Leave it to Vince Young to throw gasoline on a fire already threatening to engulf him.

Apparently not content to lose his Tennessee Titans fan base with his spotty play, evidently unconcerned that at least a few of his teammates have become wary of his leadership skills, the fourth-year quarterback has now decided to publicly challenge the franchise’s front office.

In a brief interview with Baltimore’s WMAR-TV on Monday, Young said he was looking forward to returning to the starting lineup this season, though Titans coach Jeff Fisher has already indicated Kerry Collins will start the season opener.

“At the same time,” Young quickly added, “if them guys don’t want me to be in there, it’s time for me to make a career change for myself.”

In other words, “them guys” can either play me or trade me.

The problem is, other than a grammar tutor, who would want him?

Yes, Young is a fantastic athlete who arrived in Nashville in the summer of 2006 with an infectious smile, contagious charisma and laudable leadership abilities. After a 1-6 start the Titans finished 8-8, missing the playoffs by a single game.

Though Young’s personal stats declined his second season, Tennessee reached the postseason. Hope hovered throughout the Music City that last autumn would be the season everyone had dreamed about when Young became the third pick in the 2006 draft after leading Texas to the 2005 college national championship.

But then Young went down with a knee injury on the opening weekend after briefly refusing to re-enter a tight game against Jacksonville. The veteran Collins deftly led a fourth-quarter rally.

Already injured, Young reportedly became so depressed that family members feared he might attempt suicide. The Nashville police department was called in to locate him on the Monday night after the Jacksonville contest. Young never started another game for the Titans, who without him had the best record in the league (13-3).

Even that failed to tell the whole story. Young was always the first to leave the locker room following games. He appeared to distance himself from teammates, especially those who began to praise Collins for throwing “catchable ball,” never a Young strength. Suddenly Mr. In-Vince-ible became Mr. Invisible, a nowhere man working on his nowhere plans for nobody.

Publicly, Fisher continued to say good things about his pouting star. He even told the public during spring workouts, “Vince is eventually going to be our starter.”

Yet when the Titans brought in Patrick Ramsey this offseason to supposedly back up Collins, the notion began to build that Young’s career in Nashville was unofficially over, despite the $26 million in guaranteed money the franchise has already committed to him.

Nor are Young’s latest comments likely to help the situation. An ESPN poll conducted late Monday and early Tuesday found that less than 33 percent of Titans fans wanted him back. A quick sampling of comments posted on the (Nashville) Tennessean’s Web site solidified that statistic.

Wrote TennTuxedo: “... No other team will trade for Vince. He is coming up on a big year in 2010 where his contract goes up to around $10 million. Who wants a backup quarterback who should be a wide receiver who gets paid that kind of money?

Added thinkforyourself: “I’ve been waiting for this step. All those No. 10 jerseys will be in the Goodwill Stores across our beautiful state before we know it! Coach Fisher, you never wanted this scrub to begin with.”

Of course, these are also fans talking. Let Young beat out Ramsey for second team behind Collins and everything could change. After all, the most popular player on many NFL teams is the backup quarterback.

Should Collins throw four interceptions in the opener at Pittsburgh and Young comes off the bench to spark a comeback, he’ll become even more beloved than he was during the 2006 season, when he was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

But until or unless that happens, Young might want to lower his profile. Even Jemele Hill, an NFL columnist and ESPN personality not given to bashing Young, was quoted by the Tennessean on Tuesday as saying, “The issue here is trust. And you don’t earn trust by dictating your terms to a team you mentally bailed on. If you’re his teammate, you’re thinking, ‘Oh, great, Vince Young is crying again.’”

The real question is whether any other NFL team is listening.

It’s fine for Young to proclaim, “If (the Titans) are not ready for me to play ball, then somebody is,” but finding those guys, them guys or some guys somewhere willing to take a chance on a scatter-armed quarterback with a fat contract is another matter.