Despite the Tennessee Titans making the playoffs for the first time since 2008, there were reports that the franchise could move on from head coach Mike Mularkey. He even admitted following Saturday's comeback victory over the Kansas City Chiefs that he believes he would've been fired had they lost. Per Joe Rexrode of the Tennessean:

Back to Saturday. Asked after the win of his career if he felt secure in his job entering the game, Mularkey was brutally honest, saying: “No, I haven’t had any support to say that I was. So no, I just assumed the worst.”

On Sunday, Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk made it clear that Mularkey's job status is secure. From ESPN's Cameron Wolfe:

“Just to eliminate any distractions moving forward, Mike Mularkey is our head coach and will be our head coach moving forward.”

After Mularkey took over the reins following the firing of Ken Whisenhunt in 2015, the Titans won just two of their final nine games. They've gone 9-7 in each of the last two seasons, narrowly missing the playoffs in 2016 before sneaking in this year.

After taking a six-win leap last season, many analysts believed the Titans would take another step forward this year and contend for the AFC Title. Tennessee managed to start 8-4, but they struggled to keep up with stiffer competition while eking out close wins over less than formidable foes.

With a playoff berth in reach, the Titans then dropped their next three games to NFC West opponents. They managed to beat a Jacksonville Jaguars team with nothing to play for in Week 17 to grab a Wild Card spot, but few pundits gave them a chance against Kansas City.

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Despite falling behind 21-3 in the first half, the Titans and starting quarterback Marcus Mariota caught fire down the stretch, scoring a trio of touchdowns to win 22-21.

Mariota saved the season, and perhaps his coach's job.

More from Wolfe:

“It was nice,” Mularkey said when asked about Strunk's support. “What I really want is our franchise, organization and team to be talked about. That's the gist of it. That's not how you want to open up a press conference. You want to talk about beating a really good football [team] in their backyard. That's what I really want it to be about: what's happening good for our franchise.”

The Titans opened as 13.5 point underdogs against the New England Patriots in the divisional round.