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Dec 29, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) heads to the locker room for half time against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Titans HC Sets Big Goal for Star Defender

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Jared Koch | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Throughout his six years in the fold for the Tennessee Titans, defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons has remained a huge factor of this team's defensive line since being drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, logging 84 games played for the franchise, made his way to three Pro Bowls, and been one of the best at his position throughout the league for some time now.

But for the season ahead, it seems like Titans head coach Brian Callahan wants to see Simmons take things to the next level.

Ahead of Titans' mandatory minicamps, Callahan dove into what he's looking for out of Simmons this season, where he presented one major goal for his defensive tackle: getting more sacks.

"To me, the best players that are like Jeff, high-level players, are always looking for somewhere to improve their game," Callahan said. "I'd love to see more sack numbers from Jeff. That would be a goal for him to actually be able to get the quarterback on the ground. He affects the quarterback a lot, but the action of getting the quarterback on the ground is something I think he can do a better job of. I know he's hellbent on making that happen for us."

Brian Callahan on Jeffery Simmons: I'd like to see more sacks from him. He certainly affects the QB but we'd like to see him get the QB to the ground more often. I know he's going to work like hell to do that. pic.twitter.com/4zIszkeCtN
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) June 10, 2025

Finding that pressure upfront was a major issue for the Titans across 2024. They ranked in the bottom three of the NFL in pressures, sacks, and QB takedowns, making them one of, if not the worst pass rush throughout the course of last year.

And while the Titans do have a few young pieces on the front seven worth noting, like T'Vondre Sweat and rookie Femi Oladejo, Tennessee did also lose a key veteran Harold Landry this offseason, meaning Tennessee needs several guys to step up on this pass rush to truly see the worthwhile strides in that area of their defense, Simmons included.

During his last season with Tennessee, Simmons finished with five total sacks through 16 games, coming in as his worst year of production since his sophomore campaign in 2020.

Of course, even for the best names on the interior of the defensive line, those sack numbers can be much harder to rack up compared to those top guys storming off the edge. But for a high-end player at his position like Simmons, he has the gravity and skillset to see those numbers jump on his end, and if the Titans want to see better results from their output last season, he'll have to be the one to take that big leap.

If the Titans can find more pressure on the quarterback in the form of their best defender on this front, it could end up paying major dividends to the overall success of this Tennessee defense in 2025.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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