Tag: Bill Callahan

Titans’ Brian Callahan: ‘Right tackle is by far the weakest link’

Same game, same result for the Tennessee Titans at the right tackle position, they just aren’t good enough.

The Tennessee Titans lost to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11, and once again, one of their biggest flaws was exposed. The Titans need a right tackle!

The right tackle position has plagued the team this entire season, dating back to training camp, and yet, no matter what changes are made, there is still a major issue. This week, they may have cost the Titans the ball game.  Even head coach Brian Callahan acknowledges this. 


He is absolutely correct: neither he nor offensive line coach Bill Callahan has been able to find a player that can step in and just be average. Nicholas Petit-Frere, Leroy Watson, Isaiah Prince, Jaelyn Duncan or John Ojukwu, none have been able to step in and hold down that spot due to performance issues or injury. 

This begs the question of whether the fundamental issue is the coaching, players, or system. While people on the outside can only speculate about the issues, it is clear that inside the organization, the players are to blame, and they will continue to cycle through body after body to find a solution. 

Maybe it is time for the staff to take a deep dive into their techniques or philosophies; it’s clear that something isn’t working. Unfortunately, the Titans sit in uncharted territory, with the son being the head coach and the father in charge of the worst unit on the team. If this were any other franchise, offensive line coach Bill Callahan would be on the hot seat, but instead here the players are solely on the chopping block. 

The Titans will take on the Houston Texans in Week 12, and maybe during their preparations, they can find a way to put an average right tackle on the field. 

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Brian Callahan to Nicholas Petit-Frere: ‘This is not what NFL tackles do’

Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere received a harsh critique from line coach Bill Callahan.

It’s not a secret that the Tennessee Titans’ offensive line has struggled in 2024. Not only have they been inconsistent in the run game, but quarterback Will Levis has been under pressure on a large portion of his throws.

This was called out by head coach Brian Callahan in his weekly press conference, pointing out that the right side of the offensive line must be better.

While the unit as a whole is rather inexperienced, offensive line coach Bill Callahan does have some pedigree to work with. One player who has been under fire is right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, who reportedly got called out by his coach in meetings this week.

https://twitter.com/TDavenport_NFL/status/1836868698398666953

“I got critiqued,” Petit-Frere said, “This is not the standard, this is not the level we play at, this is not what NFL tackles do.”

This is not the first time this week that Petit-Frere has taken some heat. After being announced as a Fantasy Football Expert by Fantasy Life, fans’ reactions were all over the map. A move that came on a terrible performance against the Jets, where he gave up nine pressures on Levis.

While Petit-Frere is not the only culprit in the Titans’ offensive line woes, he has played a large part. If the Titans want to get into the win column this week, the line, especially Petit-Frere, must play better.

Everyone will find out Sunday if these harsh words from Callahan made an impact when the Titans take on the Green Bay Packers at Nissan Stadium.

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Titans’ Bill Callahan receives lifetime achievement award

Titans offensive line coach Bill Callahan, long regarded as one of the top coaches in the game, was recognized as such by the PFWA.

2024 has been quite the year for veteran offensive line coach Bill Callahan. After departing the Cleveland Browns for a chance to work with his son Brian on the Titans, he was just notified that he has been selected as a 2024 Paul “Dr. Zimmerman Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).

Named for Paul Zimmerman, who covered the NFL for 29 years as Sports Illustrated’s lead pro football writer, this award, instituted by the PFWA in 2014, recognizes lifetime achievement as an NFL assistant coach. On Tuesday, he joined Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in receiving the award. 

The award should not come as a surprise to Titans fans, as Callahan is highly regarded as one of the preeminent offensive line coaches in the NFL. In all, he has spent 22 seasons coaching the offensive line and seven years as offensive coordinator at multiple stops, where he guided 14 offensive linemen to a total of 35 Pro Bowl selections. With some talented young players now under his tutelage, he will look to add to those numbers.

PAUL “DR. Z” ZIMMERMAN AWARD WINNERS (For lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL): 

  • 2014 – Jim Johnson, Howard Mudd, Fritz Shurmur and Ernie Zampese
  • 2015 – Dick LeBeau, Tom Moore and Dante Scarnecchia
  • 2016 – Monte Kiffin and Wade Phillips
  • 2017 – Bud Carson
  • 2018 – Joe Bugel and Emmitt Thomas 
  • 2019 – Gunther Cunningham and Mike Westhoff 
  • 2020 – Bill Arnsparger and Romeo Crennel 
  • 2021 – Rod Marinelli and Bobby Turner 
  • 2022 – Leslie Frazier and Greg Knapp
  • 2023 – Don “Wink” Martindale, Bobb McKittrick and John Mitchell
  • 2024 – Bill Callahan and Steve Spagnuolo

Titans OL coach Bill Callahan reacts to Saahdiq Charles’ retirement

The Saahdiq Charles storyline continues to get more strange by the day.

The Saahdiq Charles storyline continues to get more strange by the day. It’s been a week since the 25-year-old abruptly decided to walk away from the game of football.

In turn, the Tennessee Titans were left scrambling to find his replacement on an offensive line that already had question marks going into the season.

The Titans, who will hold joint practices with the Seattle Seahawks this week, met with the media on Tuesday morning.

Offensive line coach Bill Callahan was asked whether he or the coaching staff had any idea that Charles was contemplating retirement.

“No, not at all,” Callahan said via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “I was really kind of taken aback, personally. I didn’t know what happened or what occurred. I let (general manager) Ran (Carthon) handle that, but it came out of the blue. We were all—the players and coaches—really kind of surprised.”

Callahan also noted that he attempted to reach out to Charles after he announced his retirement but did not hear back.

Charles signed a one-year contract in free agency after spending the first four years of his career with the Washington Commanders.

The former LSU standout logged 35 games, including 18 starts, in the National Football League, so the Titans were counting on his experience to shore up the right side of the offensive line.

Instead, they had three weeks of a preseason schedule to sort through the options.

Fourth-year player Dillon Radunz emerged as the immediate answer, as he had entered the 2024 NFL season focused on the guard position after moving around the offensive line in his first three seasons.

The 26-year-old logged 14 snaps in the Titans’ 17-13 Week 1 preseason win against the San Francisco 49ers before the first-team offense was pulled.

“I thought his pass pro(tection) is improving,” Callahan said of Radunz. “He’s starting to throw hands, he’s latching handles, and he’s anchoring down. Those facets of his play are improving.”

Tennessee also has Daniel Brunskill, who was the starting right guard last season, Lachavious Simmons, and Andrew Rupcich in competition for the job.

Following their joint practices this week, the Titans and Seahawks will clash at Nissan Stadium this Saturday for their second preseason game.

Which under-the-radar player could shape the Titans’ 2024 season?

Which Tennessee player could help shape the 2024 season?

How good can the Tennessee Titans be in Brian Callahan’s first season as head coach?

The Titans had a busy offseason that began with a new coaching staff. They were busy in free agency, signing receivers Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd and center Lloyd Cushenberry. In addition to signing Cushenberry, the Titans spent a top-10 pick on an offensive lineman (JC Latham) for the second consecutive year.

Tennessee’s moves appear to indicate that it is going all-in on second-year quarterback Will Levis.

While the Titans’ success or failure depends heavily on Levis, another player could significantly impact the season.

CBS Sports recently named 50 under-the-radar NFL players who could shape the 2024 season, and Titans right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere cracked the list.

23. Nicholas Petit-Frere (RT), Titans: Last year, the Titans signed Andre Dillard to a three-year deal, but he allowed 13 sacks — most in the NFL — and Tennessee ate nearly $8 million in dead cap to move on from him. In comes Petit-Frere, who struggled as a rookie and hardly played last year. The Titans have improved nearly all parts of Will Levis’ supporting cast: Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd at receiver, Tony Pollard at running back, first-round pick JC Latham at left tackle and Lloyd Cushenberry III at center. Petit-Frere needs to hold down the right side to help Levis’ development under new coach Brian Callahan.

Bill Callahan, Brian’s father, is arguably the NFL’s best offensive line coach. Petit-Frere, a 2022 third-round pick from Ohio State, has a chance to lock down the right tackle position for the foreseeable future. In his first two seasons, Petit-Frere has played in 19 games with 18 starts.

Unfortunately, he began this training camp on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. The good news is he shouldn’t be out too long.

Titans’ Brian Callahan on hiring Bill: ‘There was no family discount’

The Titans needed Bill Callahan so badly that they could have handed him a blank check and nobody would’ve batted an eye.

Just in case you thought Tennessee Titans esteemed offensive line coach Bill Callahan might have reduced his normal asking price just to work with his son, Brian Callahan, think again.

During a recent episode of “The Adam Schefter Podcast,” Brian said that Bill did not take a family discount to come to Nashville.

“You gotta negotiate,” Callahan said. “Business is business, and he [Bill Callahan] said, ‘If I’m gonna do this, here’s X, Y and Z what I’m gonna need.’ There was no family discount, if anybody’s wondering…”

Nor should there have been.

After all, Callahan is one of the best in the business at his job and was also taking on a difficult task in helping Tennessee rebuild its offensive line, which had been one of the worst in the NFL for two straight years.

The truth is, the Titans could have handed Callahan a blank check and told him to name his price and nobody would have batted an eye. That’s how bad Tennessee needed him.

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Titans sign former Browns OT Geron Christian

Another former Brown is off the market.

The Cleveland Browns turned to Geron Christian down the stretch of their season after the season-ending injuries to offensive tackles Jedrick Wills, Dawand Jones, and Jack Conklin. Now, Christian has signed with the Tennessee Titans.

While Christian had his struggles with the Browns, filling in as the starting left tackle, there are not many players or teams who can prepare for their fourth and fifth-string offensive tackles to fill in successfully.

This makes the second Browns offensive tackle from a year ago to land with former Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan and the Titans, joining LeRoy Watson (who was traded for a seventh round pick before the 2024 NFL draft).

Christian faces an uphill battle to make the final 53-man roster with the Titans, who just drafted Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham in the first round. However, the Titans do lack depth along their offensive line, so with a strong camp Christian could pull through.

Titans’ Bill Callahan raves about JC Latham’s work ethic

Titans OL coach Bill Callahan revealed that the work ethic JC Latham has displayed is not something he’s seen out of most first-rounders.

All offseason long we’ve heard praise for Tennessee Titans 2024 first-round pick and offensive tackle JC Latham’s work ethic, something offensive line coach Bill Callahan has had a front-row seat to witness.

Following the team’s final practice of organized team activities on Tuesday, Callahan raved about what he’s seen from Latham.

“(Latham is) built a little bit differently from the mental aspect from most first-rounders I’ve been around,” Callahan said, per Jim Wyatt. “He’ll always do the extra, he’s always out here everyday. Of course, you know the story about (general manager) Ran (Carthon) chasing him out of the rain here a few weeks ago.

“But he’s always doing things to improve his craft, which is fun, it’s enjoyable as a coach. You yearn for players like that in your room, because they’re great examples for the other guys in the room to learn from. But he’s really obsessive about getting everything correct. He’s a perfectionist that way, so it’s fun to watch him go back out on the field and correct something that he wants to get better at.”

Bear in mind, Callahan has seen a lot of football players over his illustrious coaching career, so that makes his praise even more noteworthy.

Latham recently spoke about his work ethic, saying that late NBA and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was a big inspiration for him. He also revealed he started to ramp things up when he was in high school and had to switch from defensive line to offensive line.

You can check out Latham’s full comments right here.

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Titans’ Lloyd Cushenberry talks learning from Bill Callahan, JC Latham’s progress

Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry on OL coach Bill Callahan: “I feel like I’ve learned everything.”

The Tennessee Titans made a massive upgrade at center this offseason with the signing of former Denver Bronco, Lloyd Cushenberry, who is one of the better players at his position in the NFL.

Upon signing with the Titans, Cushenberry, who inked a four-year, $50 million deal, wanted to lead by example, seeing as how he’s never been very vocal in the past.

“It’s been pretty cool,” Cush said of joining the Titans, per Jim Wyatt. “Like I said, when I first got here, I just wanted to come in and lead by example. I’ve never been a big talker or rah-rah motivational guy. My mindset coming in was just showing these guys what type of worker I am, what kind of mindset I have everyday. The biggest thing is just being the same guy everyday, not too high, not too low.”

One of the big pluses for Cushenberry going to Nashville has been the opportunity to work under a legendary offensive line coach like Bill Callahan. Despite having four years in the league, Cush is learning plenty from the esteemed coach.

“I feel like I’ve learned everything,” Cush said with a smile. “He’s been teaching us so much, just about the history of the game, the history of these plays. He recalled a few plays from 2009 when he was with the Jets when Brett Favre got hurt because something didn’t happen upfront. Along with that, just the detail. It’s been great.”

Another piece of the Titans’ revamped offensive line is first-round pick JC Latham, who, by all accounts, is off to a phenomenal start, especially when it comes to his work ethic.

Cushenberry is pleased with what he’s seen from Latham thus far.

“He’s been great,” Cushenberry said. “He’s completely buying in, very smart, has came along and picked up this offense pretty well. Him and Pete (Skoronski) have been working great together, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses throughout the season.”

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Browns: Wyatt Teller talks about the difference between Bill Callahan and Andy Dickerson

What does the veteran see as the difference between the two?

The Cleveland Browns did the right thing, letting former offensive line coach Bill Callahan leave to join his son after he became the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. How many chances could you get to do something like that? In the end, the team lost one of the greatest coaches ever to coach the offensive line and replaced him with a well-respected coach in Andy Dickerson.

During last week’s OTA practice, veteran right guard Wyatt Teller was asked about the difference in coaching styles between the two.

“Yeah, well, I would say Bill (Callahan) was pretty hands-on. He’d get in your face if you messed up, but no, very much so. It’s just a very different energy. You know, Bill, I don’t think Bill wasn’t – I mean, he would raise his voice, but he wasn’t the one who’s screaming. Usually he’d get coach (Scott) Peters to start screaming at us if we really messed up, but no, you know, Coach Andy (Dickerson), he’s awesome. You know, he’s getting after us, making sure we’re running, making sure that we’re going to the right places and everything like that. I mean, that doesn’t change from coach to coach. But, yeah, no, it’s a little bit of a transition. It’s different. But at the end of the day, he learned under Bill. So, a lot of his techniques, a lot of his jargon is Bill stuff.”

As Teller noted, Dickerson did some learning with Callahan, and having similar techniques and jargon will help for a smooth transition between the two in 2024.