The Tennessee Titans have finished the first round of interviews for the head coaching position, and things should start moving quickly now.
There are six head coaching jobs available right now, and while there are only two real threats to the Tennessee Titans in their search, the staff under the head coach is going to be almost as important as the head coach himself.
It can be hard to predict how a coach will put his staff together because it isn't just about assembling an All-Star cast of big names. Instead, it is more about hiring the right mix of coaches who have worked with the new head coach in the past, but also bringing in people outside of the coach's circle based purely on their coaching ability.
After sifting through names and different combinations, I think I have a pretty good idea of what the best-case scenario is for the Tennessee Titans.
Head Coach
Head coach: Brian Callahan
This one is pretty simple, and it should come down to Cincinnati Bengals OC Brian Callahan or Houston Texans OC Bobby Slowik to be the Tennessee Titans' next head coach.
There is a section of fans who want the Tennessee Titans to consider all of their options instead of focusing in solely on offensive-minded candidates. I understand what that group is saying, but the most successful new coaching hires over the last five years have all been offensive names.
Matt LaFleur, Zac Taylor, Kevin Stefanski, Mike McCarthy, Dan Campbell, Nick Siriani, Doug Pederson, Mike McDaniel, Kevin O'Connell, etc. All of those coaches have made their teams better, and they have done it in different ways.
LaFluer wasn't ready, but he grew into the role and has managed to seamlessly transition the Green Bay Packers from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love. Mike McDaniel is a schematic genius who turned Tua Tagovailoa into a viable NFL quarterback after he was being written off across the league. Dan Campbell has an offensive background, but he has built the Detroit Lions in his image and he and Ben Johnson are finding ways to blend that physicality with smart play-calling to be successful.
Callahan is the longest-tenured OC in the NFL and coaches, players, and fans recognize the impact he has on the team despite being an OC that doesn't call plays.
Hiring Callahan would finally give the Titans an offensive mind that won't be gone after two seasons if his scheme works. In fact, if he wants to call plays it would create even more consistency long term and it would be exactly what Zac Taylor (Callahan's current boss) did when he became the head coach of the Bengals.
That experience along with a catalog of coaches that he can call to come and work with him, makes him an elite option for the Tennessee Titans.
Offensive Coordinator
Offensive Coordinator: Liam Coen/Thomas Brown
Whether Coen calls plays or not will be up to Brian Callahan, but Coen has experience calling plays if he is asked to do that.
More importantly, Coen's job will be to work with Callahan and Will Levis to come up with an offense that blends what Levis did well as a rookie and what he did well in Kentucky, with what Callahan wants to do on offense.
Both Callahan and Coen are experts on the Sean McVay offense. That is the offense that the Bengals run with Zac Taylor as the play caller, and Coen worked with McVay for four years including being the OC in 2022.
That is also the offense that Levis ran with Coen as his OC at Kentucky, so it should be very easy for those three to get on the same page quickly.
I wanted to add Thomas Brown's name in here because the Tennessee Titans have shown a lot of interest in Brown and he was a big get for the Carolina Panthers just a year ago. Before joining the Panthers as their OC, Brown coached running backs and tight ends with the Rams while also holding the title of assistant head coach.
Considering his background and the Titans' interest, Brown could be the next OC with Coen becoming the quarterbacks coach/assistant head coach. It could also go another way with Brown being named the tight ends coach/assistant head coach and Coen as the OC.
Either way, I think the Titans should be trying to hire both guys and Coen should be given priority considering his experience in Callahan's system and his familiarity with Will Levis.
Key Tennessee Titans Assistant Coaches
Passing Game Coordinator: Charles London
It wasn't all bad in Tennessee last year, and there were several games where the Titans looked explosive passing the ball. The problem was that when the Titans would do well early, Mike Vrabel couldn't wait to try to sit on a lead and shift into ultra-conservative mode.
People have a high opinion of Charles London and the work he did with Will Levis last year, and it makes sense to have as many smart offensive coaches on the staff as possible.
I could see London going somewhere else and Thomas Brown or Liam Coen taking this title, but it is easier to add a new coach and give him a unique title than it is to try to convince someone like London to take a demotion.
Offensive Line Coach/Assistant Head Coach: Mike Munchak (or Bill Callahan)
The Tennessee Titans have a chance to pick between two of the best offensive line coaches of the last 30 years.
Bill Callahan is currently the offensive line coach of the Cleveland Browns, so the Tennessee Titans can't offer him a lateral position. I believe the Titans could add the "assistant head coach" title and hire him away from the Browns, but that might not be something that Bill Callahan wants to do to his current employer.
That is the easiest connection to draw, but I am more interested in Mike Munchak. I wrote about this at length last week, but Munchak consistently made the Tennessee Titans offensive line one of the best in the league and he did that without the Titans ever spending a first-round pick on an offensive linemen during his time as offensive line coach.
His ability to find and develop Day 3 talent and get the most out of them was phenomenal and bringing Munchak home to a franchise that loves him (and retired his number), would be an amazing story.
Either coach would be a massive upgrade to anything the Tennessee Titans had under Mike Vrabel, but I would give the slight edge to Munchak.
Defensive Coordinator
Defensive Coordinator: James Bettcher
I was tempted to just say pair Callahan up with a former DC who had just been fired like Ron Rivera, Ejiro Evero, or Brandon Staley. That is still a great option, but I think there is a more realistic option for the Tennessee Titans.
James Bettcher had two stints at DC, the first was with the Arizona Cardinals and the second was with the New York Giants. Currently, he is the linebackers coach with the Cincinnati Bengals and it seems like he will be the next DC in Cincinnati if Lou Anarumo is ever hired as a head coach somewhere.
Paul Dehner Jr. who covers the Cincinnati Bengals for The Athletic said this about Bettcher before the season,
"Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo came within a whisker of landing the Arizona job and he’ll be on a shortlist again. Linebackers coach James Bettcher would be a likely replacement if Anarumo left — he has coordinator experience and provides a smooth schematic transition."
That familiarity between Callahan and Bettcher could be important, and what helps bolster his case is that he has another tie to the Tennessee Titans. Bettcher was a Senior Defensive Assistant for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, which means that he would overlap with Ran Carthon's time in San Francisco.
Considering that he has the experience of being a defensive coordinator twice and that he is well thought of enough to be in line for a promotion in Cincinnati, along with his connections to the Callahan and Carthon, makes him a great sleeper target for the Tennessee Titans.