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Why did Ken Whisenhunt decide to take the Tennessee Titans' head coaching job instead of joining the Detroit Lions? After the news broke on Monday night, various reasons were suggested. Perhaps Whisenhunt simply preferred Nashville over Detroit. Maybe being able to run a 3-4 defense in Tennessee played a role in his decision. And it's also possible that the strength of the NFC North dissuaded him from becoming the next Lions head coach.
Perhaps the biggest reason Whisenhunt went with the Titans is that they offered him a lot more money. According to ESPN's Paul Kuharsky, Whisenhunt "got $1 million more in annual salary than what Detroit offered." Despite the fact that the Lions had a plane ready to go to San Diego to pick up Whisenhunt, it seems that the Titans were more willing to open up their checkbook.
There's also this:
Ed Werder said Titans overspent to get Whisenhunt, also offered bigger say in personnel. Werder also said Whiz concerned about Lions' cap.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) January 14, 2014
Whisenhunt ending up in Tennessee instead of Detroit likely didn't come down to one specific factor. However, between the bigger contract offer and all of the other things that have been mentioned, I guess it's not all that surprising that he opted to join the Titans instead of the Lions.
