Mike Munchak Still Learning How to Be a Head Coach for the Tennessee Titans

Some questionable play calling may have kept the Tennessee Titans from jumping into the driver's seat on the road to a playoff berth as they lost a tough one to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday to drop to 7-6.

It was a valiant effort from all aspects of the team as the Titans held the Saints to just 22 points and ultimately came up five yards short of pulling off a major upset.

Many critics will probably point to Mike Munchak's call on third-and-one to throw a fade route to Damian Williams in the end zone instead of running it up the middle for a first down.

The Titans were already in four-down territory, so common logic would have suggested that the Titans could have at least picked up one yard in two plays.

For whatever reason, Munchak and his coaching staff didn't see it that way.

Frankly, the Titans should have never been in that situation if Chris Johnson had kept it simple and run north and south to pick up the first down.

That's something a head coach can't control.  

It was unfortunate that Johnson didn't take the easy yards for the first down and instead opted for a crazy cut to the middle of the field that hasn't worked for him all season.

Perhaps the bigger head-scratcher came in the final drive when Munchak called for a draw play on first down with no timeouts and still 45 yards away from the end zone.

That draw play ended up burning an extra 20 to 30 seconds that ultimately sealed the Titans' fate.

We often forget that coaches go through rookie growing pains just like players do, and Munchak may have suffered a couple of those in the fourth quarter and most notably the final drive.

Before we jump all over Munchak for some of his bad calls, we have to realize where he has a team that was supposed to be in a transitional phase.

Instead, he has them right in the middle of a playoff race without arguably their top two playmakers. Kenny Britt has been out with an injury for most of the year, and Chris Johnson might as well be injured because he has decided to show up for only about three games.

Munchak has done a great job pulling his team together and turning them into a blue-collar team that grinds out solid performances.

Once again the Titans front office has brought in another great draft class that is already making major contributions, and Munchak deserves at least some credit for that.

Head coaches are human just like us, and Munchak will probably look back at the game footage and realize he should have made a few different calls.

We all know it's easy to be a "Monday morning quarterback," but Munchak has a bright future in this league as a head coach. He'll gradually become a better game manager in fourth quarters as his head-coaching experience grows.

Everyone hates the term "moral victory," but the Titans got one in their loss to the Saints. They found out just how good Jake Locker has the potential to be, and the defense answered the bell in what was sure to be their toughest test of the season.

The fact is that Munchak has this team full of young players playing at a high level—a level where they can compete with pretty much anybody—and Munchak will eventually take this team to great places as long as the Titans front office has patience with him.