Report: Bill Belichick, Jim Harbaugh Not on Titans' List of Head Coaching Candidates

Tennessee Titans fans can take two notable coaches off their wish list.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported Thursday that Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick "are NOT on the Titans' candidate list."

"The team is open to a coach who specializes on either side of the ball," Russini wrote. "There is no specific criteria in that regard."

Typically it's not a great look for a team to signal who it isn't interviewing, especially when the candidates are as highly regarded as Harbaugh and Belichick. It's evoking memories of teams voluntarily taking themselves out of the Lamar Jackson sweepstakes last offseason.

In the case of the Titans, though, they're probably just being realistic.

The Athletic's Mike Sando on Monday cited one NFL coach who said the Los Angeles Chargers "want Harbaugh, and he wants them." The coach included the Las Vegas Raiders in the mix as well. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler followed up Wednesday to report that "the Chargers' interest in Harbaugh is real."

Tennessee might feel it has long odds of landing Harbaugh, and that's to say nothing of his past NFL stint is perhaps getting overlooked in terms of how likely he is to succeed upon his return.

Russini and Athletic colleague Joe Rexrode reported how one wedge between former Titans coach Mike Vrabel and team owner Amy Adams Strunk was his insistence on getting "full control" over the roster as Tennessee was searching for a new general manager. Harbaugh grew to have a similarly fractious relationship with the higher-ups at the San Francisco 49ers.

When it comes to Belichick, his profile may not fit the Titans' likely direction. This is an organization trending toward a total teardown, not one that's a proven head coach away from winning a Super Bowl.

As with Harbaugh, there are questions with Belichick as to how much power he'll be willing to sacrifice with a new team and how he'd mesh with a dedicated general manager.

You can't blame Titans fans for feeling a bit anxious with the firing of Vrabel because coaches who have a .545 winning percentage and three playoff trips in six years usually don't get the axe. Whoever succeeds him in Nashville might be perceived as a downgrade.

But the proactive eliminations of Harbaugh and Belichick from the search shouldn't be viewed as a worrying sign.