Wiedmer: Triangle tripping up Titans

Regarding the Tennessee Titans triangle of owner Bud Adams, coach Jeff Fisher and quarterback Vince Young, a single question surfaces first: Why can't they all just get along? (At least in public.)

Why is is so hard for three multimillionaires - ages 87, 52 and 27, respectively - to iron out their differences in private rather than turning their personal disconnects into a cheesy reality TV plot fit for MTV or E.

Coming soon to a cable channel near you - "Music City Morons: How to implode an NFL playoff team in three easy steps." Or "Titans Triangle: Where playoff dreams disappear."

Don't kid yourself that the feud between Fisher and Young began Sunday afternoon when the coach declined to return his starting quarterback to the game against the Washington Redskins after Young had left minutes earlier with a thumb injury.

Young may have given Fisher an obvious reason to blast his quarterback when the fifth-year player behaved like a 5-year-old by tossing his shoulder pads into the stands and throwing an elbow at teammate Michael Griffin when the defensive back attempted to console him.

He may have made it easier for the rest of the Titans to side with Fisher after the quarterback screamed at the coach inside a closed, tense locker room, "I'm not running out on my teammates! I'm running out on you!"

But this all began in the spring of 2006 when Texas native Adams forced the franchise to draft Texas Longhorns star Young over Fisher's preferred choice - Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart.

Ever since, Fisher and Young basically have been a dysfunctional marriage, though Fisher probably thought he had the upper hand when the Titans went 13-3 in 2008 after Young went down early with a knee injury and backup quarterback Kerry Collins guided the team to the best regular-season mark in the AFC.

But then that same team started out 0-6 last season with Collins at the helm and Adams stepped in to insist that Young be the starter. When the Titans finished 8-2 down the stretch, Adams again held all the cards.

Yet Young's results have been mixed this season. He looked brilliant in the opening win over Oakland but wiped out much of that good feeling by executing the Pittsburgh Pout when pulled in favor of Collins during the loss to the Steelers.

And with the Titans now on a three-game losing streak after a 5-2 start, Young's stock was plummeting long before the thumb injury ended his season.

Still, you wonder what good can come from Sunday's cyclone inside the Titans locker room.

It's wonderful for Adams to say of the shouting match, "They [Fisher and Young] are going to have to work together. Vince was upset and said some things he regretted after doing it, but you have to get to the bottom of it, straighten it out and move on."

But when? Tomorrow. Next month. Next training camp?

Said Fisher on Monday: "I think there will be a conversation at some point. I'm not going to put a timetable on it. He's on injured reserve and we're moving on."

He also said, "We can deal with [his future] when the season is over."

Ironically, both Fisher's and Young's contracts end after the 2011 season, not that anyone expects both to be there next year. One will leave. My hunch is that it will be Fisher, who after 16 years in one spot may have the urge to move on, and Young gives him an excuse to make Adams the heavy.

The radio voice of the Titans, Mike Keith, declined comment about the mood inside team headquarters Tuesday, but he did address the divided feelings of fans around Nashville.

"What's striking is that the reactions are all over the board," Keith said. "A bunch of different opinions, but all of them very emotional. This has been a real nerve-toucher."

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We have seen this triangle among owner, coach and quarterback before in the Deep South. Return to the Atlanta Falcons during the Michael Vick era, especially as it screeched to a halt when Vick went off to prison on dog fighting charges. Falcons owner Arthur Blank had long defended Vick, even parting ways with respected coach Dan Reeves at least partly because Reeves didn't always fawn over the quarterback as his owner did.

But Blank finally was forced to admit what most owners would be wise to accept, that they really aren't as close to these players as they think.

Said Blank upon Vick's conviction: "That is not the person I've known the last six years."

It's still unclear how well either Adams or Fisher knows Young's ability to lead the Titans to greatness. It has become crystal clear, however, that they don't think they know the same Vince Young.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6273.

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