When he addressed his players at the start of the offseason program, first-year coach Brian Callahan said he wants the Tennessee Titans to be "relentless and resilient." Another professional sports team in Nashville has gotten a lot of mileage recently out of the former while not long ago the Titans showed plenty of the latter. ... Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson continues to entertain in his media sessions. In his latest, he talked about how he will not let opposing offenses dictate what h...
Apr 11, 2024•32 min•Ep. 245
When he met the Nashville media for the first time, recently acquired cornerback L'Jarius Sneed declared himself "a hell of a player." The personal assessment came off as well-earned confidence as opposed to blustery arrogance and given his play for the Kansas City Chiefs in recent years, it is easy to understand why he feels that way. ... The pairing of Sneed and free-agent addition Chidoe Awuzie gives the Titans a well-matched pair of cornerbacks who will attempt to create a clear identity und...
Apr 04, 2024•32 min•Ep. 244
The Tennessee Titans' offseason spending spree continued with the acquisition of cornerback L'Jarius Sneed in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. The transaction did not cost the Titans much in terms of what they sent to the Chiefs, but they did agree to a four-year, $76.4 million contract extension with Sneed. ... The trade not only solidifies Tennessee's depth chart at the position, it gives them arguably their best group of cornerbacks in recent memory. And given what Sneed accomplished in h...
Mar 28, 2024•39 min•Ep. 243
The Tennessee Titans filled their opening for a backup quarterback when they signed Mason Rudolph to a one-year, $2.87 million contract. In six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the 2018 third-round pick started just 13 games but one eight (with one tie). His deal means the current quarterbacks will count fewer than $7 million against the Titans' salary cap, a far cry from a year ago when Ryan Tannehill's cap hit was more than $36 million. ... Speaking of Tannehill, the now-former Tennessee ...
Mar 22, 2024•34 min•Ep. 242
The Tennessee Titans made a big splash in the opening hours of the NFL's 2024 free agent signing period when they agreed to terms with wide receiver Calvin Ridley on a four-year, $92 million contract. ... All of the talk during the legal tampering period was that Ridley would choose between his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New England Patriots. The Titans, however, had plenty of money to spend, and they ultimately threw a lot of it at Ridley, a 2018 first-round draft pick by At...
Mar 15, 2024•36 min•Ep. 241
The Tennessee Titans opted not to use their franchise or transition tags on running back Derrick Henry or anyone else. Instead, general manager Ran Carthon and the rest of the personnel staff held opted to look ahead to the free agency signing period, which starts in a week. Tennessee will enter the start of the new league year more than $75 million under the salary cap, which means it has more to spend than all but two other NFL franchises. ... After a 6-11 season, the Titans have no shortage o...
Mar 07, 2024•36 min•Ep. 240
The Tennessee Titans started the week with three more additions to their coaching staff. One new assistant coach has direct ties to the head man, Brian Callahan. Another, like Callahan, is a second-generation coach. ... As the NFL free agency period approaches, the Titans have made no noticeable moves to retain any players whose contracts will soon expire. They also have a bunch of money to spend once the signing period commences. ... Some big-name wide receivers around the league are in the fin...
Feb 22, 2024•36 min•Ep. 240
Not long ago, in two regular-season meetings and one postseason matchup, the Tennessee Titans looked every bit the equal of the Kansas City Chiefs, or as close to it as any NFL team. Now, like every other franchise, the Titans are looking up at the Chiefs, winners of three of the last five Super Bowls, and trying to figure out how to match up. ... A look back at Sunday's Super Bowl LVIII, how Kansas City won and the challenge of dealing with the combination of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coa...
Feb 16, 2024•39 min•Ep. 239
It is Super Bowl week, and Denard Walker reflects on how he navigated the myriad media responsibilities he and the rest of the Tennessee Titans faced ahead of their meeting with the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. ... The prevailing wisdom among this panel is that the Kansas City Chiefs look like the team to beat this week because of A) the continued greatness of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and B) a better defense than they have had in other recent championship seasons. ... The Titans' new o...
Feb 08, 2024•36 min•Ep. 238
It already is clear that new Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan plans to overhaul significantly the team's coaching staff. ... There have been no official announcements about assistant coaches, but the latest reporting indicates that the Cleveland Browns granted Bill Callahan -- Brian Callahan's father and a long-time, well-respected offensive line coach -- permission to explore the possibility of joining his son's staff. The report further indicates that the Browns won't stand in his wa...
Feb 02, 2024•38 min•Ep. 237
The episode begins with a nod to a former Tennessee Titans linebacker, Terry Killens, who will make history when Super Bowl LVII is played in Las Vegan. ... Brian Callahan's first public act as Tennessee Titans head coach was an introductory press conference Thursday. The 49-year-old son of former Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan showed much emotion when he discussed those who influenced him most in his professional journey but did not display much of an ego when he reviewed the career p...
Jan 26, 2024•36 min•Ep. 236
A week into their search for a new head coach, the Tennessee Titans have confirmed interviews with four candidates, Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike McDonald, N.Y. Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Las Vegas interim head coach Antonio Pierce and Cincinnati offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. According to reports, they have requested permission to interview 10 coaches, some of whose teams remain alive in the NFL playoffs. ... Callahan looks like the first to emerge as a serious candi...
Jan 18, 2024•37 min•Ep. 235
Tennessee Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk fired coach Mike Vrabel on Tuesday, two days after the final game of the 2023 season. Vrabel is the third-winningest coach in franchise history and one of three to guide the team at least as far as the AFC Championship game. ... The decision was not necessarily a shock, given reports about his job status in recent weeks. However, Strunk offered no concrete answer to the question of why she made the move, and general manager Ran Carthon followed...
Jan 11, 2024•37 min•Ep. 234
No one could say the Tennessee Titans were mailing it in. Although they had lost three of their last four headed into Sunday's game at Houston, all three defeats were in games that went down to the end of regulation or beyond and the victory was a come-from-behind affair in the closing minutes at Miami. The 26-3 loss, which dropped them to 5-11 and left them four games behind their division foes, looked like something completely different. ... This Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars ...
Jan 04, 2024•38 min•Ep. 233
The Tennessee Titans' latest defeat, 19-16 in overtime against the Houston Texans, was surprisingly similar to their previous one, two weeks earlier against the Indianapolis Colts. ... This loss officially eliminated them from playoff contention and left them with a 5-9 record, which guarantees a second straight losing season. ... For the second time this season, the Titans' starting quarterback sustained a high ankle sprain. The first time it happened, rookie Will Levis stepped in for Ryan Tann...
Dec 21, 2023•37 min•Ep. 232
The Tennessee Titans won their first road game of the season and dealt the Miami Dolphins their first home defeat 28-27 on Monday. Tennessee overcame a pair of late miscues with two touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the final 2:46, which made the first NFL team since 2016 to win when trailing by 14 with three minutes to play, and the first ever to do so in regulation. ... Now at 5-8, the Titans are still last in the AFC South and have less than a one percent chance to make the playoffs, b...
Dec 13, 2023•34 min•Ep. 231
The Tennessee Titans fell to 4-8 on Sunday when they lost 31-28 in overtime to the Indianapolis Colts. The game included several special teams blunders, injuries to some of Tennessee's most important players, and an uncommon sideline interaction between a couple of players. All in all, it was an unusual affair that resulted in an all-too-common outcome for the Titans. ... The fallout of this latest loss began when special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman was fired on Monday. Aukerman had directe...
Dec 07, 2023•37 min•Ep. 230
Officially, the Tennessee Titans are 4-1 in home games this season, but with their 17-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, they improved to 4-0 in games played at Nissan Stadium (they were the "home" team in their loss to Baltimore in London). Only three other teams have not lost in their own stadiums this year, and they are all good ones. ... Rookie quarterback Will Levis did not have his best game against the Panthers, but it wasn't his worst either. He had one really good half. Wh...
Dec 01, 2023•31 min•Ep. 229
Sunday's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was the latest disappointing performance by the Tennessee Titans. The offensive line and defensive backfield continued to struggle, and the Titans had to resort to trick plays to score touchdowns. ... With three straight losses and 14 in the last 17 games, dating back to last season, coach Mike Vrabel has started to face questions about his job security. He does have a record of success with the Titans, a seemingly solid relationship with controlling own...
Nov 23, 2023•35 min•Ep. 228
The Tennessee Titans' offensive line has been a liability all season. It got even worse Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when an ankle injury kept right guard Daniel Brunskill out of action and a concussion sidelined left tackle Andre Dillard early in the contest. The makeshift unit did not protect quarterback Will Levis or open holes for running back Derrick Henry well enough for the offense to do much of anything. ... Levis, making his third start, had by far his worst performance to da...
Nov 16, 2023•37 min•Ep. 227
After two starts in place of injured Ryan Tannehill, rookie Will Levis was named the Tennessee Titans' starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. In a victory over Atlanta and a loss to Pittsburgh, the second-round draft pick from Kentucky has shown a strong arm and a willingness to stand in the pocket to get the ball deep down the field. It is a skill set that meshes well with the current offensive plan, and one that the team now (apparently) plans to use for years to come. ... Tanne...
Nov 09, 2023•39 min•Ep. 226
Rookie Will Levis started at quarterback in place of the injured Ryan Tannehill on Sunday and led the Tennessee Titans to a 28-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons with four touchdown passes, including three to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins ... Levis was particularly effective with deep throws, as evidenced by the fact that three of Tennessee's touchdowns came on plays of more than 30 yards. That ability to throw – and complete – the deep ball exploited the risks defenses take when they load up t...
Nov 01, 2023•37 min•Ep. 225
Coming out of the open date in their schedule, the Tennessee Titans traded safety Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for one veteran safety, Terrell Edmunds, and two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft (one each in the fifth and sixth rounds). A third-round selection in the 2016 draft, Byard never missed a game with Tennessee, earned two Pro Bowl invitations and was a two-time first-team All-Pro. ... Coach Mike Vrabel says the Byard deal is not related to the Titans' record (2-4), but co...
Oct 26, 2023•37 min•Ep. 224
At 2-4, the Tennessee Titans are last in the AFC South, and only two teams in the conference have a worse record. With the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline approaching, many will look at Tennessee as a team likely to unload players. Among those in the final year of their contracts who would be appealing to current playoff contenders are running back Derrick Henry, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and defensive lineman Denico Autry. ... Part of the current predicament is a product of back-to-back drafts (202...
Oct 19, 2023•37 min•Ep. 223
A big reason the Tennessee Titans have a losing record five weeks into the 2023 NFL season is that they have had trouble scoring touchdowns, particularly when they get close to the goal line. The Titans rank 26th in points scored and are tied for 29th in red zone percentage. Personnel issues, no doubt, are part of the problem, but this is not the first time their offensive coordinator has directed an attack that has performed sub-standard in this regard. ... Fourth-year cornerback Kristian Fulto...
Oct 12, 2023•37 min•Ep. 222
The Tennessee Titans are 0-2 on the road and 2-0 at home following last Sunday's 27-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Their latest performance was a complete reversal of the one that preceded it, right down to the fact that they reversed the score (they lost 27-3 at Cleveland in Week 3). So, what do we know about the Titans after four games? ... Nicholas Petit-Frere was one of multiple NFL players whose gambling-related suspension was reduced to four games last week from the original six. A...
Oct 05, 2023•39 min•Ep. 221
In their third game of the 2023 season, the Tennessee Titans looked like the same team that lost at New Orleans in Week 1 and not the one that defeated the Los Angeles Chargers. Specifically, the offensive line struggled to create opportunities to run or throw the ball, and the pass defense allowed too many big plays at too many key moments. ... Left guard Peter Skoronski is likely to miss at least one more game due to an appendectomy and no personnel changes appear imminent along the offensive ...
Sep 28, 2023•38 min•Ep. 220
Ryan Tannehill looked more like the Ryan Tannehill that Tennessee Titans have come to expect when he completed 20 of 24 passes and did not commit a turnover in Sunday's 27-24 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. It was a much-needed bounce back after a disastrous outing the previous week, and it should ease the fears of Titans fans everywhere. ... Tannehill was sacked five times in the contest, but an offensive line that featured Dillon Radunz at left guard held up when it mattered, s...
Sep 21, 2023•37 min•Ep. 219
For the third straight year and the fourth time in six seasons under coach Mike Vrabel, the Tennessee Titans have started 0-1. This time, they fell 16-15 to the New Orleans Saints in a game that featured some dominant play by the defense, a sparkling debut by kicker Nick Folk and a disastrous outing by quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who threw three interceptions, missed some wide open receivers, was sacked three times and finished with a career-low 28.8 passer rating. ... Among the promising signs ...
Sep 14, 2023•37 min•Ep. 218
As preparations for Sunday's opener against the New Orleans Saints got underway in earnest, coach Mike Vrabel revealed who had been named team captains, based on a vote of the players. Seven (three on offense, three on defense and one on special teams) were chosen, and one of the seven is likely to be a surprise to most fans. ... One thing Vrabel would not disclose is whether Malik Willis or rookie Will Levis will be the second-string quarterback this week. What is the point of keeping quiet, an...
Sep 07, 2023•39 min•Ep. 217
