NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans are paying Ken Whisenhunt $1 million more a season than the Detroit Lions offered him.
ESPN’s Ed Werder has even more details of why Whisenhunt chose to sign on as Tennessee’s new coach.
Part of it was that the team was "overly aggressive'' financially in the words of a source familiar with the negotiations. League sources told Werder the deal is longer than the typical four years and fully guaranteed. Coaching deals are generally guaranteed, so the choice of words suggested this one may include no offsets. That would allow a fired Whisenhunt to work elsewhere and collect his salary from the Titans in addition to getting paid by a new employer.
I have confirmed that is the case and that the coach the Titans recently fired, Mike Munchak, does have offset language in his contract.
The Titans will pay Munchak $3 million for 2014. But if he gets the top job in Cleveland or coaches the offensive line for Houston, Tennessee would only be on the hook for the difference between the $3 million and his new salary.
ESPN’s John Clayton tells me no offset language like Whisenhunt got in "very rare" in a coach's contract.
More on Whisenhunt per Werder’s sources:
As Whisenhunt said at his introductory press conference, he was impressed with general manager Ruston Webster and sees him as a partner in building the team. Whisenhunt is also convinced he will have more influence and control then he ever would have had with the Lions or Browns.
While Whisenhunt was impressed with the Lions roster of players, closer inspection prompted questions about whether he could build a talented and deep team with three players – quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Calvin Johnson and defensive tackle Ndamakung Suh -- commanding such a high percentage of the salary cap.