new starting quarterback and a new NFL head coach can make for a new vibe, a new message, a new offense and a new direction.

The two are still relative newlyweds because of the lockout, but the early days have brought plenty of bliss, to the pair as well as those rooting for it.

It’s just three games. But the small sampling of their work together suggests the Titans can contend for the AFC South title.

Munchak is effectively conveying simple messages to his team and Hasselbeck is buying into them and passing them on.

“I just feel that my job as quarterback is, I don’t really care what we do, I just need to know what the coaching staff wants to do and then I can be the flag bearer on that stuff,” Hasselbeck said. “Whatever the message is for the week, let me know, coach, and I’ll be spreading the message. Whatever you want emphasized, I’ll make sure that gets emphasized.”

Munchak and offensive coordinator Chris Palmer have done well with the clarity and scope of those messages, Hasselbeck said. They aren’t vague or general or generic. They are game specific, opponent specific or specific to something the team needs to do better. As a Hall of Fame player, Munchak wanted those straightforward messages, not convoluted riddles that needed figuring out.

The Munchak-Hasselbeck relationship so far appears to be the sort most coaches and quarterbacks would like to have. That he’s not calling plays helps, Munchak said, as he’s sort of a buffer in the heat of the moment.

He’s seen his share of volatile coach-quarterback dealings. Warren Moon and Jack Pardee weren’t necessarily at odds, but Munchak did say their relationship wasn’t the one he wants with Hasselbeck.

“I want to have with him what I had with my linemen as an offensive line coach,” Munchak said. “A guy I can trust the way I could trust so many guys -- Kevin Mawae, Bruce Matthews, Jason Mathews -- I had so many guys I had relationships with who could spread the message on how to do things. ...

“Matt’s been around 13 years. He doesn’t need all the fluff. He needs the facts and he wants to know, ‘What exactly can I do to help? Let’s get to the point of this thing.’”

Heading into the Week 3 game against Denver, the theme was winning first down.

“I think Munch is a pretty straightforward guy and he does a good job of being to the point,” Hasselbeck said. “There is not a whole lot of gray area. As a player, that makes it easy; you go out and you know what your coach is looking for. He keeps it pretty simple. ‘Hey, I want you to win first down.’ Gotcha.”

In his first experience as a head coach, Munchak teamed up with general manager Mike Reinfeldt to plan a quarterback strategy after the team decided it was done with Vince Young. The Titans drafted Jake Locker eighth overall, but set themselves up with Hasselbeck, too, a veteran they believed could excel with top-flight pass protection, something the Titans' offensive line has offered.

If Hasselbeck tops 300 passing yards Sunday in Cleveland, it will be the first time in his career he’s done so three games in a row.

He, Palmer and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains talk of how there is no defense for the perfect throw.

Another way I’ve heard people talking about it is that Hasselbeck “throws people open.” I like that phrase. It’s something Titans quarterbacks haven’t done in recent years. It’s something he’ll have to do with players like Damian Williams and Lavelle Hawkins now that Kenny Britt is gone.

Hasselbeck’s consciously factored his experience with change while he was in Seattle into his approach in Tennessee, where the talk is already of a late-career renaissance.

“In the last three years, I think, I’ve had a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator and I handled all three years a little differently,” he said. “One year I handled it where I was real assertive and wanted to get my way. Another year I said, ‘Hey, I’m just going to sit back.’ I’m probably handling this one differently, learning from some of my past mistakes.

“I’m not trying to impart anything from my past. I’m not trying to ask for anything I’ve done. I’m just trying to learn what they’ve done here and what they want to do here. I’ve kind of tried to come in here like I have no experience and no football knowledge at all. Because I’ve done that, my focus has been 100 percent on trying to run the stuff.”

The stuff has worked well enough so far. The new coach and the new quarterback are in lockstep. Smart messages are being well received. For now, it amounts to fresh air in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Wearing a Cincinnati Reds hat and the sort of grin that comes after a huge payday, Chris Johnson met with the Tennessee media Friday evening.

Points of note out of that chat...

• He said he agreed with Mike Reinfeldt when the GM suggested the prolonged holdout amounted to a “family argument situation.”
• On getting up to football speed: “I’ve been working out every single day just staying in shape. Once I get out there on the field, that something for me and the coaches to get worked out, just to see how my body reacts off the things that they give me. In my mindset and the player that I am, of course I feel I am ready to take the whole load and be out there on Sunday. But you never know your body until you go through the situation.”
• He didn’t watch much of the Titans in their four preseason games because he found it difficult to watch his teammates without him.
• On avoiding the sort of injury that sidelines a lot of holdouts after they return: “I’m sure other guys that went through my situation and went out there and something happened to them, I am pretty sure they tried all the remedies and stretching and doing different things. But I think it’s just a situation where you have to pray about it and ask God to keep you safe out there and hopefully you don’t pull anything.”
• The goals are a playoff appearance and a Super Bowl. Only after he mentioned them did he say he’ll always want to rush for 2,000 yards.
• On staying motivated: “I feel like if I’m not the best player at my position or the best player out there on the field I don’t feel like I am doing my job. Just because I got this deal I don’t think that I won’t play as hard as I’ve been playing.”
• He’s not going to willingly hand carries over to Javon Ringer and/or Jamie Harper early in the season while getting up to speed. “I’d like to get all the reps, that’s just the type of player I am,” he said to laughter. “At the end of the day it’s about more than the big contract and all the money, that’s the business side… When I’m here I want to be the best. When it’s time to win, I want the team to count on me. I want to put the team on my shoulders and steer us to victory.”
• Johnson contacted St. Louis running back Steven Jackson and New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis before his holdout to talk to them about their experiences. They told him to be prepared for it to be difficult and to be lonely. Throughout the dispute he said they called on him to check on how he was doing. “That helped a lot,” Johnson said.

Reading the coverage…

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Houston Texans

If you like different, Arian Foster is different, and that's not a bad thing in a world of processed, sanitized and approved quotes, says Richard Justice. Amen.

Texans defenders love being coached by Wade Phillips, says Jeffrey Martin.

Indianapolis Colts

Anthony Gonzalez is realistic about the chance of being cut, says Mike Chappell. I understand that his lack of availability is a big issue. But who’s the receiver they’d keep ahead of him?

Safety Joe Lefeged and wide receiver David Gilreath have major opportunities to be returners for the Colts, says Phil Richards.

Bob Sanders has a fresh start in San Diego, says Sam Farmer.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The push for a pass rush continues for the Jaguars, says Vito Stellino.

Blaine Gabbert’s learned a lot about how he reacts to blitzes, says Tania Ganguli.

Question about the health of Rashad Jennings from Gene Frenette. (Look to the bottom.)

Tennessee Titans

The fraternity of former GMs laud Mike Reinfeldt for staying within the parameters of the running back market with regard to Chris Johnson, writes Jim Wyatt.

Expect an early exit for Matt Hasselbeck in New Orleans, says John Glennon.

Seven Titans will sit out the preseason finale, says Glennon.

Here's the statement the Titans released from GM Mike Reinfeldt after today's meeting with Chris Johnson:

“We had a meeting today with myself, Vin Marino (Titans VP Football Administration), Chris Johnson and Joel Segal. It was important for us to have a face-to-face meeting so that everyone could have a voice and understand the perspective of the other side. I’m not sure there was any progress made, but I do think it was beneficial to meet. We were able to discuss several different elements of a potential contract, but there was no agreement on those topics. I do expect to have another conversation with Joel in the next day or so to discuss things further.”

Later, after practice, Mike Munchak told Nashville reporters he'd yet to speak to Reinfeldt and didn't know if he'd speak to Johnson.

But he was encouraged that the meeting took place.

"I think when someone comes into town you are at least heading in the right direction," he said. "What happens when they come in I don’t know, but at least it’s good that Chris did come in and hopefully that’s a good sign. I know he wants to get this thing resolved and know he wants to play this year and I don’t think he wants to take the chance of missing games early so you hope his thinking is that same as ours and not to just be here but help us win the Jacksonville game."

What’s changed? We don’t know.

Who initiated this? We don’t know that, either.

Chris Johnson tweeted Tuesday afternoon that he and agent Joel Segal will be in Nashville Wednesday morning to meet with Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt.

It does not mean someone budged from stalemate positions where the Titans are willing to make Johnson the NFL’s highest-paid running back. Johnson wants to be considered as more of a playmaker and feels he's worth even more.

There are a lot of unanswered questions, and we may never know how this has come about.

It’s early -- yes, I said early, with opening day still almost three weeks away -- for either side to have made a major concession, I think.

More likely, someone checked in and the two sides agreed that a face-to-face, cards-on-the-table meeting was in order. With things going nowhere, it would be hard for such a meeting to make things worse. And it could make them better.

Reinfeldt told Tennessean writer Jim Wyatt recently that the sides were so far apart on parameters that it wasn’t even worth it to make an offer.

He should make one tomorrow anyway.

If Johnson has to walk out of the room passing on a check for $26 million or $28 million or $30 million, it’s a whole different deal than standing his ground from a distance.

(Here is one idea for a starting point.)

And although public pressure isn’t going to be the ultimate determining factor, a good share of fans and media who think Johnson deserves big dollars will move to the Titans’ side of things if Johnson actually walks away from such an offer.