Tag: dennard wilson

Titans DC Dennard Wilson talks green dot, letting Kenneth Murray ‘play free’

Titans DC Dennard Wilson’s main focus with LB Kenneth Murray is to put him in position to “cut it loose” on the field.

One of the big topics of conversation this offseason is about who will wear the green dot for the Tennessee Titans in 2024 after last year’s leader on defense, Azeez Al-Shaair, left for the Houston Texans in free agency.

Because of the position he plays, the first name that comes to mind is free-agent signing and linebacker, Kenneth Murray, who is the only addition the Titans have made at the position in the wake of Al-Shaair’s departure.

Murray has some experience with the green dot (he actually wore it against the Titans in 2023), but there are many out there who believe he isn’t a good option for it in Nashville.

When asked about the green dot, Wilson said he isn’t worried about it right now. And, when it comes to Murray, the focus is putting him in position to not have to think too much so he can “cut it loose” on the field.

“We’re not focused on the green dot right now,” Wilson said, per AtoZ Sports Nashville. “That’s up to guys getting out there and performing, seeing how much information they can retain, first and foremost.

“The thing with Kenneth is, just like when he came out of college, you saw the explosiveness — he’s a big man, he’s athletic, he’s smart, he can make all the plays. For us, our thought process is to put him in a position to allow him to play free, to cut it loose, so he doesn’t have to think as much right now. And as we start to let him go out there and cut it loose and he plays fast and physical and ahead of plays, then you give him the other responsibilities. But right now, it’s about him being the best version of himself, the good self. And trying to maximize his potential so when he goes out and plays, he plays free.”

Wilson’s comments make it quite clear that Murray isn’t a lock to wear the green dot, but he did leave the door open for his linebacker to show he can handle the responsibility.

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Darius Slay’s comments on Dennard Wilson shed more positive light on Titans DC

Titans fans will love to read what Eagles CB Darius Slay said about new DC Dennard Wilson back in January.

Prior to his one-year stint as the defensive backs coach of the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson served in the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons.

And in those two seasons, the Eagles sported the No. 11 and No. 1 pass defenses, respectively, before falling all the way to 31st in 2023.

Prior to said 2023 season, the Eagles, fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, saw their defensive coordinator, Jonathan Gannon, poached by the Arizona Cardinals.

Instead of turning to an in-house option like Wilson, the Eagles ultimately hired Sean Desai for the job and also brought in Matt Patricia as a senior adviser.

Wilson was fired shortly thereafter, with head coach Nick Sirianni reportedly believing Wilson would not work well with his new defensive coordinator.

While no one can say for sure how Wilson would have panned out, he could not have been any worse than Desai, who lost play-calling duties after 13 weeks and was fired after the season. Patricia didn’t fare any better.

Meanwhile, Wilson moved on to Baltimore, where he oversaw one of the league’s best pass defenses (the Ravens finished with the No. 6 unit).

Back in January, veteran Eagles cornerback Darius Slay made it clear he thought the decision not to keep Wilson was a mistake.

“I think he would have made a lot of difference,” he said, per Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He was loved by us. I thought, for sure, he should have stayed.”

And Slay made no bones about his belief that things would have been much better if Wilson was named the defensive coordinator, or even simply stayed on as defensive backs coach. He also shot down the idea that Wilson wasn’t willing to work with Desai.

“It would have been better, regardless,” Slay said. “He told me he was willing to be the DB coach.”

Slay went on to praise Wilson further, saying he has “the right mentality” to lead players and was a fan of the defensive coach’s honesty.

“Defense is a mentality. He has the right mentality to lead people in the right direction,” Slay said. “When he speaks it, you can understand and, like, feel what he’s speaking on.”

“He wasn’t a guy who just came in the room and said, ‘This is what we do. Done,’” he added. “He put some life aspects to it. And he was an honest dude.”

Slay also liked the way Wilson held his players accountable.

“I always hold myself accountable, but it’s always a greater feeling to feel that your coach will hold you accountable to a high, high level, too,” Slay explained.

While the messy ending between Wilson and the Eagles has no bearing on his new job in Tennessee, Slay’s comments shed more light on just how good of a coach the Titans are getting in their new defensive coordinator.

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L’Jarius Sneed’s versatility is exactly what Titans DC is looking for

Titans DC Dennard Wilson wants chess pieces in his secondary, and L’Jarius Sneed is exactly that.

During his introductory press conference back in February, Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson expressed his desire for defensive backs who offer versatility.

Well, the Titans just landed themselves one in cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night.

Sneed is best known for being one of the elite boundary cornerbacks in the NFL, and he’s someone the Titans can rely on to shadow another team’s best receiver, as he did plenty of with the Chiefs in 2023.

The veteran corner shadowed quite the gauntlet of wideouts last season, too, per ESPN’s Mike Clay.

That group that included Calvin Ridley, DJ Moore, Garrett Wilson, Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill (twice), A.J. Brown, Davante Adams (twice), Stefon Diggs (twice), Ja’Marr Chase, Brandon Aiyuk, Zay Flowers, Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and Josh Palmer.

Despite the plethora of difficult matchups, Sneed surrendered a 51.9% completion rate, a passer rating of 55.9 and 406 receiving yards (9.7 yards per reception), while adding two interceptions and 10 passes defensed, per Pro Football Focus.

His PFF coverage grade was an impressive 71.9, and the only No. 1 wide receiver of that group to tally 100 yards or more in a game was Flowers.

But playing on the outside and shadowing isn’t the only thing Sneed can do, as he also has plenty of experience playing out of the slot. Granted, he only played 2% of snaps in the slot in 2023, but he saw a 52% slot rate in 2021 and 2022 combined, per data analyst Arjun Menon.

In fact, according to PFF’s Zoltan Buday, Sneed is one of only three players to see more than 1,000 snaps on the perimeter and inside over the last four seasons combined.

And, among cornerbacks who have played at least 1,000 snaps on the outside in that same span, his slot grade of 77.1 ranks third out of 25 players who met the aforementioned requirement.

Roger McCreary will be the main slot cornerback in 2024 and Sneed will do the vast majority of his work on the perimeter, but his ability to move with another team’s top wide receiver, no matter where they go, is huge.

Another area where Sneed has thrived is in the pass-rush, although his numbers expectedly dropped once he moved to the boundary full time.

Since 2021, no cornerback in the NFL has more pressures (26) or sacks (seven). He’s also first in defensive stops, which is defined as a player making a tackle on a play that is considered successful for the defense.

Wilson made it quite clear he wants versatility out of his defensive backs, and Sneed is just what the doctor ordered.

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Titans CB Chidobe Awuzie’s philosophy a perfect match for Dennard Wilson’s defense

New Titans CB Chidobe Awuzie’s philosophy matches perfectly with defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson’s.

Tennessee Titans Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie wants to help build the team’s culture on defense, and the goal is for the unit to be “aggressive in our approach.”

What does that mean? Awuzie explained during his introductory press conference on Thursday.

“That means that — aggressive in our approach — leave no stone unturned,” he said, per Titans Radio. “Any question that we have in the meeting room, let’s not leave this meeting room without fireworks flying. Let’s get it all out there, have uncomfortable conversations. On the field, as well, obviously, I think that speaks for itself. Football is a physical sport and you either attack or be attacked. So, I definitely want to be the attacker.”

Everything Awuzie said very much falls in line with what defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is looking to instill in his defense.

“We are going to talk about having obnoxious communication,” Wilson said in February. “We are going to talk about brotherhood, playing as one.”

“We are going to be an attacking defense,” he added. “We are going to be violent in our approach. We are going to be smart, we are going to be intelligent, we are never going to compromise for competing, and that is the brand of football we are going to play around here.”

Like Wilson, Awuzie also talked about a team being a brotherhood when explaining what he brings to the table in Tennessee.

“I’m a competitive guy,” Awuzie said, per AtoZ Sports Nashville. “Really physical, technician, and I think I’m a brother. I’ve always been a part of a brotherhood, or a team and been able to excel in a locker room in a culture of winning. So, when that’s the standard — which I feel like it is here — I feel like they get the best of me. I’m really excited to implement what I have, also to earn the respect of everyone in the building. That’s my No. 1 goal.”

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Titans DC Dennard Wilson talks defensive style, being a first-time play-caller

Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson wants to build a defense that is aggressive and versatile.

During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson shed some light on the kind of defense he wants to run.

While Wilson didn’t reveal if the Titans will run a 3-4 or 4-3, he did reveal he wants to have an aggressive defense that blitzes but picks the right spots to do so.

The new defensive coordinator also believes it’s important for the unit to be versatile and multiple,, and the scheme will be built around the talents of his players.

“Football, it’s not about the scheme, it’s about the players,” Wilson said, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. “So, we have to figure out what they do well, and we’ll put the scheme around them to allow their talents to flourish. I can tell you this about the scheme, and I learned this a long time ago, General George Patton said this: ‘Nobody ever defended anything successfully. You are going to attack, and attack some more.’

“We are going to be an attacking defense. We are going to be violent in our approach. We are going to be smart, we are going to be intelligent, we are never going to compromise for competing, and that is the brand of football we are going to play around here.”

Wilson’s attack mentality falls in line with some of the coaches he’s worked under, a list that includes Todd Bowles and Gregg Williams, both of whom have the same aggressive approach.

Wilson also named former Titans head coach Jeff Fisher as an influence on him after working under Fisher during their days with the Rams.

Wilson cited effort, trust and communication between players as three important factors in having a successful unit.

“We are going to talk about effort, and the way we play,” Wilson explained. “We are going to talk about having obnoxious communication. We are going to talk about brotherhood, playing as one. A team that fails to connect is a team that fails to win. So, the connection, and the way we play, the way we communicate, the way we jell, that is going to allow the defense to come to life.

“Because when they believe in one another and they trust in one another to execute their assignment and play at a high level, that is when you get outstanding, violent defenses.”

Considering he’s never held a defensive coordinator job before, Wilson will be a play-caller for the first time in his coaching career.

Wilson says he’ll have time to get acclimated during the offseason but feels the lessons he’s learned from working under different coaches over the years has prepared him for the job. He plans on leaning on the experience of the coaching staff around him to help, as well.

“It’s still early in the process, but we have OTAs, we have training camp. As we go through that cycle, you get better and better,” Wilson said, per Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky. “You learn by doing, right? So, you get better on your job; iron sharpens iron. So, we’ll have call-it periods and all that stuff.

“But also, it goes back to what I just said earlier — the people that trained me to get here. And then I can’t mention enough the defensive staff we’ve put together. They’re going to all be a part of it. When we get into game-planning, they’re going to have their own sections. They’re going to be the head coach of their sections, whether it’s third down, two-minute, first and second down, dropback, the run game. So, I’m going to lean on those guys and then when we get into the game, the game-planning is already done. Now it’s about calling it, how you saw it in terms of how the teams attack, their personnel, their tendencies on situational football. And then, as we start to play, we have to adjust to the schemes that they have because they’re going to have new wrinkles. And with the guys we have and the wealth of knowledge that we have in that defensive room, we’ll be able to adjust quickly, play-by-play, quarter-by-quarter, half-by-half.”

For a look at everything Wilson and offensive coordinator Nick Holz had to say during their introductory press conference on Wednesday, we have you covered right here.

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What Titans DC Dennard Wilson, OC Nick Holz said in introductory press conference

The Titans introduced DC Dennard Wilson and OC Nick Holz in an introductory press conference on Wednesday.

The Tennessee Titans introduced offensive coordinator Nick Holz and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson during an introductory press conference on Wednesday.

But before both had the chance to speak, head coach Brian Callahan went into detail about the hiring process of his coaching staff that saw heavy involvement from general manager Ran Carthon.

“Great teachers, great leaders, excellent communicators, guys that have excellent knowledge in their respective positions,” Callahan said of the coaching staff hires, per Kayla Anderson of 104.5 The Zone. “It’s high energy, great personalities, which makes the office fun these days.”

“The process was thorough,” Callahan added. “Ran and I spent quite a bit of time together interviewing, making sure we brought guys in to speak to them. Wanted to see guys in person, wanted everybody to feel the presence in the room. It was a little bit drawn out, it’s still going — obviously there’s still hires to make — but part of that process was intentional. We were trying to make sure we got the best people we could get for our staff and for the fit on the personality side, as well.”

“Obviously, leaned heavily on Ran’s relationships,” Callahan continued. “If you all know Ran, he’s about as big a people person as there is. He’s got a ton of contacts around the league, people that he knew that I didn’t that we had conversations about. Ran was involved in all of the interviews, as well. Really good sounding board for me, really good advocate of people he knew, which was really helpful to sit and talk with him about the interview process.”

Now, a look at what Wilson and Holz had to say, as well as some thoughts from Callahan on both of his coordinators and the planned approach.

Titans to introduce new coordinators on Wednesday

The Titans will hold an introductory press conference for OC Nick Holz and DC Dennard Wilson on Wednesday afternoon.

The only coaching staff hires the Tennessee Titans have made official thus far are offensive coordinator Nick Holz and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.

And the team will formally introduce both new coordinators in a press conference at 12:30 p.m. CST on Wednesday, the team announced.

Wilson comes over from the Baltimore Ravens after serving as defensive backs coach last season.

The highly-regarded coach, who has over a decade of coaching experience in the NFL, has a connection to general manager Ran Carthon from their days together with the Rams.

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Holz was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ passing-game coordinator last season, a job he held for one year.

Prior to that, Holz was on the Raiders’ coaching staff for 10 seasons and survived multiple coaching changes. He has a connection with head coach Brian Callahan, as the pair were teammates in high school and spent time together on the Raiders’ staff.

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Of course, we’ll have full coverage of the press conference after it happens.

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Titans’ Jeffery Simmons ready to rally the troops for Brian Callahan

Per usual, Jeffery Simmons is ready to step up as a leader with the Titans making the transition from Mike Vrabel to Brian Callahan.

Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons has been the epitome of a leader since coming to Nashville, and that has been especially true after signing a monster extension last offseason.

And Simmons is ready to step up once again in 2024 as the Titans make the transition from former head coach Mike Vrabel to new head coach Brian Callahan.

During the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Simmons said he’s ready to rally the troops around the Titans’ new head coach and has a very simple, straightforward message for his teammates.

“You know I am always that guy,” Simmons said, per team writer Jim Wyatt. “I am going to make sure I can keep the locker room tight, and make sure no matter what it might be, no matter the situation, of course we just got a new head coach, I think it’s going to be simple: Buy in or you just have to get left behind.

“For me, being a captain and a leader on this team, my job is to keep holding my end up on that,” he added. “At the end of the day, it is a new beginning for us. It’s a new chapter. We have a new head coach, so we just have to take off with it.”

Simmons has met Callahan and says he is excited for the staff he’s putting together, which includes the new defensive coordinator Simmons will play under, Dennard Wilson.

“I think coming up this season for us is it’s going to be one of those seasons where we have to really reestablish ourselves in Tennessee,” he said. “Having a chance to meet Coach Callahan in person, when I was in the building, I could tell that he is ready, he wants to win. And I am excited for the staff he is bringing in, especially with DC (Dennard Wilson) from Baltimore. I am excited, man. I think it is going to be good for us as an organization.”

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Ravens players heap praise on Titans DC Dennard Wilson

Former Ravens players heaped praise on new Titans DC Dennard Wilson and gave some insight into him as a coach.

Before he was hired as the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator, Dennard Wilson served as the defensive backs coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

In his lone season with the Ravens, Wilson helped guide Baltimore to the No. 6 pass defense in the NFL and aided in the development of standout second-year safety, Kyle Hamilton. In addition, the Ravens’ defense finished first in passer rating allowed.

While attending the Pro Bowl Games, Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com had a chance to talk to multiple Ravens who played under Wilson in 2023 and all of them had nothing but great things to say and each provided some insight into who Wilson is.

Here’s a look at the quotes Wyatt compiled:

Ravens hire Doug Mallory as defensive backs coach

The Baltimore Ravens have reportedly found their new defensive backs coach after losing Dennard Wilson to the Tennessee Titans. According to 247 Sports’ Matt Zenits, the Ravens are expected to hire Michigan defensive analyst Doug Mallory to fill the …

The Baltimore Ravens have reportedly found their new defensive backs coach after losing Dennard Wilson to the Tennessee Titans. According to 247 Sports’ Matt Zenits, the Ravens are expected to hire Michigan defensive analyst Doug Mallory to fill the vacant role.

Mallory, 59, will replace the highly-regarded Wilson, who coached the unit for one season before leaving to become the defensive coordinator of the Titans. Mallory will now work under Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh after working under his brother Jim Harbaugh for three seasons with the Wolverines.

Mallory was with the Atlanta Falcons for six seasons before his stint in Michigan, serving as a defensive assistant from 2015 to 2016, defensive backs coach from 2017 to 2019, and as a senior defensive assistant and defensive backs coach in 2020.

Mallory will join a new-look defensive staff for the Ravens under new defensive coordinator Zachary Orr following multiple coaches being hired away this offseason, including defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, assistant head coach and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, and Wilson.