Titans request interviews with 2 highly-touted HC candidates

The Tennessee Titans are putting in their requests for interviews with several potential candidates for their head coach vacancy and two of the more highly-touted ones are on that list.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Titans have put in a request to interview Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that Tennessee has also requested to speak with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson.

Of course, those aren’t the only two names the Titans have requested to interview, but they are no doubt the biggest.

Johnson has been the Lions’ offensive coordinator since 2021, and in that time the team has seen its offense become one of the better units in the league.

In 2022, the Lions finished fifth in points per game, eighth in passing yards and 11th in rushing yards. In 2023, Detroit ranked fifth in points, second in passing and fifth in rushing. Bear in mind, that was with Jared Goff under center.

Slowik, who has a connection to Titans general manager Ran Carthon from their days in San Francisco, has one year less of experience as a play-caller, but his first year in that role was very impressive.

Not only did the Texans improve across the board offensively, but C.J. Stroud had a historic rookie campaign that saw Houston finish with the No. 7 passing attack and get to the postseason.

Going into the process, Slowik and Johnson were my two top candidates for the Titans, who should be targeting an offensive-minded coach.

Johnson is at the top of my list over Slowik because he has slightly more experience as a play-caller, but I’d be happy with either one.

It remains to be seen if Johnson and/or Slowik have mutual interest in the Titans, or if they’ll even take the interviews. But it’s good to see Tennessee taking a stab at two of the most highly-touted candidates in this year’s cycle.