Earlier today, the Titans became the second NFL team to fire a head coach this season, with Ken Whisenhunt going the way of Joe Philbin, replaced in in the interim by Mike Mularkey. With changes afoot in Tennessee, let’s check out a few of today’s Titans-related updates….

• While Mularkey holds the title of interim head coach for now, the team’s interim CEO Steve Underwood said today that the former Jaguars head coach will have a chance to audition for the permanent role in Tennessee, and Mularkey wants it, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (Twitter link).
• According to Underwood, the team would need to see measurable improvement – in wins and losses – in the second half for Mularkey to earn the full-time job (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com).
• When it comes to hiring a new permanent head coach, Underwood and GM Ruston Webster will be involved and will have a say, according to Underwood himself (Twitter link via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com). However, the CEO added that controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk will have the final say. As Wyatt tweets, Strunk had been considering making a coaching change for multiple weeks.
• With Whisenhunt out of the picture, Titans offensive coordinator Jason Michael will call plays for the offense, while Arthur Smith will become the team’s new tight ends coach, replacing Mularkey in that role (Twitter links via Wyatt and McCormick).
• Mularkey said today that the Titans need to make roster changes on the offensive line to help protect Marcus Mariota (Twitter link via McCormick).
• Whisenhunt, who would like to remain involved in the NFL in some capacity, tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter links) that he wasn’t given a reason for his dismissal, or given the option of making changes to his staff in order to remain head coach.

After rounding up several AFC notes earlier today, let’s shift our focus to the NFC and check out the latest….

• Eagles head coach Chip Kelly doesn’t expect his team to make any deals before today’s trade deadline, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Asked specifically about defensive end Vinny Curry, Kelly said he hasn’t come up in trade discussions (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
• Another NFC contender, the Panthers, will likely stand pat as well, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Carolina could use a wide receiver, but as Person points out, general managers typically don’t want to risk upsetting the chemistry of a 7-0 team.
• Before the 49ers sent him to Denver, the Packers didn’t inquire on tight end Vernon Davis, says Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Green Bay has been searching for consistent production from the tight end position since Jermichael Finley‘s days with the team, but apparently didn’t have real interest in Davis.
• Speaking of that Davis trade, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com explains how the 49ers were able to trade the same seventh-round pick twice within two months.
• Free agent running back Ben Tate, whose workout with the 49ers was scheduled before the team signed Shaun Draughn and Pierre Thomas, will still audition for San Francisco today, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). It seems unlikely that Tate would get an offer from the Niners at this point, but he could be added to the club’s emergency list for later in the season.

The 49ers aren’t trading the recently benched Colin Kaepernick today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). San Francisco apparently hasn’t ruled out starting him later in the season.

On Monday the 49ers decided to bench the struggling Kaepernick in favor of backup Blaine Gabbert. Kaepernick, who turns 28 today, has completed just 59.3 percent of his pass attempts for 1,615 yards in eight games and he has six touchdown passes against five interceptions. With a career-low passer rating of 78.8 and two consecutive losses against division rivals, one can understand why the 49ers are making this change. Of course, it’s also fair to wonder if Gabbert is capable of playing any better than Kaepernick has been.

The 49ers can get out of Kaepernick’s deal without any real financial repercussion this offseason and many have speculated that they will do so now that they have bumped him down on the depth chart. However, it appears that the Niners aren’t ready to give up on No. 7 just yet. Kaepernick probably wouldn’t net them much of a return anyway, so the Niners don’t have much incentive to part with him.

Chargers running back Donald Brown had been viewed as a potential trade candidate heading into this week, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), teams had been calling about the veteran back. However, with Branden Oliver nursing an injury, Brown figures to remain in San Diego, per Rapoport.

Here are a few more items from around the AFC, with the trade deadline just hours away:

• The Patriots are welcoming back two players – linebacker Dane Fletcher and defensive tackle Chris Jones – to practice today after they spent the first eight weeks of the season on the PUP list, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter links). New England will now have three weeks to either activate Fletcher and Jones or to rule them out for the rest of the season. The Pats had a league-high three players on PUP to start the year, with Fletcher and Jones joining wideout Brandon LaFell.
• While most reports have pegged the value of Ken Whisenhunt‘s five-year contract with the Titans at $5MM annually, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets that it’s actually worth closer to $30MM, or $6MM per year. Tennessee parted ways with Whisenhunt today despite the fact that he had more than three years remaining on that deal, so the club still owes him a significant chunk of money.
• Although Le’Veon Bell‘s knee injury has ended his 2015 season, his ACL remains intact, and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said today that his running back should be ready for the start of the 2016 campaign (Twitter link via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).
• Dolphins rookie running back Jay Ajayi is hoping to be activated this week after spending eight weeks on IR with the designation to return, as James Walker of ESPN.com writes.