AFC South: Tim Hauck

The Titans have struggled at wide receiver since they moved to Tennessee and were still the Oilers, way back in 1997.

Mike Munchak’s choice as position coach for a group that now has some real promise with Kenny Britt and Damian Williams, then, sure seems curious. It’s Dave Ragone, the former Louisville and Houston Texans quarterback.

New offensive coordinator Chris Palmer joined Tennessee from the Hartford franchise of the UFL, and Ragone was his quarterbacks coach. That’s it for Ragone’s coaching experience.

Young coaches are the rage, and it’s unfair to simultaneously complain that Palmer, 61, is too old while Ragone, 31, is too young.

Still, what sort of clout will Ragone carry with someone like Britt, when he’s just nine years older and had no college or pro experience as a receiver?

“Dave came in and had a really good interview with us,” Munchak said in the Titans’ announcement. “He is a smart guy who Chris has worked with as a player and coach. He has a great understanding of offense and how it all fits together and I believe he will be a good fit for the receivers room. He will give them a different perspective and different approach to the game. There are a number of former college and pro quarterbacks that have become great wide receiver coaches and I think Dave will be another one in that group.”

I do see some college guys that fit that description -- David Culley (who’s in Philadelphia), Kippy Brown (Seattle), Jerry Sullivan (who spent the last six seasons with San Francisco and now looks to be retiring), Palmer himself. Help me out if you’ve got an NFL quarterback who fits the bill, though.

I’m left with this question, though I know Palmer will be very involved with Ragone: If Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews needs a veteran assistant in his offensive line room, will Ragone get one?

Other Titans staff news:
  • Art Valero is the new assistant offensive line coach. He has 21 years of college experience and nine as an NFL assistant.
  • Chet Parlavecchio is the new assistant special teams coach, replacing Marty Galbraith, who was let go. Parlavecchio played with Munchak at Penn State, has been an assistant at Temple but comes from a high school job in New Jersey.
  • Arthur Smith as defensive assistant/quality control. He’s worked for the Redskins and Ole Miss.
  • Tim Hauck, assistant secondary coach under Jeff Fisher, was let go. Secondary coach Marcus Robertson will be retained. He played for new defensive coordinator Jerry Gray in 1999-2000 when Gray coached the Titans defensive backs.

Where apologies might be in order

August, 30, 2010
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A friend of mine used to have a fallback breakup line: “I can’t help how I feel.”

I often use that when a reader might engage me in a debate about an opinion.

Some of those opinions, particularly on the prediction/forecast front, evolve, and I can't help if how I feel now is different than how I felt then based on more evidence.

So here’s one changed feeling or apology per AFC South team based on what I’ve seen and heard through camps and three-fourths of the preseason.

Houston Texans

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Arian Foster
Thomas Campbell/US PresswireArian Foster looks like a safe bet to carry Houston's rushing load.
I’ve said over and over that two games is a small sample size for Arian Foster. While his move to the top of the depth chart was based on his performance at the end of last season when he started twice, I also still think it was initially based on hope. But his camp, his preseason, the way the Texans intend to use him, the season-ending injury to Ben Tate and the lack of a huge challenge from Steve Slaton have amounted to the stars aligning. The great game against Dallas can’t get too much weight based on the Cowboys’ weak effort. Still, it doesn’t mean nothing. Increasingly, I like Foster’s chances to be a difference maker for the Texans.

Indianapolis Colts

Honestly, I look over their depth chart and I can’t find anyone I feel like I’ve been super down on. I like this team, I think it’s potentially better than last season’s team. Strongside linebacker Philip Wheeler is a guy that I’ve doubted in the past who I think is in position to be better than I thought. Same, perhaps, for Tony Ugoh, though it’s awfully hard to make any sort of offensive line judgment since injuries have scrambled things so much. Once Charlie Johnson is healthy, I still think we could see Ugoh at left guard. I think he’s in the best place he’s been mentally and that it could pay off.

Jacksonville Jaguars

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Marc Mariani
Jim Brown/US PresswireMarc Mariani is on his way to earning a spot on the Titans' roster.
By the latter part of 2009, I was on board with the thinking that Derrick Harvey was turning into a good run-stopping player and in the mold of what most teams like in their left defensive end. Yes, he was definitely overdrafted when the Jaguars traded up to No. 8 overall to get him in 2008. But at that point people were looking to him as a pass rushing star and staple. Now, he’s probably fourth of the four starters. But playing with tackles Terrance Knighton and Tyson Alualu and opposite Aaron Kampman, Harvey could really be a quality player in a revamped front

Tennessee Titans

I hit the Marc Mariani selection too hard when the Titans spent a seventh-round pick on the receiver out of Montana. Jeff Fisher’s son played at Montana and assistant secondary coach Tim Hauck also played at the school. But Mariani wasn’t a sentimental pick or just a flier who got extra points because of his school and connections. He can play. He drew early praise -- something some veterans struggle to get -- from Mike Heimerdinger at practices. While the Titans would like for Damian Williams to win the return jobs, he’s been not so hot in his two preseason games of work, and it’s possible Mariani could be the guy for the opener against Oakland.
Is Tye Hill a magic solution for the Titans who have a hole at one of their starting cornerback spots? No.

But if you don’t have a clear-cut starter, the next thing you want is options. And the Titans have done well to supplement second-year corners Ryan Mouton and Jason McCourty with veteran free agents Rod Hood and now Hill.

Hill’s agreed to a one-year deal with the Titans, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

We have a scouting take on Hill here.

Based on that, the question now is how well Chuck Cecil, Marcus Robertson and Tim Hauck are able to coach Hill up to get him in position to be a contributor. But if they do great work with Mouton and McCourty, it may not turn out to matter much.

Some will now extrapolate that the Titans will definitely go defensive end in the first round of the draft. I think their total work in free agency leaves them in a spot where they do not have to address any one spot at No. 16.

But the pool of ends and their two moves at corner certainly leave them the room to go for a pass-rusher if one they love is there.

Titans have wealth of safety nets

February, 17, 2009
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Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

Chris Hope and Michael Griffin were both Pro Bowlers.

The Titans' starting safeties have more experienced resources in team headquarters than anyone else on the roster.

General manager Mike Reinfeldt was an AFC Defensive Player of the Year as a safety. And coach Jeff Fisher, who played in the league as a defensive back with the Chicago Bears, has three safeties on his staff:

  • Newly promoted defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil was an NFL safety for seven years, earning one Pro Bowl spot.
  • Newly promoted secondary coach Marcus Robertson was a safety who was once a first-team All-Pro.
  • New assistant secondary coach Tim Hauck played 13 seasons in the league as a safety.

"We're not lacking safeties in coaching and the front office, that's for sure," Fisher said with a laugh. "I think there is a lot to be said for that experience, because they understand their limitations. We've always said great players don't necessarily make great coaches. But a lot of times, players who've hung around the league a long time -- not the overachiever types, but those who played because they had the mental framework to compete and be successful -- oftentimes make real good coaches."

After he was finished playing, Robertson spent four years as the Titans' director of player development.

But watching him watch practices and games, you could tell he yearned for more and thought he could make a difference. I remember asking him once if he wouldn't fear the time demands of working as a coach when he had three young children at home, and he said he'd welcome the challenge.

When Cecil took over as defensive backs coach in 2007, Fisher carved out a spot for Robertson as Cecil's assistant.

With Jim Schwartz moving to Detroit to take over as Lions coach, Fisher bumped both Cecil and Robertson -- who had three of their four starters in the Pro Bowl -- up a rung.

"Certainly Marcus' expertise is there in the secondary and clearly he's ready," Fisher said of Robertson, who played 12 NFL seasons, 10 with the Oilers. "He's established a good relationship with the players. He worked very, very well with Chuck. Chuck will certainly still oversee it, but I really feel like the combination of Marcus and Tim will be a nice blend there for the secondary. There is over 20 years of playing experience in the league."

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