UPDATE: Reports also indicate that the Titans were willing to pay Whisenhunt $1 million more annually then the Lions.
UPDATE: According to reports, Ken Whisenhunt was turned off by the Lions’ cap situation. His deal in Tennessee is also believed to of been for over four years and fully guaranteed.
A big question lingering not only amongst Lions fans but national pundits why exactly did Ken Whisenhunt choose the Tennessee Titans over the Detroit Lions? Detroit is seemingly full of talent with Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush, Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley and a potential franchise QB in the mix with Matthew Stafford. They play indoors giving the team a chance to control the environment in eight homes games a season while joke all you want about ownership they’re often times loyal to a fault perhaps giving you more job security than any other gig in the NFL.
But that still wasn’t enough to lure Whisenhunt North to the Motor City.
So what was it?
First it sounds like the Titans spent a lot of money to bring Whisenhunt aboard according to CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora.
Sounds like the Titans spent some bigboy money to land Ken Whisenhunt
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 14, 2014
Details on the Whisenhunt contract haven’t yet been released so we can only speculate at this point. And before you go and blast the ownership for being “cheap” lets keep in mind the massive amounts of money the team is already spending on the roster. Not to mention this is only Ken Whisenhunt we’re talking about, a marginal to good head coach that has had some success in the NFL. Not a guy that you should break the bank over.
It’s also being speculated that the AFC South played a part into Whisenhunt’s decision. Beyond Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts it’s believed that the division is wide open and more winnable than having to deal with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers and Jay Cutler and the Bears.
There also may have been a difference of opinion on defensive sets. According to FOX Sports’ Mike Jurecki, Whisenhunt wanted to shift from a 4-3 to a 3-4 and the Lions weren’t budging. And before you go and jump to the belief that switching this up is some easy task, it really isn’t. Especially if the rosters has already been molded into the 4-3.
Living in Nashville as opposed to Detroit also seemed to be a sticking point as well.
Hearing the Lions wouldn't budge on changing from a 4×3 to 3×4, Whiz will play a 3×4 with the Titans, location was another. @foxsports910
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) January 14, 2014
So was there anything else? Are there underlying issues with Stafford as a number of fans seem to suggest? Is there a genuine problem in the front office or any other perception problem? Either way we’ll never know for sure.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” lang=”en”><p>Should Jim Caldwell wind up getting the <a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Lions&src=hash”>#Lions</a> HC job, don't be surprised to see him look to add Jim Tressel to his offensive staff.</p>— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) <a href=”https://twitter.com/caplannfl/statuses/422895301037658112″>January 14, 2014</a></blockquote>
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