NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Michael Roos, who announced his retirement Thursday, represents a lot of ways the Tennessee Titans, and everyone in the NFL, want things to pan out.
In 2005, a year away from the end of Brad Hopkins's 13-year tenure as the Oilers/Titans left tackle, the team set out to find his replacement.
They asked their very good offensive line coach, Hall of Famer Mike Munchak, to evaluate the field and pick the guy the team should target.
He found a relatively raw guy from a less-than-big program, worked him out, got to know him and was sold.
The Titans spent their second-rounder, the 41st overall pick, on Roos out of Eastern Washington.
He played right tackle as a rookie, took over for Hopkins a year later and was a permanent fixture protecting the blind side of a variety of quarterbacks. He finished his career with 148 starts.
Only Khalif Barnes, drafted 52nd by Jacksonville, has had close to Roos' staying power. With the Jags and Raiders he has started only 116 games, including eight at right tackle and four at left guard for Oakland in 2014.
Roos is easily the cream of that crop.
He was a standup guy, but not a guy who sought the cameras or any sort of spotlight.
He was a quiet, low-key worker who got steadily better and did well to set a tone, understand a locker room, and, most importantly, keep high-quality pass-rushers at bay.
With him gone, the Titans need to find more like him.
