Titans’ Brian Callahan confident he can handle head coach and play-calling duties

Head coach Brian Callahan will be taking on a pair of new roles with the Tennessee Titans in 2024.

On top of his head-coaching duties that require him to oversee every facet of the team, Callahan will also be the offensive play-caller. Callahan did not call the plays with the Cincinnati Bengals, although he did have a lot of input, both in game-planning and during games.

When asked about having to balance all of his new responsibilities, Callahan expressed confidence that it won’t be an issue.

“As far as my role, I’m going to take it every day as it comes, and I’m going to learn a lot as we go,” Callahan said, per Nick Suss of the Tennessean. “But I feel really confident in my ability to handle all the different parts that are asked of me on a day-to-day basis, as a play caller, as a head coach, as an offensive head coach overseeing a defense. And so, I’m incredibly confident in my ability to do that. So, that’s probably the best way I can say it.”

While handling so much might seem like a daunting task, Callahan notes that his collaborative approach to game-planning makes his life a lot easier, both during the week and in games.

“Not a big [change] at all,” Callahan said, per John Glennon of Nashville Post. “The way we worked in Cincinnati, very collaborative, I’ve worked with Zac (Taylor) for five years, working with him as the primary play-caller and me as the offensive coordinator. I feel really great about the process. Part of that is bringing in great people to help me. That’s a huge part of our next couple weeks is finding those people.

“Because when you have an offensive staff that you trust and guys do a great job with their areas of expertise — our third down, our red zone — by the time you get to Sunday, the game plan is mainly set. Now where guys earn their stripes is when you have to adjust and adapt mid-flow in a game. That’s where you have to have great people involved in the game plan. But I don’t see it as a big adjustment.”

A key word there is “adjust,” something former head coach Mike Vrabel and his staff often seemed incapable of doing, as evidenced by Tennessee being much worse in the second half of games in 2023.

Callahan calling the plays is great news, but not just because he’s a sharp offensive mind.

It also means that the Titans can’t have their play-caller poached, which can lead to instability for a young signal-caller like Will Levis. We saw that happen twice under Vrabel and it certainly didn’t help Marcus Mariota.