To QB or not to QB, that is the question.

Tennessee comes off a disastrous first season under new head coach Ken Whisenhunt, finishing the year with a 10-game losing streak and the worst record in the AFC. It is hardly what Whisenhunt envisioned when he turned down an offer to be the head coach of the Detroit Lions and opted instead to move to the Music City.

The Titans pushed hard for Whisenhunt because of his reputation as a quarterback whisperer. After developing Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, he went on to revive the careers of Kurt Warner (Arizona)  and Philip Rivers (San Diego). The hope was he could make it three in a row and revive the career of Jake Locker in Tennessee.

Instead, the former No. 8 overall pick was derailed by injuries yet again and the team’s quarterback position became a three-headed nightmare featuring Locker, Charlie Whitehurst and Zach Mettenberger. It was reminiscent of Whisenhunt’s final seasons in Arizona (after Warner retired), when he shuffled through the likes of Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, Brian Hoyer and Ryan Lindley.

Rotating that quartet of middling signal callers resulted in Whisenhunt’s dismissal.

And that is the thing about Whisenhunt: when he has an upper-echelon quarterback, his offense resembles a brilliant symphony. And when he doesn’t, it’s more akin to toddlers banging on pots with wooden spoons.

That is the problem … the Titans now have less than two months to figure out the solution.

The team currently holds the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft and has three realistic options: 1) select Oregon QB Marcus Mariota (assuming Florida State’s Jameis Winston goes first overall); 2) pick USC DE Leonard Williams; or 3) trade down and acquire additional draft picks.

Said Titans GM Ruston Webster: “[Winston and Mariota] are two very good players and we’re in a good position that way, be it at quarterback or somewhere else. We do like Zach Mettenberger as a player. He’s a young quarterback, but these two guys have unique skill-sets. We’ll look at that position as well as others.”

Titans officials have been vocal in their support of Mettenberger all offseason, not that any of that talk should make the incumbent from LSU feel any more comfortable. It sounds a lot like the noise that came out of Cleveland’s camp this time last year, when the Browns sang the praises of Hoyer before tabbing Johnny Manziel in the first round.

Titans officials won’t say it, so I’ll say it for them: Mettenberger is not the man to run Whisenhunt’s offense. He lacks the quick trigger and anticipation to execute Whisenhunt’s system, which is predicated on timing and spacing. Mettenberger will not doubt be better in his second season, but to expect him to lead the Titans back into contention is unrealistic.

That leads the Titans to Mariota, whose quick release and timing are superb. What he lacks is experience in a pro-style offense; he has negligible experience doing basic things like taking a snap from center and calling a play in the huddle. So although his skill-set and upside are clearly superior, he faces a steep learning curve and possibly a lengthy adjustment period.

The Titans interviewed Mariota at the NFL Combine and plan to visit with him again as we get closer to draft day.

Said Whisenhunt: “We’ll go back through the season and evaluate that from start to finish, then we’ll compare that to what we see out of these young guys in the draft. I think that’s a piece of it. Zach did a lot of good things for us last year, but with the way last year went and where we are in the draft and the guys that are coming out, you have to put your time in and figure that out.”

Another factor in this complicated equation is the impatience of Titans CEO Tommy Smith, who insists the team will compete for a playoff spot in 2015. If that is the ultimate goal, the Titans may opt to pick Williams at No. 2, a plug-and-play defensive lineman who would be a perfect fit in Tennessee’s three-man front. The Titans, who brought in Dick LeBeau as a defensive consultant earlier this offseason, need a pass rusher like Williams to properly implement LeBeau’s zone-blitz schemes.

If the goal is to eke out a wild-card berth and get back into the tournament as quickly as possible, Williams make the most sense. But if the goal is to overtake the Colts and become serious Super Bowl contenders, the Titans need a quarterback who can out-duel Andrew Luck. And if you believe that man is currently on Tennessee’s roster — or available in this epically weak class of free agents — then I have some oceanside property in Minnesota I would love to sell you.

There are those who doubt Mariota can take the Titans where they want to go, basing their skepticism on Oregon’s gimmicky offense. Because of that, Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich went on the Rich Eisen Show earlier this week to dispel that notion,

“Well I think there’s a lot of variation of quote-unquote spread or no-huddle and all those variations are based on the coaches’ strengths, or the coaches’ background and we have elements of option, we have elements of West Coast,” Helfrich said. “You know our passing game would fit into any other NFL franchise’s playbook easily.

“And that’s why I think that a lot has been made of that he should have this drastic, huge learning curve to the NFL from a schematic standpoint. I don’t think that’s true.”

Can Mariota lead the Titans to the promised land? Webster and the rest of the Titans scouts will spend the next eight weeks trying to answer that question. What we know for sure is Whisenhunt cannot fulfill his promise as a quarterback whisperer without a quarterback worth whispering to.

Mariota is confident he is deserving.

“As an athlete and a competitor, anyone will tell you they believe they’re the best … I truly believe that in myself,” he said.