Tennessee Titans: Will Keith Millard Make A Difference?

The Tennessee Titans had a forgettable season last year when you look at how little the defensive line produced. We all know the story of the Titans ranking second to last this last year so I’ll spare you the long drug out story about it.

The Titans brought in Keith Millard as a pass-rush assistant in hopes of him being able to revive the line. Millard was a first round pick, as well as a two-time Pro Bowl player and also earned Defensive Player of the Year during his time as a player in the NFL. Millard has coached for the Oakland Raiders as well as the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay was his most recent stop. He had been out of the NFL for two years prior to his stint with Tampa Bay this last year. His results left room to desire. The Buccaneers came in last in the league in sacks. The question you have to ask is how much of an effect do you think the lockout had on the lines performance?

I would say it definitely made a difference, as that’s the same thing we’ve been saying here in Tennessee as the Titans had a complete coaching staff change, though the Buccaneers were obviously at a much greater advantage, suffering a much smaller turnover. Either way, as John Glennon of the Tennessean put it, it’ll come down to whether or not Derrick Morgan produces this year. That should be a pretty good sign of whether he’s an effective coach or not.

So far it sounds like he’s teaching them things they’ve never learned before.

Via NFL.com:

"A lot of this stuff is new to a lot of these guys, and even talking to some of the veterans, they’re telling me, ‘Coach, I’ve never learned this stuff before,” Millard said, via John Glennon of The Tennessean. “It’s amazing (considering who) some of the guys they’ve been coached by. You’d think they’d have (been taught)."

Derrick Morgan has high praise for him thus far, saying he’s very critical of everything they do, doing his best to make sure they are doing everything the best that they can.

I hope he can be a great teacher for our young guys and I expect people like Casey, Klug, and Martin to excel this year anyways, I’m just a little wary after hearing that he was helping with Tampa Bay’s line last season.

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