JANUARY 25: The Titans are giving the five-year Bengals offensive coordinator a five-year deal to lead their staff, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Callahan’s contract length matches what the team handed Vrabel back in 2018.
JANUARY 22: Brian Callahan had a second interview with the Titans today, and the organization isn’t letting him leave Tennessee without a deal. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Titans plan to hire Callahan as their new head coach. ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds that the two sides are working to finalize a deal.
In recent days, there’s been growing momentum towards Callahan earning his first head coaching gig. Besides his second interview with the Titans today, the coach was also expected to meet a second time with the Panthers and Falcons. Per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner, the Titans viewed Callahan as a top target, and they were clearly determined to make sure he didn’t land elsewhere.
Callahan has been on the head coaching radar for a while after guiding a talented offense in Cincinnati. While his first two years at the helm didn’t necessarily go as planned, the Bengals finished top-seven in points scored in both 2021 and 2022. The offense took a step back in 2023, although that was partly attributed to Joe Burrow‘s injury, and suitors clearly recognized that context as they pursued him for HC jobs.
Callahan had a long stint on the Broncos offensive coaching staff before serving as the Lions QBs coach (2016-2017) and Raiders QBs coach (2018). During his time in the NFL, he’s worked with the likes of Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr, and Burrow. This has led many to assume that Callahan would be an ideal candidate to guide an offense that’s expected to be led by 2023 second-round pick Will Levis.
The Titans had one of the more surprising head coaching vacancies of this hiring cycle, as Mike Vrabel‘s departure wasn’t necessarily expected. The organization cast a wide net in their search for a replacement, with Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn among those to earn second interviews.
Ultimately, Callahan was the choice. With the head coach soon to be under contract, the Titans will look to fill out the rest of their coaching staff. One name that will surely be connected to Tennessee is Callahan’s father, Bill Callahan. The veteran coach has spent the past four years as the Browns OL coach, and the senior Callahan was previously the head coach for the Raiders.
On the other side, Bengals coach Zac Taylor will now have to hire a coordinator for the first time since he took the Cincy gig in 2019. Dehner notes that Bengals QBs coach Dan Pitcher has been groomed for the job and will likely be a leading candidate to replace Callahan.
Nice, maybe they finally get the throwing game going.
Nope have fun with 3 yard bubble screens and 5 yard in routes out of the shotgun all year
Leave your father alone, Brian!!!!!! Bill needs to stay in Cleveland!!!!!!
Is it possible to sabotage a Super Bowl as the O-Line Coach?
Do you think that Brian will sabotage a Super Bowl if given the chance?
Offspring of the “Dumbest Coach in America”……
Bill may not be a great head coach, but he’s been a terrific offensive line coach in Cleveland.
He’s been a terrific offensive line coach everywhere he’s coached offensive lines not just Cleveland
Well that’s all great but it doesn’t make him HC material. With a young QB and a chance to bring in Slowik, who completely set up Stroud for success… This is an Amy Strunk hire that the GM will get fired for.
You realize we’re talking about Brian’s father, Bill, the O-line coach in Cleveland, as well as other places, NOT his son, Brian, the OC in Cincinnati who’s about to become the HC in Tennessee…right????
What makes Slowik a great HC? I would say Callahan did pretty great with Browning who has no where near the talent Levi’s has.
This may be the silliest comment I’ve ever seen on a message board and I’ve seen a lot of silly comments on message boards. Bill Callahan maybe the best position coach ever. Almost every line that he’s coached has been dominate What are you talking about!
Exactly. That’s what I was getting at. As a Browns fan, I sure don’t want to see him leave to join his son in Tennessee…but would certainly understand if he did. His ability to coach players with marginal ability into solid contributors, and quickly, is incredible. He’s been invaluable the last 4 years in Cleveland, as I’m sure he’s been elsewhere.
Seems like his good seasons were pretty closely tied to Burrow’s good seasons, and the Titans don’t have a QB of that calibre on their roster…
Not superior to the coach they just fired. Good luck with that.
Hopefully Vrabel takes a year off to see if the OSU job opens up
FYI it didn’t register my laughing emoji…
Hopefully this apple fell far from the tree.
How so? Bill Callahan is one of the best position coaches to ever coach
Yep and was also a polarizing head coach who was hated by players, fans and front offices. X’s and O’s only get you so far.
Polarizing coach??? There’s been exactly ZERO reporting about Bill being hard to get along with in Cleveland. He’s not the HC here, but an assistant who’s disruptive and difficult to get along with doesn’t last as long as he has in the NFL.
That’s a solid QB track record. Levis could be in good hands. They have to build around him
Not an underwhelming hire, but not exactly an overwhelming one either. A “whelming” hire, maybe?
Your comment gave me a good laugh. Thanks for that. Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve heard “whelming” used as an adjective. Is it even a word??? And if it isn’t, how can someone be “overwhelming” or “underwhelming”????
He knows how to say:
“Yes Ma’am, I will do exactly as I’m told.”
“No Ma’am, I would never offer an opinion contrary to yours.”
“Yes Ma’am, I will happily step in and accept all the blame when the fans get upset about our record.”
Amy was obviously looking for someone who would be compliant but more than one person has made the mistake of under-estimating the fire in an Irishman.
Followed by ‘Thank you ma’am for the 4 year guaranteed contract!’.
Unfortunately, I think there’s a lot of truth to your comment. It seems like she got rid of Mike Vrabel, one of the league’s better coaches, who got a lot out of a team that isn’t the most talented, who got them to play hard every week, because of differences of opinions. If Callahan, or anyone else, succeeds in Tennessee, it will be despite Amy Strunk, not because of her.
Are people serious with this? When he did the bulk of his winning, I’d argue the Titans had the best lines in the league on both sides of the ball. The equivalent of the Eagles last year.
To clarify, my comment about the Titans’ talent wasn’t to say that it was horrible, just that it wasn’t well-above average. You’re right, they had good lines (I don’t think the best on both sides of the ball), but they were winning with Ryan Tannehill and mediocre receiving talent. Brown was good, but not as productive as he’s been in Philly. I think Vrabel and his staff got what they could out their talent on both sides of the ball.
Early in his tenure, they had a top three offensive line and a top five defensive line. You don’t get 9 sacks in a playoff game from scheming. Tannehill was a slightly above average QB in his prime, but people talk like they were winning with Trent Dilfer or something at QB. It’s extremely overstated. They had mediocre receivers, and then Brown left Tennessee and became one of the best receivers in the league. You think Jalen Hurts is that much better than Tannehill? I don’t. Which brings us back to that his OC hires were terrible.
This isn’t going to work out.
Hope he can build an O line better than what he did in Cincy.