On Saturday, NFL Network reporters Ian Rapaport and Tom Pelissero reported on the fate of multiple coaching staffs. Among the 13 eliminated teams, the Tennessee Titans have one of the worst records in the league, at 3-12. What did the intrepid NFL Network reporters have to say about the fate of the Titans coaching staff ahead of a pivotal Week 17 matchup against the Jaguars?
Report: Fate of Titans Coaching Staff Decided Ahead Of Week 17
The 2024 season has been a long march to grandiose failure for the Titans and this coaching staff. The road has been historically poor, just laughably bad on other occasions. Rapaport and Pelissero write this blurb for the Titans as follows:
“But first-year head coach Brian Callahan and the bulk of his staff are expected to return.”
Takeaway
Callahan receives a second season in Nashville, but changes must be made to a unit that provides weekly entertainment for the other team. Special teams coach Colt Anderson has proved to be an inept and befuddling hire for the Titans. Coach Callahan is the primary play-caller, which might be detrimental in the long term. Perhaps he could be better off in a CEO-type head coaching role.
Defensively, the staff under DC Dennard Wilson is a talented pool of assistants who have punched above their weight. Wilson is a coach on the fast track to head coaching candidacy after guiding the defense to unexpected heights. If he leaves, that’s another hole that Callahan must patch along with any other assistants Wilson takes with him.
“Internally, there is a feeling Callahan has shown long-term promise and the team has improved; the expectation next season is that that’ll be reflected more on the field and the scoreboard. Fixing the QB position — former second-round pick Will Levis was benched in December — is Job No. 1.”
Takeaway
Will Levis showed signs of promise after his return from injury, but one terrible game sunk his future as the Titans’ franchise signal caller. In the offseason, Tennessee must find their quarterback, whether a veteran or a highly touted rookie. Callahan has improved the offense’s output this season compared to years past under Mike Vrabel. The Titans have scored 30 points or more thrice this season after failing to score that many in two full seasons prior. Everything is predicated by the quarterback, so it is imperative that the franchise finds one that it believes in.
Possible Regime Change?
On Sunday, the Titans will take on a 3-12 Jacksonville squad in a battle for a top-three selection. They will finish the tumultuous 2024 campaign against blood rival Houston the following week. The Texans are locked in the fourth seed, no matter what, so they could rest players. Sure, it appears safe for the Callahan family to own Nashville property. Still, the winds of change could strike at any time, especially with a fickle owner who detests losing to Houston in anything with a tempestuous rage. The rivalry between the Adams family and the city of Houston is eternal and akin to South Korean and Japanese relations. It will benefit the Titans to lose its remaining two games to secure a better draft slot, but a loss to Houston is unacceptable.
Could the front office and coaching staff sell Amy Adams Strunk on the benefits of losing out and survive to see the 2025 offseason? That is the million-dollar question that no one knows the answer to. The players are fighting hard for Callahan, so that’s one positive omen.
Main Image: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
