Instant analysis after Brian Callahan leaves Bengals to become Titans head coach

The Cincinnati Bengals will lose offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, who is set to become head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

This is a domino the Bengals have been prepared for, as Callahan has continually been a hot name in coaching circles for a few years.

It will be fun to see what Callahan does with the stuck-in-neutral Titans and a quarterback prospect like Will Levis, yes. Meanwhile, the Bengals have had quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher waiting in the wings to be the next offensive coordinator.

Pitcher, after all, is the guy the Bengals gave a big extension to last year to keep him in town, preventing him from going to an offensive coordinator position with another team. They’ll surely pay up again to stop him from going to that offensive coordinator interview with the Saints soon, too.

Whereas losing a coordinator might have big on-field effects for other teams, that just isn’t the case for the Bengals. Pitcher has been involved in the following:

• Game-planning process with Joe Burrow, whom he helped develop.
• Third-down installs and play designs.
• Development and preparation of backup QB Jake Browning.

That’s just skimming the surface. What’s also interesting is that, as a former scout, he has a perspective most other coaches never do.

Of course, this hinges on the Bengals front office making sure Pitcher indeed gets that promotion, possibly fending off other teams. They could look to outside candidates if necessary, but one doesn’t have to look far to see Burrow’s input on this and the sway it will hold, too:

From last year, Joe Burrow on Dan Pitcher: “We mesh so well in the meeting room and on the sideline. We have a great working relationship. I say this all the time but I couldn’t ask for a better group of coaches for my skill set and what I do.”

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) January 23, 2024

In short, the Bengals letting Pitcher slip away feels unlikely. His promotion and the loss of Callahan should not dramatically impact much in the near future either.

We recently broke down Bengals free agents who could follow Callahan out of Cincinnati. Though he’s unlikely to go, the first name on the list, understandably, is wide receiver Tee Higgins.