Let me preface this column by saying this: I like Brian Callahan a lot.
He and his coaching staff have been a breath of fresh air. They’ve brought transparency and openness that was sorely lacking in dealing with previous regimes that had the old New England Patriots mentality of making information and data harder to come by than extracting state secrets from the Pentagon.
That said, after watching Sunday’s sloppy season opener in Denver, a 20-12 loss, Callahan needs to start winning some games when the opportunity presents itself.
The Broncos gifted the Titans every opportunity to pull off a major upset by turning the ball over four times. Tennessee responded with four field goals from Joey Slye. The Titans wasted chance after chance on offense and also cast aside a pretty solid effort from the defense and special teams.
In some ways, it was reminiscent of the way that handed last year’s season opener to the Chicago Bears. It was different in that you didn’t have Will Levis hurling the ball toward the sideline only to have it turn into an interception for touchdown or special teams melting down with a blocked punt for a touchdown.
But many of the same mistakes and issues from 2024 were still present in a game maybe the Titans had no business winning yet still had the chance to.
Tennessee killed its chances with 13 penalties for 131 yards, six of which gave the Broncos first downs. The Titans went 2-of-14 on third downs in the game and managed just 133 yards of total offense.
This time around, Callahan doesn’t have Levis to take a generous portion of the blame. Nor does he have the poor special teams play that Colt Anderson’s unit brought to the table last year. That unit was actually quite good Sunday in its first game under John Fassel.
It’s hard to tell how good the remade offensive line is, but it figures to not be worse than the last couple of years.
Callahan’s offensive system, which has been successfully run over the years by the likes of Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow, will work when executed at a high level by those types of quarterbacks.
But right now, Callahan is running a generic offense, first with Levis, who had half a season as a starter under his belt, and now with Ward, the first pick in the draft, getting on-the-job training with a team still filling holes from so many failed draft picks.
Same as it ever was…
Granted, Callahan and his staff can only do so much with a patchwork roster still recovering from a four-year draft drought.
At the same time, games like Sunday’s and at least two or three times last year showed they are not maximizing their opportunities to win.
Callahan has culpability in this. His play-calling near the end of the half, nursing a 6-3 lead and backed up at his own 7-yard line, was highly questionable. Two short passes and a sack that was nearly a safety gave Denver’s offense the ball back with half a minute to play. The Broncos cashed in on their second play with a 38-yard touchdown pass, the game’s first.
His failure to challenge a catch by rookie Elic Ayomanor in the third quarter and his postgame explanation opened up another can of worms regarding rules knowledge and gave his detractors more fodder for criticizing him.
A bit of advice: Yes, the Titans roster is still shorthanded. But how much will that matter to an impulsive owner in Amy Adams Strunk who has no problem firing people who don’t produce the desired results quickly enough or to her satisfaction? Preaching patience to her could fall on deaf ears at any time if the Titans don’t get better.
Also, if things continue to slide, can it be guaranteed that new general manager Mike Borgonzi and president of football operations Chad Brinker will continue to be patient with a coach they didn’t hire but simply retained to try and see the rebuild through and develop Ward?
For Callahan’s sake, here’s hoping he doesn’t get to the point where those questions have to be asked.
Terry McCormick also covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com