Young An Afterthought In Tennessee

Now that Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher has stated that former starting quarterback Vince Young has to “earn his job back,” we can calmly say that no one is going to hold V.Y.’s hand anymore in Nashville -- and the QB might have to look elsewhere in the future.

The Current Situation

It should be interesting to watch how Young handles the media this spring because he’s in unfamiliar territory. Ever since he shocked the nation with his performance against USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl, the former Texas quarterback has carried a persona that pointed toward superstar status.

He dominated on a national stage, was a top-five draft pick and walked away with the NFL’s rookie of the year award after the 2006 season. I personally watched him blast my Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium as he ran around like he was playing a video game and sent our playoff dreams down the drain.

But times have changed, and Young — the future star we all thought he was going to be — is now a back-up, a second stringer, and apparently, if you listen to Fisher, an afterthought.

We all know the story from last season, so there’s no need to discuss why or how he found himself on the bench after an injury and some immature sideline antics. But we do need to discuss where he’ll go from here.

And after another solid season from current starter Kerry Collins, Young could be making a call to Mayflower.

Earning a Job Back

Easier said than done in this league — especially with Fisher at the controls. Although I don’t even know the man, I am partial to coach Fisher, and I can tell you that his teams play hard, they play physical, and they do what they have to do to win.

And he is obviously not opposed to change or sitting down a high-priced rookie.

Trust me, folks, this is something you don’t see that often in the NFL. Top-five draft picks play — and play a lot — because of the money they make and the PR image it puts out to the city, the fans and the media.

But when Fisher announces that Young has to fight his way back into a starting role, it’s the same thing as saying he’s not going to play unless something drastic happens — such as a major injury to Collins or a losing streak that offers no way out.

Don’t kid yourselves, as this is not some type of “open competition” at the quarterback position. No way. This is Collins’ football team right now, and I think it would be fair to say he earned it, correct?

On the other hand, Young has done nothing to earn it. But he now has to find a way to catch the coach’s eye, and that includes everything and anything football-related. The media, the weight room, conditioning drills, film study, the way he treats members of the organization and so on. If he wants to get his job back, he has to win back the respect in the building.

And that’s a hard thing to do when you were the man just two seasons ago in the NFL -- the talk of the town and the next QB who could take over a game all by himself.

It will be a long way back to the top, my friends.

Can Young Do It?

I don’t see it, but then again, I’m just an outsider in this situation.

We have to realize that the Titans just re-signed Collins to a deal worth $15 million over the next two seasons. Contrary to popular belief, most franchises don’t just hand out money (although there are a few that do). The Titans paid Collins to play. Forget about how much Young is going to make this season ($4.6 million) because Collins, with his $8.5 million guaranteed, is going to make more.

There’s a reason for that. You pay the guys who produce — and more importantly, you pay the guys who are dependable every Sunday.

Unfortunately, or fortunately (however Titans fans want to view this), Young has shown over the course of one season that no matter how much potential and talent he has as a football player, he isn’t accountable for his actions as an NFL quarterback.

And Jeff Fisher is holding him accountable for those exact actions.

Hey, it’s about time that a coach in this league sticks up for the success of his football team and not for the pro shop that sells jerseys.

I’m sure there were times when Fisher did make some exceptions for Young, but by his statements, it’s obvious that those days are gone.

And judging by the amount of money Young is scheduled to make in the 2010 season ($7.5 million), he might actually be the odd man out. Sure, it’s hard to believe that a former top-five pick may be gone from the very team that drafted him just a few years earlier, but Fisher is paid to coach and paid to win.

Right now, he’s putting his paycheck in the hands of Kerry Collins because Collins has shown he can win, and that he will be there every Sunday.

Vince Young can still play quarterback in this league, and he’s still a talent who can be eye-opening at the position, but from the looks of things, and from my experience in this league, quarterbacks earn jobs back when something catastrophic happens — and that’s it.

Bottom line, V.Y. is going to be a back-up again in ’09, and after that, well, he could find himself competing to win a job somewhere else.

Because right now, Nashville is Kerry Collins’ town.

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