New Tennessee Titans starting quarterback Zach Mettenberger has endured criticism this week for a "selfie" he took prior to Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, prompting his coach to wonder if he's ready to be the so called, "face of the franchise," according to a report from Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.
"The face of the franchise, that is yet to be determined. That will be determined by his play,'' Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "The one thing we have had discussions about is the understanding if you are the starting quarterback, there will be people ... that see you and you have to represent yourself and the organization the right way."
Whisenhunt is, by his own admission, an "old-school" guy - as such, he's never taken a "selfie." But he doesn't judge Mettenberger for doing it, just like he doesn't judge Houston's All-Pro defensive end, JJ Watt, for criticizing Mettenberger.
"The man is a good football player, and they won the game,'' Whisenhunt said of Watt and the Texans. "They get the opportunity to say what they want to say. We get a chance to play them again. I'll make sure I tell Zach not to take any selfies before the next game."
After the Texans victory, in which Watt had two sacks, a forced fumble and a batted pass, he called out Mettenberger for taking the now infamous "selfie" and, ostensibly, not acting like a professional.
"I take my job very seriously,'' Watt said, per a separate report from The Tennessean. "If I was a rookie quarterback being named the starter for the first time in the league, I feel like I'd be a little more focused than that. Maybe he'll learn from it, maybe not. We won the game, so that's all that matters."
As for Whisenhunt, while he maintained he had no problem with the picture, he admitted that he may have played a part in Mettenberger cutting his hair and trimming his beard ahead of his first professional start.
"I would not say that was a decision he made on his own,'' Whisenhunt said. "It is important you are viewed the right way when you are a quarterback. Once you have won a lot of games, once you have had success, I think you can do about whatever you want. But that is not the case. So I think it is important to start on the right foot that way."
