Tag: Tim Kelly

List of former Titans coaches who have landed jobs elsewhere

A look at former Titans coaches from ex-head coach Mike Vrabel’s staff who have been hired elsewhere.

As was expected when the Tennessee Titans hired a new head coach in Brian Callahan, the team has chosen not to retain several members of former head coach Mike Vrabel’s staff.

While you never want to see anyone lose their job, the good news is many of Vrabel’s assistants have already landed on their feet in roles with new teams.

Vrabel himself has yet to land a new gig after it was believed he would have another head-coaching job quickly following his being let go by Tennessee.

The former Titans head coach garnered a total of three interviews with the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers. However, he was passed over for each of those roles.

One of Vrabel’s coaches Tennessee may retain is running backs coach and run-game coordinator Justin Outten, who the team has reportedly blocked from interviewing with other squads.

Here’s a look at the Vrabel assistants who have landed jobs elsewhere.

Ex-Titans OC Tim Kelly hired by Giants as TEs coach

Former Titans OC Tim Kelly is reportedly being hired by the Giants to fil their TEs coach vacancy.

Yet another former Tennessee Titans coach is heading to the Big Apple.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the New York Giants are hiring ex-Titans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly as their tight ends coach.

Kelly now joins former Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, who was hired by Big Blue to the same role — but those aren’t the only former Titans coaches in New York.

The Jets hired former Titans tight ends coach Tony Dews as their running backs coach, and last year Gang Green brought in Keith Carter (offensive line) and Todd Downing (pass-game coordinator).

Kelly’s offense didn’t have much success last season, but he was also plagued by a lack of talent in the unit, especially along the offensive line, which was among the league’s worst in 2023.

Despite that, Tennessee still managed to have a 1,000-yard rusher in Derrick Henry, a 1,000-yard receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, and a pair of rookie standouts in Will Levis and Tyjae Spears.

Unfortunately for Kelly, he didn’t get another opportunity to right the ship in Nashville after former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was fired.

Giants hiring ex-Titans OC Tim Kelly as TEs coach

The New York Giants are reportedly hiring ex-Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly as their tight ends coach.

The New York Giants are reportedly hiring former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly as their tight ends coach.

The news comes from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Kelly comes over from Tennessee after spending the last two seasons there, first serving as passing-game coordinator in 2022 and then offensive coordinator in 2023.

Tennessee’s offense was not good on Kelly’s watch last season, with the unit finishing No. 29 in passing, No. 17 in rushing and No. 27 in scoring.

However, the Titans also sported one of the worst offensive lines in the sport that hindered their rushing and passing attacks more often than not.

Despite that, the Titans still had a 1,000-yard rusher in Derrick Henry and saw an impressive showing out of rookie quarterback Will Levis, which was no doubt the biggest bright spot on that side of the ball for Tennessee.

Kelly also had a hand in the development of 2022 fourth-round pick and tight end, Chig Okonkwo, who has developed into a solid young tight end over two seasons.

This is the second former Titans coach the Giants have reportedly hired. Big Blue is also reportedly hiring former Tennessee defensive coordinator Shane Bowen to the same role.

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List of Titans coaches who are no longer with the team

A look at the coaches from Mike Vrabel’s staff who are no longer with the Titans.

After hiring a new head coach in Brian Callahan, the Tennessee Titans have begun parsing through the staff of former head coach Mike Vrabel.

And, as you’d expect with a new head coach, several members of the previous coaching staff have been let go, with some of them already landing on their feet with new jobs.

While the fates of many of Vrabel’s former assistants have been reported, there are still some whose status remains uncertain, although it’s fair to assume they will be gone, also.

Nevertheless, here’s a look at the Titans coaches who have reportedly been let go, along with where they landed, where applicable. We’ve also added a list of the coaches whose fates have yet to be reported.

All of the information comes from Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky.

Report: Titans fire Tim Kelly, others from Mike Vrabel’s staff

The Titans have reportedly begun clearing out the coaching staff of former head coach Mike Vrabel.

The Tennessee Titans have reportedly begun the process of clearing out former head coach Mike Vrabel’s staff.

According to Paul Kuharsky, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly has been fired, and others are getting the boot, also, although none were mentioned by name in Kuharsky’s report.

Kuharsky also points out that director of football administration, John Streicher, is no longer listed on the team’s website.

Tim Kelly was told by Callahan last night that he’s out. Others have been told the same but have not yet come to light.

John Streicher, Vrabel’s director of football administration, is no longer listed on the team’s website.

This purge comes as zero surprise in the wake of the hiring of new head coach Brian Callahan, who will now put together his own staff.

Multiple Titans coaches have been given interviews for jobs elsewhere over the past few weeks, and tight ends coach Tony Dews has taken the running backs coach job with the New York Jets.

There are some holdovers we’d like to see the Titans keep, with defensive line coach Terrell Williams and quarterbacks coach Charles London being among them.

However, that appears less likely to happen given this recent news and the fact that London is reportedly available to seek other opportunities.

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6 offensive coordinator targets for Browns after firing Alex Van Pelt

These six assistant coaches should be on the top of the Browns’ OC wishlist

On Wednesday, the Browns decided it was time for the offense to go in a different direction as they let offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt go after four seasons with the team. The move was surprising but when you think about it, it does make sense that the offense must change. With Deshaun Watson returning, it is clear that a fresh voice is needed to reshape the offense to fit his skill set.

Cleveland tried to mold the offense and it just didn’t produce the results they hoped this year, though Watson was playing better before his injury. They need a new voice that can help to reshape this offense, someone with experience working with mobile quarterbacks or an innovative offensive mind from a successful coaching tree.

Kevin Stefanski showed a willingness to make changes last year by moving on from Joe Woods, and this year deciding that as good as Van Pelt is, he just isn’t the one to help take this offense in a different direction.

Here are six potential candidates that make the most sense as the team searches for its new OC.

Titans have huge disparity in early-down rushing, passing efficiency

The Titans are one of the most efficient teams in the NFL when it comes to passing on early downs.

Last week’s loss to the Houston Texans highlighted the Tennessee Titans’ overall deficiencies as an offense, and more specifically, when it came to play calling and in-game adjustments — or lack thereof.

Despite having no success, the Titans insisted on sticking with the run game in Week 15, especially on early downs, which put the offense in disadvantageous positions all game long.

Rather than trusting their young stud quarterback to push the ball downfield, the team chose to run Derrick Henry into a wall of defenders en route to averaging less than one yard per carry.

Not only was this infuriating, but it was illogical, as well.

If you start to throw the ball early and often, it’s eventually going to force the defense to respect the threat of passing plays, subsequently pushing defenders back.

That would then open up the run game a little more, which likely makes the play action more efficient, also.

Instead, the Titans ignorantly chose to stick with their formula to no avail, allowing the Texans’ defense to sell out to defend the run on early downs, predictably resulting in a negative play.

The Titans’ lack of success with running the football on early downs isn’t some sort of anomaly, either.

Per data collected by NFL analyst Ben Baldwin, Tennessee ranks in the bottom half of the league in rushing efficiency on early downs.

Meanwhile, the Titans have the sixth-most efficient passing offense on early downs, only trailing the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys Cowboys.

Unfortunately, the Titans aren’t throwing on first-and-10 nearly enough, with Tennessee sporting the 13th-lowest rate in the NFL.

The offensive philosophy we saw from Tim Kelly in Week 15 is not only outdated, but it’s contradictory to what this team is actually good at.

Thankfully, the Titans only have three games left in the season before they can begin the evaluation and rebuilding process, and it’s one that should include the offensive coordinator.

The main priority this offseason needs to be finding ways to modernize the offense by building the unit around Will Levis’ skill set, but the play-calling must also reflect that.

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Stock up, stock down for Titans going into Week 16

Shaun Calderon lists the Titans players and coaches who either hurt or helped their stock the most in Week 15.

The Tennessee Titans lost a disappointing overtime contest to a division rival for the second time in three weeks after dropping their Week 15 game against the Houston Texans, 19-16.

Tennessee has now lost seven straight division games dating back to last season, secured its second-straight losing season and is now officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 5-9 record.

The good news is, the Titans only have three games remaining before they can shift their focus on trying to rebuild this team back to relevancy in what will be one of the most crucial offseasons in franchise history.

As you can imagine, there were several viable candidates for this week’s stock report, especially when it comes to those who lowered their stock.

However, I decided to focus on the two who I feel lowered their stock the most. I also decided not to include Derrick Henry since he was in last week’s article, even though he certainly lowered his stock even more following his nine-yard performance.

On the contrary, there were a few players who raised their stock despite the loss. So, let’s find out who fell into which category ahead of a Week 16 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on Christmas Eve.

Biggest takeaways from Titans’ Week 15 loss to Texans

The biggest takeaways from the Titans’ Week 15 loss to the Texans.

The Tennessee Titans’ playoff hopes were officially dashed in Week 15 after they suffered a 19-16 overtime loss at the hands of the Houston Texans.

The Titans are now one of six teams no longer in playoff contention, a list that also includes the New York Jets, New England Patriots, Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers.

On the bright side, the Titans remain in the hunt for a top-five pick, which they’ll likely need in order to get one of the top left tackles coming out.

Tennessee currently sits in the No. 9 spot, but the team in the No. 5 spot, the Chicago Bears, shares the same record. The Titans also trail the No. 4 team, the Commanders, by one game.

But we have three weeks left in the season before the Titans’ draft position is official. For now, let’s take a painful look back at Week 15 with the biggest takeaways from Tennessee’s ugly loss to Houston.

Titans’ Mike Vrabel has unacceptable answer for Tim Kelly’s play-calling

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel had a less than acceptable answer when asked about Tim Kelly’s play-calling in Week 15.

The most glaring issue in the Tennessee Titans’ Week 15 loss to the Houston Texans was offensive coordinator Tim Kelly’s insistence on sticking with the run when it didn’t come close to working, especially on early downs.

Running back Derrick Henry was stuffed on nearly every single carry he had on Sunday to the tune of a putrid nine yards on 16 attempts (0.6 yards per carry).

The showing was a combination of Henry not playing well and the offensive line being horrific in run-blocking. But that didn’t deter Kelly, who continued to try and run the football up the middle, which routinely set Tennessee up with second- and third-and-long situations the team couldn’t overcome.

When asked about the puzzling approach after the game, head coach Mike Vrabel had an answer that is simply unacceptable.

“Well, we have to be able to establish a run, whether that’s with Derrick (Henry), whether that’s Tyjae (Spears), whether that’s Jonathan Ward,” Vrabel said. “So, we’ve won a lot of football games with that formula. And we’ve seen where it’s been some inefficient runs, and then we break one and turn things around, and that didn’t happen today.”

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It’s one thing to try and establish the run early on in the game, but after multiple quarters of it not working — and with Will Levis having some success when he was allowed to throw down the field — the approach should’ve been abandoned entirely.

Further, the big runs Vrabel mentions that the Titans have been accustomed to getting in recent years haven’t happened in 2023, so depending on that wasn’t in the ballpark of a sound strategy.

At the very least, the Titans should’ve given rookie back Tyjae Spears more opportunities to see if he could have more success. Spears finished the game with nine carries for 30 yards, which looked like an all-time performance compared to Henry’s.

There’s a lot of blame to go around for Sunday’s loss, but the majority of it definitely goes to Kelly.

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