NFL's worst team just got even worse

The Tennessee Titans will pick first overall in 2016 by virtue of an NFL-worst 3-13 record.

They'll probably pick first overall again in 2017.

The Titans were the last NFL team to fill its head coaching vacancy, and they did so in the most uninspired fashion possible, elevating interim head coach Mike Mularkey to permanent head coach.

This is the same Mularkey who went 2-7 after taking over after the Titans fired Ken Whisenhunt.

The same Mularkey who went 2-14 as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012. And 5-11 as head coach of the Buffalo Bills before that.

Notice a trend?

In retaining Mularkey, the Titans are essentially accepting their fate as the NFL's new bottom-feeders.

They could have sought a young-and-upcoming coaching mind like New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, or taken the plunge and reunited Marcus Mariota with newly-hired San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly. They could have outbid the Cleveland Browns for Hue Jackson or tried to coax Tom Coughlin down to Nashville.

Instead, they decided to stick with a recipe they already know doesn't work.

Why? Probably because it's cheap. The Titans still owe Whisenhunt a reported $15 million, and keeping Mularkey and his staff is cost-effective.

Don't expect the Titans to admit that, though. The team's choice of when to announce the Mularkey hire - buried in the middle of a playoff game - suggests the Titans are plenty aware of how embarrassing it is.

Expect the Titans to talk about how important it is to have continuity for Mariota.

While it's true that young passers benefit from staying with the same coaching staff, any benefit is completely negated when that coaching staff is the worst in the league.