Titans' Mularkey: DeMarco Murray will run more from under center

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Titans coach Mike Mularkey said that he intends to use DeMarco Murray more as he was used two years ago when he led the NFL in rushing with the Cowboys.

And that means having the ex-Eagles running back, who was traded to Tennessee two weeks ago, rush more from a traditional deep spot in the backfield and with the quarterback under center.

"With our style of offense, which is first balance with the run and pass, a little more under center, which I talked about with [Murray] than he was in the past year and obviously more than he was in his college career," Mularkey said on Tuesday when he was asked of his plans for the recently acquired tailback. "He'll be involved in the run game as a, for sure, first- and second-down back."

The Eagles offense under Chip Kelly had the quarterback receive the snap from the shotgun most of the time. Murray made it no secret that he preferred to run from under center. Kelly, at times, added more under-center run plays to his game plans, but Murray's production, or lack thereof, remained generally the same.

While the Titans' offense is different from the Eagles', they have a quarterback in Marcus Mariota that was more effective from the shotgun as a rookie. Mariota, of course, played in Kelly's offense at Oregon. Still, Mularkey said Tennessee will use mostly use Murray in the way that he prefers.

"He'll be under center more than he has," Mularkey said during the AFC coaches breakfast at the NFL owners meetings. "But, again, we're not foolish to know that Marcus' biggest threat is in the gun. We'll be pretty balanced to make sure guys are in a position to do their jobs."

Murray, it seemed, wasn't always interested in doing his job last season. After rushing for a career-high 1,845 yards and averaging 4.7 yards a carry in 2014, his numbers dipped dramatically. Murray totaled 702 yards on the ground and averaged only 3.6 yards per rush in 2015.

Was it the scheme? Was it Murray's attitude? Or was he simply starting to decline? Mularkey was asked what he saw on film last season.

"It was a different offense, obviously," he said. "Shotgun offense – more sideline to sideline. Not a lot of same scheme that we run. We're similar to Dallas, very similar, in regards to the run game. And I watched him up close and personal two years ago against us and [he] ran 180 yards with some of the very same plays that we run."

But Murray, who turned 28 last month, was two years younger then.

"I still think he's got a lot of juice in the tank, I really do," Mularkey said.

O'BRIEN ON BROOKS

Texans coach Bill O'Brien had glowing things to say about guard Brandon Brooks, who the Eagles signed to a five-year, $40 million contract two weeks ago.

"They're getting a big, big guy -- a guy that has some versatility," O'Brien said of his former player. "He can play different positions. He's a right guard, but he can play tackle in a pinch. He can play center. … He's, in my opinion, a prototypical guard. He can drive block, he can pass protect three-techniques that are athletic guys. He can pull. He's smart."

So why didn't the Texans, who replaced Brooks with free agent Jeff Allen, retain him?

"Well, I think we tried to," O'Brien said. "We wanted him back. They won the bidding the war. We wanted him back."