It appears Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher won his standoff with quarterback Vince Young -- for now.
Titans owner Bud Adams announced Wednesday that he has decided to trade or release Young, but he will continue to evaluate Fisher's status.
"We have two critical decisions to make, the direction of the coaching staff and the future at the quarterback position," Adams said in a statement released by the team. "They are separate issues to me and will be dealt with separately."
Green: Titans had to make this move
Trent Green believes the Titans had no choice but to part ways with Vince Young, who hasn't shown the stability or consistency required of an NFL QB. **More ...**
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Young spoke to the *Tennessean* shortly after the news broke, saying he was "bitter a little bit" and expressing frustration about his relationship with Fisher.
"I have nothing against Jeff Fisher," Young said. "I just wish he would have trusted me a little more. That was the only issue."
It was widely believed that Young's departure was necessary for Fisher, the NFL's longest-tenured head coach, to remain with the franchise for a 17th full season. And, as a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora on Tuesday, Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt and senior executive vice president Steve Underwood advised Adams on Monday to keep Fisher and part with Young.
Adams decided to do just that.
"Today, I informed our general manager Mike Reinfeldt to move forward with plans to begin the process of identifying the next quarterback for our franchise," Adams said. "He will inform Vince Young's agent that Vince will not be on our roster next season.
"I want to offer my personal thanks to Vince for all of his positive contributions to the club," Adams added. "These kinds of decisions are never easy and this is especially true for this particular player. I certainly wish that things would have worked out better, but I think it is best for the franchise that we move on at this point."
Adams said he will continue to evaluate Fisher, who's owed $6.5 million next season, and the Titans' coaching staff and that a decision on their fate would be made soon.
NFL Network insider Albert Breer noted that Fisher is leaving Nashville for Arizona on Friday to see his son, Trent, play for Auburn in the BCS national championship game against Oregon.
The Associated Press couldn't reach Fisher, who's owed $6.5 million next season, for comment Wednesday.
Reinfeldt said he already had contacted Young's agent, Tom Condon, and that under league rules, the quarterback can't be released until Feb. 7 or traded until March 4, the first day of the league year.
Young is due a $4.25 million roster bonus on March 10. He's also scheduled to make $8.5 million in the 2011 season.
Young thanked his fans through statements from his agent and on Twitter, then spoke to the *Tennessean*.
"I didn't feel like (Jeff) trusted me," Young said. "In the five years I was there, I was always looking over my shoulder.
"I didn't feel like I was his guy all the way," Young added. "I put in a lot of work, and my stats and my winning, it showed I had grown.
"Everything was my fault. But that's over now. I wish Coach Fisher and Bud Adams and all my coaches and teammates best."
Adams wanted to draft Young, a fellow Houstonian, No. 3 overall out of Texas in 2006 and said on draft day that "VY is my guy." Young is 30-17 in his five NFL seasons, but he's just 13-14 against teams finishing a season at .500 or better.
Young also battled questions about his work ethic, leadership and injuries. He suffered a season-ending thumb injury on his right hand Nov. 21, tossed his shoulder pads into the stands and told off Fisher in the Titans' locker room before storming out.
The quarterback addressed that incident for the first time publicly on Wednesday night, telling the Tennessean he regretted his actions that day.
"People say that's immature, but that's just me," Young said. "I didn't want to say something more than I didn't need to say so I got up out of there. Yeah, I could have handled it better. I left, and ever since I just needed to pray and be to myself. That's why I've just sat back and ever since I've let everyone have their say about everything, but I know the truth."
The news that Young wouldn't return caught his teammates by surprise, even though they had been asked for the past couple weeks whether or not they believed the quarterback and Fisher could work together again.
"That's crazy," running back Chris Johnson told ESPN. "That's something I would have never expected. When you looked at his on-field play, he produced. He produced a lot of wins."
Young came in as the successor to Steve McNair and started off strong, being selected The Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2006. Young helped the Titans go 10-6 with a wild-card playoff spot in 2007, but he had an injury in the 2008 opener, and Fisher wound up calling police when Young's mother worried about the quarterback speeding off from his home in his Mercedes one day later.
Veteran Kerry Collins remained the starter as the Titans opened 10-0 and earned the AFC's No. 1 seed that season.
But Young came off the bench under Adams' orders after the Titans started 0-6 in 2009, and the quarterback helped them win eight of their final 10 games. He started eight of nine games in 2010 but couldn't finish three games because of injuries. He threw for 10 touchdowns with just three interceptions and a career-best 98.6 passer rating as he was 93 of 156 for 1,255 yards.
Since being placed on season-ending injured reserve Nov. 23, Young was seen in the team's locker room only once (on Dec. 17), and he was on the sideline during the third quarter of the Titans' Dec. 19 victory over the Houston Texans before leaving the field early in the fourth quarter.
Young didn't show up Monday for the team's final meeting of the regular season. Asked about Young's absence, Fisher said to ask the quarterback.
Fisher is the NFL's longest-tenured coach with his current team, having just finished his 16th full season and coached his 273rd game with the Titans. Tennessee started this season with high expectations and was atop the AFC South at 5-2 before losing eight of its final nine games to finish 6-10, giving the team the eighth overall pick in the April draft.
The 6-10 record is the Titans' worst since a 4-12 campaign in 2005. The team also have missed the playoffs in two consecutive years, and Fisher's last postseason win came in January 2004.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
