MOBILE, Ala. -- Tennessee Titans coach Mike Mularkey has nearly completed his coaching staff and shared several names as he chatted with the press Monday during a Senior Bowl practice.
He will interview assistant defensive line candidates Wednesday.
Outside of that, his staff appears complete.
Bob Bratkowski, a long-time friend of Mularkey who coached with him in Pittsburgh and Atlanta and was his offensive coordinator in Jacksonville, will coach wide receivers.
Nick Eason has been elevated from assistant defensive line coach to defensive line coach.
Arthur Smith, who was elevated from assistant tight end coach to tight ends coach when Mularkey vacated that job to become interim coach, remains the tight ends coach.
The rest of the staff Mularkey discussed are holdovers who came to Tennessee to work for Ken Whisenhunt or remain from Mike Munchak’s staff. They all stay in the same roles they held in 2015:
Sylvester Croom will remain as the running back coach.
Lou Spanos is the linebackers coach.
Steve Watterson is the strength and conditioning coach. (He's been with the franchise since 1986.)
Mike Sullivan is the assistant offensive line coach
Jason Tucker is the assistant wide receivers coach.
Steve Hoffman is the assistant special teams coach.
They join previously announced hires Dick LeBeau (assistant head coach/ defensive coordinator, also a holdover), Terry Robiskie (offensive coordinator), Bobby April (special teams coordinator), Russ Grimm (offensive line), Deshea Townsend (secondary) and Steve Jackson (assistant secondary).
In all, Mularkey has moved on from eight coaches who were hired by Whisenhunt and kept eight (with Eason elevated and Jason Michael demoted from coordinator to quarterbacks coach).
Mularkey has hired six coaches from the outside and that number will grow to seven when he finds an assistant to Eason on the defensive line.
Is it sufficient turnover? Do the newcomers have the clout to change the culture and nurture the talent? Will they all be working with better players?
Immediate answers aren't available, but we will certainly delve deeper in the weeks to come.