Tag: Brian Callahan

Bengals’ Tee Higgins calls Titans’ Brian Callahan ‘a great offensive mind’

Bengals WR and pending free agent Tee Higgins is a big fan of Titans head coach Brian Callahan.

With the Tennessee Titans hiring Brian Callahan, and with the team’s need at wide receiver, many have speculated about the Titans possibly signing Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins in free agency.

Barring his getting the franchise tag from Cincinnati, Higgins is set to hit the open market and has already made it clear he would definitely be interested in playing for the Titans.

On top of being able to go home (he was born in Oak Ridge, TN), the chance to play for Callahan again was another reason Higgins has his eyes on Tennessee.

While attending Super Bowl week in Las Vegas, Higgins heaped praise on his former offensive coordinator and called him a “great offensive mind.”

“He helped me a lot,” Higgins said, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. “He helped me grow as a player since my rookie year. He’s a great coach, man, probably one of the best in the league.

“(He has) a great offensive mind,” Higgins added. “I was able to pick his brain a little bit, and learn new things about the game that I didn’t know.”

Higgins also believes Callahan will help the Titans “a lot” because of his experience and track record of success with other players he has coached.

“He’s going to help (Tennessee) a lot,” Higgins said. “He coached Peyton Manning, Joe (Burrow). He coached me and Ja’Marr. He’s going into a situation where he can help those guys over there to get it going in Tennessee.”

Higgins notes that he didn’t talk about his home town much with Callahan but made it clear the Titans head coach “knows I love it.”

It remains to be seen if Callahan and the Titans have as much interest in Higgins as he does in Tennessee. At the very least, he should be on their radar, as the veteran wideout would provide a major boost to a receiving corps. that was lackluster, at best, in 2023.

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Every coach Titans have hired to Brian Callahan’s staff so far

Titans head coach Brian Callahan still has some positions to fill on his coaching staff, but here’s everyone who has been hired thus far.

After firing former head coach Mike Vrabel and hiring new head coach Brian Callahan, the Tennessee Titans have made several changes to the coaching staff.

The Titans are, however, holding on to at least two coaches from Vrabel’s staff.

Per Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky, Tennessee is keeping Chris Harris as defensive run-game coordinator and cornerbacks coach and Justin Outten is being moved from running backs coach and run-game coordinator to tight ends coach, a position he once held with the Green Bay Packers.

As of this writing, the Titans have yet to fill three notable positions, including defensive line coach, outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.

The former positions were held by Terrell Williams and Ryan Crow, but they have since been hired by the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, respectively.

Tennessee has interviewed Thomas McGaughey for special teams coordinator but he was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

All that said, here’s a look at Callahan’s staff so far.

RB coach Randy Jordan leaves Commanders for Titans

Randy Jordan spent 10 seasons in Washington, and reunites with his mentor in Tennessee.

Randy Jordan has determined, after 10 seasons with the Commanders, he is leaving Washington for Nashville.

Jordan was hired by Jay Gruden to be on Gruden’s first Washington staff for the 2014 season. The former North Carolina Tar Heel running back in that 2014 season was beginning a 10-year era of coaching Washington running backs that would persevere all the way through the 2023 season.

The Tennessee Titans are now Jordan’s new employer. The Titans this offseason moved on from head coach Mike Vrabel and have hired Brian Callahan, son of former Redskins coach Bill Callahan.

The Tennessee Titans have been led by four-time Pro-Bowl running back Derrick Henry. Henry has rushed over a thousand yards in five seasons, including two seasons when the former Crimson Tide back led the NFL in rushing.

In 2019, Henry rushed for 1,540 yards while leading the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns and an NFL-high 102.7 rushing yards per game. The following season, Henry was even better with 2,027 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns and 126.7 rushing yards per game.

In 119 NFL games, Henry has rushed for 9,502 yards and 90 rushing touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards a carry. Henry is now age 30, and is expected by most NFL analysts to be moving on next season. Henry recently expressed he wants to win a Super Bowl and is not ready to retire.

Jordan was himself an NFL running back, playing for the Raiders (1993), Jaguars (1995-97) and once again the Raiders (1998-2002). Following his playing career, he launched his coaching career with the Raiders in 2003. He then moved on to Nebraska (2004-07), Texas A&M (2008-11) and North Carolina (2012-13) before joining Jay Gruden and the Redskins in 2014.

He rejoins Bill Callahan, whom he has a long history with, in Tennessee.

Will Levis talks Titans firing Mike Vrabel, hiring Brian Callahan

While down at the Super Bowl, Titans quarterback Will Levis discussed the firing of Mike Vrabel and the hiring of Brian Callahan.

Entering his second season in the NFL, Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis be playing for a new head coach after the team fired Mike Vrabel and hired Brian Callahan.

Levis admitted it was “surprising” to see Vrabel lose his job. However, he has some extra motivation after owner Amy Adams Strunk mentioned him as part of the franchise’s future plans in her statement following the move.

“It is a business, and all these decisions are made each and every year,” Levis said, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. “It was surprising, and there was that limbo period of: What is going to happen with everyone else once we hired somebody? It was definitely a little uncomfortable, because we have no say in all of it. We all loved playing for coach Vrabes, but we all know Miss Amy and the front office, and the organization, has a plan for us.

“I know I am part of the plan, and for her to think of me and include me in it is really special and makes me want to work even harder.”

Despite feeling bad about the situation with Vrabel, Levis says he’s excited to work under Callahan, who has been in contact with him and keeping him in the loop about coaching staff hires.

“You could feel the excitement about the guys he is bringing in, and the guys that we are keeping on the staff,” Levis said. “It just seems like he is being very meticulous about each and every one of these decisions, and he feels really strongly that he has hit the nail on the head about the decisions made so far.”

“He has been able to work with a great amount of quarterbacks and it gets you excited when you see the track record and you see the stats and you start watching the film of how he is able to run an offense and do it really well at a high level efficiently,” Levis added. “So, I am excited to work for him and hopefully be that next guy that people mention of guys he’s had under his belt.”

While Levis has created no shortage of hype following an impressive rookie season, the Kentucky product is far from satisfied. He also noted that he’s close to being full healthy after finishing the season injured.

“Definitely not satisfied,” Levis said. “I know we had the opportunity to win a lot more games than we did, but you can’t fret about all those things, all you can do is look at the tape and do what you can to improve. For me, for one, it’s about getting healthy, which I am close to now, which is a great feeling. Having my body feel this way and as good as it has in 25 weeks or so is really cool. And, I am looking forward to just getting my athleticism back a little bit, getting my legs back, and just being able to be more of a (complete) player than I was this past year.”

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Titans’ Brian Callahan ranked outside top 5 of head coach hires

The Titans’ hire of Brian Callahan was ranked outside the top five of the eight head-coaching hires this year.

For the first time since 2018, the Tennessee Titans have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who was hired just a few weeks after the team parted ways with Mike Vrabel.

Since then, the former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator has been busy filling out his staff, with the most notable additions being offensive coordinator Nick Holz, defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, and his father, offensive line coach Bill Callahan.

Callahan was one of eight new head-coaching hires around the NFL. Derrik Klassen of The 33rd Team ranked all eight and placed Callahan at No. 6.

Here was part of Klassen’s analysis:

Being on that Bengals staff makes it difficult to gauge Callahan’s impact. Callahan was the coordinator under an offensive head coach, Zac Taylor, which obscures some clarity on who was responsible for what. 

Likewise, QB Joe Burrow is a quarterback who comes with his own offensive scheme in a way. Burrow wants to be in the shotgun, spread the field and pepper defenses underneath and deep outside the numbers. In that sense, separating the quarterback from the scheme is challenging. 

That said, Callahan’s offenses showed impressive growth in the past two seasons. Everyone remembers the explosive 2021 Bengals offense, but as teams adapted the following year, that approach had to go away. 

The 2022 Bengals shifted more towards quick passing and greatly expanded their run game to make for a more balanced offense. In 2023, the Bengals shifted again, trying to take more of an under-center approach. Burrow’s bum ankle threw a wrench in that, but you saw what they wanted to do when Jake Browning stepped into the lineup. 

Over the past three seasons, Callahan was responsible for the Bengals’ passing attack that consistently ranked in the top half of the league.

In 2022, Cincinnati’s passing game ranked fifth in the NFL, averaging 265.0 yards per game.

This past season, Cincinnati’s offense finished No. 15 overall in passing, averaging 229.1 yards per game, which was split between Joe Burrow and Jake Browning. The latter accounted for 1,936 passing yards in nine games after Burrow was lost for the season with a wrist injury.

The Titans are hoping that Callahan’s offensive scheme can help Will Levis develop into one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL. As a rookie, Levis averaged 200.9 yards per game across nine games in a Tennessee passing game that ranked fourth-worst (180.4 yards per game) in the NFL.

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Ja’Marr Chase on Brian Callahan: ‘The Titans are fortunate to get him’

Bengals star WR Ja’Marr Chase recently heaped praise on Titans head coach Brian Callahan.

The compliments for new Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan just keep rolling in from his former players.

We recently heard from Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning while he attended the Pro Bowl Games, and now we have Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase heaping praise on Callahan.

When asked about Callahan by Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com, Chase was not shy to express his love for his former offensive coordinator.

“That’s one of my best friends,” Chase said. “I love him to death.”

“I hate to see him leave, but it’s nice to see him get a head job,” Chase added. “He’s a good coach, he loves his players. We always had good conversations. I think he’s a great guy. The Titans are fortunate to get him.

“I think it will be fun, seeing him do what he does. It’s a new opportunity, and we’ll see what kind of playmakers he can (develop) and get the most out of them.”

The former No. 5 overall pick is confident that Callahan will do a good job and even labeled the Titans head coach as a “mastermind” when it comes to setting his players up for success.

“I think he’ll do great,” Chase said. “He has a great mastermind in setting up his players, the way he wants to set them up to get them the ball.”

It’s very clear that Callahan will be missed in Cincinnati.

“I will always speak highly of him,” Chase said. “We all hate to see him leave, but it’s a great opportunity for him.”

Chase and the Bengals will have a front-row seat for one of Callahan’s games during his first season, as Cincinnati will travel to Tennessee for a contest in 2024.

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Ja’Marr Chase opens up about Bengals losing Brian Callahan to Titans

Ja’Marr Chase on Brian Callahan going to the Titans.

The Cincinnati Bengals face the first major coaching turnover hurdle of the Zac Taylor era with Brian Callahan off to coach the Tennessee Titans.

And while the Bengals have prepped former quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher for the promotion to the coordinator for a few seasons now, players themselves haven’t talked publicly about the change much.

At the Pro Bowl, though, star wideout Ja’Marr Chase faced questions about the change and had some high praise for his former coordinator.

“I hate to see him leave, but it’s nice to see him get a head job,” Chase said, according to Jim Wyatt of the Titans’ official website. “He’s a good coach, he loves his players. We always had good conversations. I think he’s a great guy. The Titans are fortunate to get him.

Chase added: “I think it will be fun, seeing him do what he does. It’s a new opportunity, and we’ll see what kind of playmakers he can (develop) and get the most out of them.”

It should indeed be interesting to see how Callahan takes the lessons of the Taylor era and applies them to a team with an upstart possible franchise quarterback in Will Levis while confronting questions, such as what to do about Derrick Henry.

Beyond also speaking out about Callahan, Taylor also noted that going against his former understudy in the AFC should be an interesting challenge, starting right next season.

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5 of the NFL’s new head coaches interviewed with Broncos

Five of the NFL’s new head coaches interviewed for past openings with the Broncos.

Eight NFL teams hired new head coaches this offseason.

The Atlanta Falcons (Raheem Morris), Los Angeles Chargers (Jim Harbaugh), New England Patriots (Jerod Mayo), Tennessee Titans (Brian Callahan), Washington Commanders (Dan Quinn), Carolina Panthers (Dave Canales), Las Vegas Raiders (Antonio Pierce) and Seattle Seahawks (Mike Macdonald) will have new coaches in 2024.

Of those eight coaches, five of them interviewed for past head coach openings with the Denver Broncos.

Harbaugh and Morris were candidates to replace Nathaniel Hackett in 2023, Mayo and Callahan were candidates to replace Vic Fangio in 2022 and Quinn was a candidate both in 2023 and in 2022.

The Broncos hired Hackett over Quinn, Mayo and Callahan in 2022, which was an obvious mistake in hindsight. After firing Hackett, Denver turned things over to Sean Payton in 2023, hiring him over candidates including Morris and Quinn.

Harbaugh was believed to be a top candidate for the Broncos last year, but he opted to remain at Michigan another year. After winning a national championship with the Wolverines, Harbaugh is now returning to the NFL.

After Harbaugh decided to stay at Michigan in 2023, Denver hired Payton, who will now attempt to get the Broncos back on track in 2024.

Peyton Manning talks Titans’ Brian and Bill Callahan, Will Levis, more

Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning shared his thoughts on Titans head coach Brian Callahan, QB Will Levis and much more.

You’ll find few bigger fans of new Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan than Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning.

Callahan and Manning spent four years together with the Denver Broncos, which included a Super Bowl victory in 2015. Callahan served as a quality control coach and offensive assistant during his days in Denver.

Manning praised Callahan before he was even considered for the Titans gig, and he did so once again while attending the Pro Bowl Games this week.

“He’s extremely hard working, he’s smart, he’s grown up around football, he’s tough,” Manning said, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. “He’s been in different coaching environments – Denver, Detroit, Cincinnati, the Raiders. So, he’s seen how it works different places, and I’m sure he’s learned some things to do, and maybe what not to do.

“He has earned this opportunity, he’s paid his dues, he’s done the grunt work. He and I used to text at 1 o’clock in the morning, he was over at the complex still, breaking film down and was not leaving any time soon. I appreciated his work ethic during my time in Denver, and that is not going to leave him ever. The Titans are getting a guy who is going to give it everything he has. It looks like he is putting together a good staff, and I’m pulling hard for him.”

Manning also touched on Brian’s dad, Bill, who is set to become the Titans’ next offensive line coach. He also stated that Derrick Henry would love working with both and that he should stay in Tennessee.

“Brian Callahan would love Derrick Henry, and vice versa,” Manning said. “There’s obviously the business side that comes into play, and that’s up for (GM) Ran Carthon and his staff to decide.

“But Brian Callahan appreciates a good running game, his dad is coming over, and his dad is the best line coach in the NFL. I know he appreciates a good back. (Tennessee) would be a great place for Derrick to continue to play, in my opinion.”

Manning revealed that he spoke with Titans general manager Ran Carthon during the head-coach interview process and feels that hiring Callahan will be great for quarterback Will Levis because Callahan, who will be calling the plays, can’t be poached by another team, which creates stability.

“But now you are looking for some continuity in the system, and the good thing about Brian – I know he is calling the plays this year – is it will be the same system the entire time, and that is so critical to a quarterback.

“That’s what I had in my career, Joe Burrow is going to have the same system as long as Zac Taylor is there (in Cincinnati), so that is a real plus for any young quarterback, and Will will benefit from that.

“It’s quarterback friendly, there’s answers on every play, and as a quarterback that is what you are looking for.”

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Watch: Brian Callahan calls Titans season-ticket holders

After being hired by the Titans, head coach Brian Callahan took some time out to call season-ticket holders to thank them.

Upon being hired by the Tennessee Titans, head coach Brian Callahan had a simple request for fans during his introductory press conference: make Nissan Stadium the most feared stadium in the NFL.

The group that will be most responsible for making that happen are season-ticket holders, as they are the ones who typically attend the most games.

But before they’ll have the chance to do that, Callahan took the time to reach out to season-ticket holders after getting the job to thank them for their support of the franchise he’s now leading.

You can check out the clip of Callahan making a call below.

“You know, one of the things that makes it most exciting for me is that you’ve seen so much of it,” Callahan told one member. “To be able to talk to you on the phone and just say thanks and appreciate the support and the welcome I’ve gotten here in Nashville has been incredible.

“And a lot of it’s because of the people and the fans like you that have such a passion for the organization. Just know that I don’t take it lightly and it’s one that I share with you. And I hope that we can be celebrating a bunch on Sundays and hopefully bringing some really cool moments to Nissan Stadium.”

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