Feb 8, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NFL Network analyst Ian Rapoport on radio row at the media center at the Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport finally got closure on what he called one of the “biggest mysteries” of his career.

Back in 2018, Rapoport erroneously reported that the Tennessee Titans were offering then-head coach Mike Mularkey an extension after the team’s playoff run. Mularkey ended up being fired shortly after, which got Rapoport in some serious heat for reporting the exact opposite of what had happened.

Mularkey appeared on the “Brent & Austen” show on Action Sports Jax earlier this week and told the story behind Rapoport’s infamous blunder. Mularkey revealed that he lied in order to get back at his bosses before he was given the ax.

“I knew they were going to fire me,” said Mularkey of the Titans’ front office. “So Sunday night [in 2018], I called Ian Rapoport and I said, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you know this but I’m going to break it to you. But I’m getting a new contract in the morning.’ He reported it. It was all over the country that I was getting a new contract in the morning knowing that I was going to get fired.”

On Friday, Rapoport responded to Mularkey’s story. The veteran reporter said that what Mularkey had admitted to was “not cool” and “not funny.” Rapoport added that it damaged his reputation as a younger reporter during the time.

Years ago, Mike Mularkey thought it would be funny to lie to me to get back at his #Titans bosses. It was not funny.

With one of the biggest mysteries of my career solved, I responded on The Insiders. pic.twitter.com/chrJll1T6b

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 23, 2024

Rapoport was obviously able to shrug off the issue to become one of today’s biggest NFL reporters. But based on the way he talked about the issue six years later, it’s clear that he still holds some resentment towards what happened.

Given how easily a reporter’s credibility can be damaged by one mistake, it’s hard to blame him.

H/T Awful Announcing