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Tennessee Titans ownership backs Mike Mularkey in statement

By The Sports Xchange
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey works the sidelines in the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on December 17, 2017. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey works the sidelines in the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on December 17, 2017. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Tennessee Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk ended any lingering questions about Mike Mularkey's job security by offering the head coach a vote of confidence in a statement on Sunday.

"Our mantra all season has been to take things week by week and not get ahead of ourselves and it obviously has served us well," she said in the statement. "I regret that outside rumors gained a life of their own. No one has been a bigger supporter of Mike Mularkey than I have over the last two-plus seasons.

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"Mike and (general manager Jon Robinson) have changed the culture of our team and organization and I am so happy we have been able to bring success on the field to our fans -- winning 19 games over the last two seasons, including our first playoff win in nine years.

"Just to eliminate any distractions moving forward, Mike Mularkey is our head coach and will be our head coach moving forward. We still have work to be done, including this week, but I am looking forward to the journey."

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Speculation about Mularkey and his future with the Titans swirled before Saturday's AFC wild-card game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Coach Mularkey has done an incredible job of handling this entire situation," quarterback Marcus Mariota said, "and I think he's done a great job of keeping this team together, keeping us on our task at hand. He's done a great job."

Mularkey called the discussions of his job "ridiculous," but admitted it affected him.

"I don't think it's fair to my family," the 56-year-old Mularkey said. "When it has an effect on my family, it has an effect on me. So, yeah, I'd say it had a big effect on me."

But the coach admitted on Saturday that the Titans organization didn't give him any reason to feel secure.

"No, I haven't had any support to say that I was," Mularkey said. "No, I just assumed the worst."

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