The ideal candidate to become the Tennessee Titans next head coach

My ideal candidate to be the next head coach of the Tennessee Titans is Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, who has been thriving in his role with the Bengals since 2019.

Callahan is a football lifer. He's the son of former NFL head coach and current Cleveland Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan. He grew up around the game and played quarterback in college at UCLA from 2002-2005. He got his first NFL coaching job in 2010, and while Callahan was one of Bengals head coach Zac Taylor's first reported hires to his staff back in January of 2019, he was building an impressive resumé with three other franchises before arriving in the Queen City,

From 2010-2015, Callahan worked his way up the ranks with the Denver Broncos. He was a coaching assistant in 2010, and offensive quality control coach from 2011-12, and then an offensive assistant coach from 2013-14. In 2015, Callahan was promoted to quarterbacks coach for the Broncos' run to a Super Bowl 50 title.

Callahan then moved on to become the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions from 2016-17, and the Oakland Raiders in 2018 prior to landing with the Bengals.

Since being hired by Cincinnati, Callahan has helped the Bengals establish one of the top offenses in the NFL. Joe Burrow has been selected to the Pro Bowl, Ja'Marr Chase has had three seasons with 1,000 receiving yards, and the Bengals appeared in the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988.

Zac Taylor is still the team's primary playcaller, but Callahan's finger prints are all over Cincinnati's offense. According to John Sheeran of A to Z Sports Cincinnati, Callahan can be given a lot of the credit for the Bengals staying afloat after Burrow's season ending injury in 2023.

"He's the offensive coordinator, and that comes with obvious major influence on the team's offensive structure and architecture. While he doesn't officially call the plays, there's no one other than Taylor more important on game days in managing the offense," wrote Sheeran in his profile on Callahan. "He puts together game plans on a weekly basis and is responsible for everything on that side of the ball. And he's been doing this for five years. When Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending injury, Callahan was integral in adjusting the offense around Jake Browning. Cincinnati's offense began to thrive under its backup quarterback and remained in playoff contention beyond expectation."

At the end of the 2023 season, the NFL Players Association asked over 1,700 players to rate the coordinators they play for on a scale of 1-10. Callahan came in with the 4th highest approval rating of all offensive coordinators in that NFLPA Poll. Players think highly of him, which bodes well for a transition to being a head coach.

Callahan is candidate who has a ton of experience working with quarterbacks of all types and helping them excel. He has shown the ability to adapt to his personnel, run the ball successfully, and use play-action to put his quarterback in a position to succeed. Finding the right dance partner for Will Levis should be at the top of the Titans' priority list when conducting interviews, and I believe Callahan is a perfect match.

Callahan has learned from the best and knows what it takes to win. Whether that be from his own father, coaching under Super Bowl champions John Fox, Gary Kubiak, and Jon Gruden, or learning the ropes of dynamic offense from Zac Taylor.

I love the experience with QBs. I love that he's had a hand in building one off the most explosive pass-first offenses in the league. I love that he's well received by his players and has seen what Super Bowl caliber organizations look like with various teams. Brian Callahan is the guy for the job, in my opinion.