Sunday afternoon, the Tennessee Titans' Week 1 began in a fairly positive manner. The 2024 season opener looked like it was well on its way to being a victory.
Whether or not quarterback Will Levis was doing much to aid in that positive trend, in the first half, didn't seem to matter. Tennessee's run game got going early on and helped build some momentum as the Titans went into the locker room up 17-3.
Levis didn't have to do much of anything in the first half, but when the second half kicked off, the pressure started mounting on the second-year pro. Chicago slowly started inching their way back, and Levis began to unravel.
Between two unforgivable interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) and a strip-sack, Levis had a half of football to forget. After the game, head coach Brian Callahan had a heck of a job trying to explain the Titans blowing it.
Monday, we were hit with an all-timer of a quote from the first-year head coach.
Titans HC Brian Callahan:
— AtoZ Sports Nashville (@AtoZSports) September 9, 2024
“If we’d just punted on 1st & 10 every time, we might’ve won the game”
😬😬😬
Here, Callahan seems to insinuate that if they had punted the football on every first down (in the second half) the Titans would have won the game.
With the lead Tennessee built, Callahan wasn't exactly wrong. The Titans defense was doing its job and continued to hold Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams out of the end zone. In fact, the Bears didn't end up scoring a single offensive touchdown.
Brian Callahan has to do a better job containing his frustration
Many times, you'll hear the better head coaches talk about how they will try their best to praise their quarterback in public while critiquing them in private.
Funny enough, that's exactly the advice Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was given on this year's edition of Hard Knocks, when college coaching legend Nick Saban visited the team.
Callahan didn't heed that type of advice, though. Whether or not he meant this as a detriment to Levis, that's how it came across. For a team that's so heavily invested in Levis for 2024, Callahan cannot afford to be making these kinds of comments, at least not publicly.
Did Levis have a bad game? Absolutely. But, it's one game, and that's the mentality Callahan should be taking.
We're talking about a first-year head coach on a team that added a plethora of talent over the offseason and is trying to develop a young quarterback. This isn't the kind of negative press Callahan needs for his organization.
Hopefully, going forward, Callahan can tone down the criticism and take the high road while in the face of the media.