The Titans have appointed Mike Vrabel’s replacement after abruptly sacking the coach earlier in January, effectively ending the Mike Vrabel era.
After the procedure is finished, Tennessee knows exactly what it wants to do: find a coach who can help quarterback Will Levis succeed. Brian Callahan shows up as the one who can demonstrate that he can accomplish that.
During Levis’s first press conference on Thursday, Callahan said of the coach, “I really enjoyed getting to know him and I can’t wait to get to work with him.” “I’m eager to see what improvements we can make to his many exceptional physical talents. So far, everything about him has been amazing, and I can’t wait to learn more.”
Callahan’s work with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati helped him be hired, among other things. Over the course of the last five years, Callahan has worked under Zac Taylor as offensive coordinator, mentoring quarterback Jake Burrow through the first four years of his career. In Cincinnati’s 2021 AFC title-winning campaign, Burrow was named AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
In Cincinnati, Taylor directs the plays, but Callahan was crucial in creating and executing the Bengals’ plan. The Titans are now hoping that he can duplicate that kind of success with Levis and an offense that needs more weapons. Callahan announced on Thursday that, appropriately, he will call plays for the offense in 2024, adopting a hands-on style for his first head coaching position.
Callahan responded, “Not a big one at all,” when asked if there would be a big difference between being the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati and the head coach in Tennessee. “In Cincinnati, we operated in a highly collaborative manner. I’ve been Zac’s offensive coordinator for the past five years, while he serves as my primary play-caller. I’m quite happy with the procedure.”
Tennessee made the deliberate decision to fire defensive-minded coach Mike Vrabel and hire an offensive-minded coach in 2023 after the team finished 6-11. It is hoped that this change may help Tennessee’s offensive woes, as the team finished 17th in points per game and 18th in total yards per game.
This was also the right time to match Levis with a coach who can help him grow, if the Titans plan to develop him around him. Levis may not develop into a franchise quarterback, but he showed enough signs of promise to give Tennessee more hope going into 2024 than it probably would have with Ryan Tannehill as its sole quarterback.
Even so, this turnaround will require more than just the coach and quarterback. The Titans signed DeAndre Hopkins in 2023 in the hopes that he would be able to help with passing, and although he broke 1,000 receiving yards in 17 games, it became painfully clear that he wouldn’t be able to patch every hole on his own. Callahan and general manager Ran Carthon will need to improve this roster in order to fit the coach’s vision and give him a fresh start.
Regarding strengthening the squad, Callahan stated, “I think the biggest thing that we want to do is to start is put the players we have in a great position.” “Let them identify the roles that best suit them and place them in the matchups that we believe will give them an edge. Although it’s a really general and wide offensive concept, that’s kind of where it all began.
In the passing game, we want to pay close attention to detail. route definition, high percentage of full balls, and route spacing. That will always be the objective. Don’t get the run game wrong—we still want to interact physically. That has long been a component of the Titans’ identity.
It may be more difficult to build a muscular running game without Derrick Henry, who left Tennessee at the conclusion of 2023 and isn’t anticipated to return in 2024. One of the many things Carthon and Callahan will need to mark off their list in 2024 is replacing him.
The good news is that Callahan’s debut season will not come with a lot of pressure to perform. People probably realize that this rebuild will not be completed quickly, but under Callahan, Levis will be in a lot better position if they can make a few more progress.
