Tag: Colt Anderson

Titans’ Brian Callahan botches message on accountability with Will Levis comments

Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan had some interesting things to say during his press conference, but one will likely miss the mark.

During the same press conference where Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan talked about the quarterback situation, he made an interesting comment. 

“(One) Potential benefit of moving away from Levis is that guys in the locker room want to feel that all players are held accountable.” 

That is not only an interesting statement but also a bit contradictory to what has happened throughout 2024. Where have the other examples of accountability been? 

Players have been benched, like tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, only to regain their starting position while playing at the same subpar level. Was this accountability the reason Leroy Watson was released after coming off an injury? It’s definitely hard to see. 

Then there is the accountability of the coaching staff or lack thereof. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz has led an inept offense that lacks identity and has no creativity.  The offensive line, coached by Bill Callahan, may be the worst unit in the NFL. The special teams are the worst in the league. They are terrible, and their coach, Colt Anderson, even admitted that he didn’t know how to fix it two weeks ago. 

Benching Levis is one thing, but his performance was bad, and he clearly isn’t the answer. But saying this is to show accountability to the locker room is a joke. Callahan has not held anyone accountable all season, especially on his coaching staff, and that is a major reason the Titans sit here at 3-11. 

The Titans will face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, and maybe Brian Callahan will hold himself accountable and put a winning team on the field.

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Titans’ Colt Anderson, a walking contradiction

Tennessee Titans special teams coach appears to have no concrete idea of what is wrong with the special teams.

Titans’ special teams coach, Colt Anderson, has had a rough week, to say the least. And things have not improved in the days following the latest meltdown against the Detroit Lions. 

During his media availability on Thursday, things appeared to have gone from bad to worse as media members across the Titanverse bombarded the embattled coach with a wide array of topics, including the effort level of his units. 


“It hasn’t been effort,” Anderson said, “Efforts have never been an issue here.” 

This quote contradicts the postgame fallout, when Anderson went out of his way to discuss the effort in detail. Saying the effort was ‘questionable’ against the Lions and that ‘he couldn’t explain it.’


It is easy to see and explain that the Anderson-coached special teams units are among the worst in the NFL. A contradiction like this points to uncertainty surrounding the core issue and likely confusion on how to address it. Seven games into the season, and after the bye, it is a little late to find out. 

Effort aside, between sloppy coverage and the inability to block, the coach must take responsibility and fix the issue. As many Titans’ fans have said on social media, Anderson has not done enough in 2024, and now those fans have no real idea of what the game-day problem is.

Head coach Brian Callahan has supported Anderson to this point, but if another debacle ensues, changes must be made. If they aren’t, look for the dismal performances and social media outrage to continue. 

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Titans’ Brian Callahan firmly behind Colt Anderson: ‘He knows special teams’

The Tennessee Titans have some on the worst special teams units in the league, but head coach Bill Callahan is firmly behind their coordinator.

There is a famous saying within NFL circles, ‘You are who your record says you are,’ and in this case, it is spot on. No matter how anyone tries to spin it, the 1-6 Tennessee Titans are a bad football team. 

One group on the Titans continues to grow more inept by the week: the special teams (excluding Nick Folk). Early in the season, the unit cost the Titans by allowing multiple blocked punts and likely giving punter Ryan Stonehouse  PTSD with the amount of pressure he was facing. While they might have shored that part of the unit up, they can’t stop anything in the return game now. 


After being shredded by the Detroit Lions, the Titans now lead the league in giving up 454 punt-return yards in seven games. Their next opponent, the New England Patriots, is next at just 312 yards. Those numbers are atrocious, and in a game usually decided by inches, the Titans’ deficiencies in this area are costing them mightily. 

For fans, this is debilitating and one of the most painful parts of the game to watch. But by all appearances it is the status quo for head coach Brian Callahan, who continues to totally support special teams coordinator Colt Anderson. 

For any other team in the league, Anderson would have likely been relieved of his coaching duties after blocked punts in consecutive weeks. But now, after the latest embarrassing performance, Callahan is standing firm beside his hire. 


“(Anderson) Knows special teams,” Callahan has said and has zero intention of making a change. 

Standing by a coach is noble, but change must be made in this case. With a team struggling on offense and a defense that wears down throughout a game, the Titans need special teams to be special, and that does not mean special needs. Right now, the Titans don’t have anything close to competent special teams coaching or performance on the field; it is beyond terrible and nowhere near good enough to be considered NFL caliber. 

Stay tuned for Week 9 action when the Titans take the field Sunday in Nashville against the 2-5 New England Patriots in a critical battle for draft positioning. It will be interesting to see how Anderson’s units help support the cause this week. Going by the early sample size, it will be a mitigated disaster, and they will fall short once again. 

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Titans coaches rave about Treylon Burks: ‘He has exceeded expectations’

Multiple Titans coaches heaped praise on wide receiver Treylon Burks on Wednesday.

Nobody on the Tennessee Titans needs a rebound season more than wide receiver Treylon Burks, who has had a lackluster first two campaigns in the NFL, to say the least.

Now, Burks is looking at a season in which he won’t be a full-time starter after the additions the Titans made at the position in 2024, and head coach Brian Callahan has said he needs to contribute on special teams as a result.

Knowing that, the Titans have been giving Burks a look as both a gunner and kick returner this offseason.

On Wednesday, special teams coordinator Colt Anderson praised the Arkansas product for the work he’s putting in and the tools he has.

“Let me just tell you something: that kid is an ultimate pro,” Anderson said of Burks, according to Paul Kuharsky. “The way he’s handled everything from Day 1, he wants to be on the field. Any way we can get him on the field, we’re going to find a way to get him on the field. He’s explosive, he can run, he’s physical. He’s got all the attributes to be a good football player.

“And, at the end of the day, we’re going to have — offense, defense, special teams — the best 11 out there that are going to help us win.”

Anderson wasn’t the only one who praised Burks. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz stated that Burks has “exceeded expectations.”

“He has exceeded expectations so far,” Holz said, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “He has been unbelievable. His work ethic every day has been awesome. His vertical speed, his size, his strength has shown up, non-stop, every day. He’s made some plays down the field.

“He had one yesterday down the sideline we’d like to see him reel in, so that would be one of those things of, ‘hey, when the big plays are there, you’ve got to make them.’

“But he’s done excellent for us and he’s really been versatile, being able to play inside and outside. So, he’s actually been rotating in at all three spots. A lot of times he’s been running with the ones because guys aren’t there and it’s the offseason so it’s voluntary, so he’s been doing a really nice job of kind of plug-and-play from that standpoint.”

While this is all well and good, nobody is going to sign up for a Burks breakout season based on coach comments alone. We’ll have to see all of this translate to impact play on the field, which could be difficult because of his role as the No. 4 receiver in the offense.

New Titans ST coordinator Colt Anderson: 3 things to know

Get to know new Titans special teams coordinator Colt Anderson as we take a look at three things about him.

The Tennessee Titans made three more coaching staff additions official on Tuesday afternoon, with new special teams coordinator Colt Anderson being among them.

Anderson replaces interim special teams coordinator Tom Quinn, who took over after the Craig Aukerman era FINALLY ended during the 2023 campaign.

Aukerman’s tenure in Nashville was marred by lackluster special teams play, which led to the calls for his head on more occasions than we can count.

Despite the struggles, former head coach Mike Vrabel held on to Aukerman, which was no doubt s stain on his tenure in Nashville and was a perfect example of his stubbornness.

But that’s all in the past now and the Titans are bringing in someone who has helped coach a successful special teams unit before in his previous stop.

We talk about that and more as we take a look at three things to know about Tennessee’s new special teams coordinator.

Titans announce hires of 3 more assistant coaches

The Titans announced the hires of three more assistant coaches on Tuesday.

The Tennessee Titans announced the hires of three more assistant coaches for head coach Brian Callahan’s staff.

On Tuesday, the team announced it has hired Colt Anderson as special teams coordinator, Steve Fuchs as assistant offensive line coach and Steve Donatell as a defensive assistant.

The hires of Fuchs and Anderson were previously reported. You can check out more information on Anderson here and Fuchs here.

Donatell, who is the son of long-time assistant coach Ed Donatell, comes to Nashville from the Miami Dolphins, where he served as a defensive assistant last season. Before that, he worked for the Minnesota Vikings as a defensive quality control coach.

Donatell has a connection to Tennessee after serving as an outside linebackers coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

With those three coaches now under contract, the Titans have one more major coaching staff position to fill in head strength and conditioning coach.

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Titans hiring Colt Anderson as special teams coordinator

The Titans are reportedly hiring Colt Anderson as their special teams coordinator.

The Tennessee Titans are reportedly set to hire a special teams coordinator with ties to head coach Brian Callahan.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Tennessee is expected to hire former Cincinnati Bengals assistant special teams coach Colt Anderson as their special teams coordinator.

Anderson spent four seasons in his role with the Bengals (2020-23), which was his first coaching job. He was also the same staff as Callahan when he served as Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator from 2019-23.

Anderson spent eight years in the NFL as a player and appeared in 84 games (seven starts) as a defensive back with the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills.

The Titans had two other known interviews for the role, including former Carolina Panthers special teams coordinator Chris Tabor and former New York Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, who was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tennessee now has two other notable roles on the coaching staff to fill, including assistant offensive line coach and strength and conditioning coach.

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Report: Bengals hire their Brayden Coombs replacement

The Bengals added to the coaching staff recently.

The Cincinnati Bengals have hired Colt Anderson as a special teams assistant and he’ll serve under Darrin Simmons, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Before the Senior Bowl, the Bengals had lost one of the more promising young coaches in the NFL when the Detroit Lions swiped Brayden Coombs via promotion.

Into that void steps Anderson, a former special teams ace who went undrafted in 2009 before playing through the 2017 season with four different teams.

Anderson doesn’t have any prior major coaching experience on record, so it speaks to the potential and connections he must have for the Bengals to make him a Simmons understudy.

And what a way to break into the coaching scene at the pro level, as Simmons is widely regarded as one of the best outright coaches at what he does in the NFL.

Simmons was promoted to assistant head coach to Zac Taylor this offseason too.

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