Tennessee Titans Pick In-Demand Brian Callahan To Replace Mike Vrabel
The Tennessee Titans are on their way to hiring Brian Callahan as their new head coach, league sources confirmed to OutKick on Monday evening.
The Titans and Callahan's representation are working on a contract to make Callahan the club's head coach. There are no hiccups expected in the ongoing negotiation, per a source.
And this imminent hire is a clear indication the club was looking for a leader who can upgrade them on offense and develop their quarterbacks, including starter Will Levis.
It was, to put it succinctly, Callahan's time despite being only 39 years old.
Joe Burrow and Jake Browning of the Cincinnati Bengals (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Titans Moved To Hire Callahan Ahead Of Pack
He earned this position by not only helping to develop Joe Burrow into the one of the NFL's best quarterbacks and the league's highest-paid player, but by filling some of the void when Burrow wasn't available.
This season Burrow went out for the season with a torn ligament in his right wrist. The Bengals inserted Jake Browning into the starting job and the 27-year-old journeyman who had never started an NFL game completed 70% of his passes and threw 12 TD passes and 7 interceptions in the eight games he got significant snaps.
The Bengals managed to stay relevant with Browning, who helped his team to a 4-3 record.
And while that says a lot about the Bengals, it definitely spoke volumes about Callahan.
Multiple NFL teams recognized that. And it's the reason Callahan got coach interviews with multiple teams -- Carolina, Atlanta, and Tennessee. All three of those teams wanted second interviews with Callahan but the Titans, up first on the itinerary, moved quickest.
The Titans should be commended for identifying their leading candidate and then not letting him out of the building when he showed up Monday for his second interview.
Bill Callahan was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders and much later became the interim coach of the Washington Redskins in 2019. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Brian Callahan Comes With Great Football Genes
The Titans ultimately interviewed 10 head coach candidates the past two weeks.
Callahan replaces Mike Vrabel, who was fired earlier this month after two consecutive losing seasons. Callahan becomes the sixth-youngest head coach in the NFL.
He becomes the sixth man to lead the Titans since the franchise moved to Tennessee, following Jeff Fisher, Mike Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey and Vrabel.
Callahan comes from a respected football family. His father Bill Callahan is the former head coach of the Oakland Raiders and among the most accomplished offensive line coaches in the league over several decades.
Before he took the offensive coordinator job under Zac Taylor in Cincinnati, Brian Callahan was the QB coach for the Raiders and Lions.
Matthew Stafford was once coached by Brian Callahan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
Brian Callahan Familiar With Great QBs
So what will Callahan do for Levis and perhaps even Malik Willis in Tennessee?
Well, they won't stink if his history is to be believed.
Callahan has worked with and helped some of the best quarterbacks in the league. That list includes Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr and Burrow.
Levis, who just finished his rookie season with the Titans, is expected to be the starter in 2024. And he's expected to improve on a season in which he threw eight touchdowns and four interceptions in nine starts.
And finally this: The Titans are clearly not merely just a good quarterback away from fielding a good offense. The receiver position has been something of a barren spot since the trade of A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.
That move was made because the Titans determined they couldn't afford Brown. Well, the Bengals could have a similar situation with receiver Tee Higgins, who is unsigned for 2024.
Except this time it could be the Titans plucking a big receiver talent their new hire is quite familiar coaching.