Who’s the real loser in Chris Johnson’s holdout with the Tennessee Titans?

It’s not Johnson, who stands to make at least $30 million in guaranteed money once the two sides finally reach some sort of accord.

And it’s not the Titans, who eventually will get their best overall talent under contract for several more prime years once the details are worked out.

No, the guy most negatively affected by the prolonged Johnson holdout is the one who has complained the least – new head coach Mike Munchak.

While general manager Mike Reinfeldt kept his comments on the subject to a minimum, it was Munchak who, in his first season as head coach, was forced to answer the barrage of media questions about how the negotiations were progressing. It also was Munchak who remained tactful and optimistic throughout the process, keeping a positive spin on the matter while training camp days rolled by without Johnson there to participate.

And that is where the Titans have done their new head coach a potentially serious short-term disservice.

Munchak has been a loyal soldier and company man for nearly three decades. When he finally gets elevated to be head coach – a position he never dreamed of holding – he gets blindsided by the lockout.

Certainly it wasn’t his or the Titans’ fault that there was a lost offseason in which players and the team’s new coaches couldn’t even introduce themselves to each other. Or that he had to wait until July to know who his starting quarterback would be Matt Hasselbeck.

But the Titans could have helped curtail the chaos by resolving Johnson’s contract issues before the strike and before Munchak inherited the problem in his first training camp as head coach.

It’s true that running backs don’t typically need a lot of prep time, even when with a new offensive coordinator and system in place. But Johnson, like any other player, needs enough practice reps in camp to get his timing down with Hasselbeck and to know exactly what new offensive coordinator Chris Palmer expects.

Munchak and Palmer deserve to have their best player available to them for as long as possible in order to install enough of the playbook in this shortened off-season to give the team its best chance to compete once the regular season arrives.

But all that was lost – unnecessarily – because the Titans and Johnson could not reach an agreement.

Yes, Reinfeldt had the responsibility of plugging holes with veteran free agents once the lockout ended. But he knew there was the possibility of a Johnson holdout. He should have been more proactive in late July, not late August, to speed up the process and allow Munchak and the coaches as much time as possible to incorporate Johnson and his talents into the newly installed offensive scheme.

So what happens when Johnson eventually signs?

With training camp already lost, much of Johnson’s conditioning time was lost. And no matter how much Johnson has been working out, he hasn’t taken a hit and isn’t in “football shape,” isn’t ready to absorb the hits that will inevitably come.

Playing without that conditioning can lead to nagging injuries, the last thing Johnson, the Titans or Munchak need or want.

Maybe it will work out for all parties involved. But the Titans had better hope they haven’t burned Munchak in the process.