Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Mike Tomlin NOT AN OPTION for Tennessee Titans Head Coach & Best Fits for Coordinator Positions

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

Mike Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL over the last 20 years and while the Tennessee Titans might jump at the opportunity to hire him, the reality of the situation is Tomlin is not an option for the Titans or anyone else. They may sound like bad news, but this Steeler opening is not as good as the Titans and it should not impact the Titans ability to get the best candidate. The Titans are now up to 19 candidates in their coaching search and not all of them would have been seriously considered as head coach options, which makes you wonder who among the names would actually make sense as a coordinator. Kliff Kingsbury and Mike McDaniel would be the best options on the offensive side of the ball, but on defense, Raheem Morris and Johnathan Gannon also have a great resume. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclubSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Ultimate QBUltimate QB is totally free to play, has no ads, and works 100% offline — perfect for when you want to sneak in a quick game or two on the go. Just head over to http://ULTIMATE-QB.COM.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel is officially in Playoff Mode. Every game day during the NFL playoffs, FanDuel is giving customers even more ways to get in on the action. Visit Fanduel.com to get started.  PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.RobinhoodTrade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin.Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm QuoMake this the year where no opportunity — and no customer — slips away.Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first 6 months when you go tohttp://Quo.com/lockedonnfl.GustoTry Gusto today at http://gusto.com/lockedonNFL and get three months free when you run your first payroll.Home ChefFor a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off your first box, free shipping, and free dessert for life. Just go to http://HomeChef.com/LOCKEDON. IndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/lockedonnfl. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mike Tomlin is not an option for the Tennessee Titans head coaching position. That's really not bad news and they have enough candidates already. I'll explain on today's edition of Locked on Titan. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland Titans fans on today's show. I'm going to tell you why Mike Tomlin is not an option for the Tennessee Titans,

even if he is a good candidate in theory. We'll talk about why the Titans have already too many candidates to process and how most of them are probably only good as coordinator options. Before we get into all of it, do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans, your first listen each and every day. Remember Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content all year round always for free Make sure that you get subscribed stay subscribed It's your team every day speaking of every day

Shout up to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday Couldn't do it without you guys if you aren't an everydayer you need to be one Look the head coaching search obviously is heating up right now The Titans are gonna have to hire coordinators after that as well And we're gonna have free agency the draft so much to discuss here in the Tennessee Titans all season, make sure that you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast. But once again,

Mike Tomlin is not an option for the Tennessee Titans. And I don't say that because the Tennessee Titans should not be interested in Mike Tomlin. It's because Mike Tomlin is not an option for any team in the NFL. It's a matter of how his time in Pittsburgh is ending. Mike Tomlin didn't get fired by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He actually stepped down from the Pittsburgh Steelers, which means that the Steelers still own his rights as a coach.

So the Titans cannot hire Mike Tomlin, no matter what, if the Tennessee Titans wanted Mike Tomlin to be their coach, that would mean that they would have to trade for Mike Tomlin. I'm sorry, but the Tennessee Titans are not in a position to trade away draft pitch. for their head coach when there are so many good coaches on the market. Not only that, but it is well known in NFL circles that Mike Tomlin wants to take a year off.

Mike Tomlin needs a little bit of a sabbatical. He's going to do television for a year and then come back and then have an opportunity to go back into coaching at a place that he wants to be. So Mike Tomlin is not an option for the Tennessee Titans, not because I don't like Mike Tomlin. He would be one of my top candidates to take the Titans head coaching job. I know that a lot of people have soured on Mike Tomlin because of the struggles that he's had in Pittsburgh.

But we are talking about one of the best coaches in the NFL over the last 20 years. Mike Tomlin would 100% be a good option for the Tennessee Titans. But again, the reality here is he was not fired. He's not a free agent. He's stepping away to do television for a year. And then he'll come back next year. and the Steelers will trade him somewhere else,

which is exactly what happened with Sean Payton. Now, here is why I don't think this is bad news for the Tennessee Titans whatsoever. This does not affect the Titans in any kind of negative way. I know that a lot of you guys are going to look at it and say, oh, there's another head coaching job that's open on the market and the Titans are going to have to compete with. But I'm sorry, I'm just going to be point blank period. Frank, I think the Tennessee Titans job is way better.

than the Pittsburgh Steelers job. The Titans job is way better of an opening than Pittsburgh. And most of that has to do with the quarterback position. The quarterback position since Ben Rathesberger has been gone from Pittsburgh has been a disaster. The Titans have Cam Ward, who's the most appealing young quarterback on the... Yeah, Lamar Jackson, obviously a more appealing candidate than Cam Ward. He's a two-time MVP and one of the best players in the NFL. But outside of that, I would take Cam Ward over the...

Jackson Dart. I would take Cam Ward over Fernando Mendoza. I would take Cam Ward way before. Guys like Michael Penix or Kyler Murray or Tuatunga Viloa or whatever they got going on to Sean Watson or Chador Sanders in Cleveland or whatever you want to bring up. Like the Titans job is better than the Pittsburgh Steelers job. The Pittsburgh Steelers roster is falling apart. It's old. The expectations are going to be higher right away because they want to win. Mike Tomlin wasn't good. enough. Getting to the playoffs all the time and losing was not good enough. So the expectations are higher. The roster is deteriorating. The quarterback situation is worse. You have to follow in Mike Tomlin's footsteps, which is never an easy thing to do when you talk about a guy who's won

a Super Bowl championship. So I know that a lot of people immediately looked at the Mike Tomlin situation. And I get it, he's a good coach. But again, the technical aspect of him stepping down from the Pittsburgh Steelers makes him not an option for the Tennessee Titans. And I don't think that it negatively impacts the Titans whatsoever because the Titans job is more attractive and more appealing than the Steelers. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy to hear, but that is 100% the case. The Titans job is better than the Pittsburgh Steelers job is right now. So there really is no downside, in my opinion, to the Mike Tomlin situation.

And quite frankly, if I'm honest with you, I think the Tennessee Titans have too many candidates already. The Tennessee Titans have already had way too many people interview. Like, they're right on the line of, this is getting out of control. And it's something that we talked on the Tennessee Titans squad show. On the squad show, we talked about it on Tuesday morning

that the Titans that are now up to 19 coaches that they've either interviewed or requested for an interview. And I'm sorry, but at some point in time it becomes an efficiency process. When you're doing a coaching search, you got to vet every candidate. You got to prepare an interview set for every single candidate. You got to look into their history. You got to research all of these candidates. And at some point in time, like, would you rather have one $5 item or $5.1 items?

Like at some point in time, you stretch yourself way too thin to get the best possible option that you can. If you're so worried about vetting 19 different people, you might not do a good job. job with the people who really matter. And a point that Brad Hopkins, Tennessee Titans legend made on the squad show as well that I thought made a lot of senses, there is no way that 17, 18 and 19 are as good of options as one, two, and three. So at some point it's like, what are you even doing here? Why are you even talking to these people who clearly are not qualified to be your head coach?

At some point in time it becomes a waste of time. At some point in time you're no longer being efficient. with your opportunities. So I think that it's honestly a good thing that the Tennessee Titans don't have to take on another serious candidate that they got to be worried about. Like, they have had enough, okay? Again, we got Brian Dable, Jonathan Gannon, got added to the list.

Like, how many people, how many people can the Tennessee Titans realistically interview? So I think that with the Mike Tomlin situation, again, he's not an option. He's not going to be coaching this year. He's going into television to take a one year sabbatical before he comes back next year. If you wanted to get him anyway, you would have to trade for him.

The Titans should not be trading for a head coach. And again, quite frankly, they have enough candidates on their plate right now where if you go over 20, if the Tennessee Titans go over 20 different candidates, I'm all about casting a wide net. I want the Tennessee Titans to cast a wide net for their head coaching search. But we've had Luanna Rumo and Mike McCoy and Jonathan, or Jonathan Gannon, what is not as bad as, you know, Jason Garrett, Arthur Smith. Like, at some point in time, what are we doing here?

Why are they wasting resources and wasting time with these guys who are not qualified whatsoever? So, I think that it's a good thing for the Tennessee Titans. What the Titans need to do right now, the Titans don't need to increase the volume of the candidates that they're talking with. The Titans need to start to narrow it down. The Titans need to start to pare down their list

and get to their final candidates and the people who they're actually interested in so they can start turning the wheels of, okay, if we hire this guy, here are some coordinators who we think makes sense for him. If we hire this guy, these are the moves that he's interested in making. If we hire this guy, this is the scheme

that he's going to want to run, therefore we need to start targeting players that fit his scheme. The Titans need to start moving forward, not continuing to paddle in place. So I don't think that the Titans have overdone it to an excessive point. I don't think that the Titans have casted too wide of a net right now. But they're certainly bumping up against that and adding Brian Daibol and Jonathan Gannon to the head coaching interviews on Tuesday. It's just, you know, how many guys do you need to interview for head coach

before you could figure out who your finalists are. At some point, it goes from being a smart and wise casting a wide net situation to an inefficient situation and a improper use of resources. So, I'm ready for the Titans to go the other direction, not continue to add more candidates to the interview list. Like, it's time to start figuring out who you actually like because there's no way in the world that the Tennessee Titans like all 20 of the candidates that they've talked to.

But again, with that in mind, One of the reasons that they do all of these interviews is potential coordinators. If you remember back to when Mike Vrable was hired, Matt LaFleur was interviewed as a head coach. And ultimately, he's hired, was hired as the offensive coordinator. So what I want to do now is talk about the guys who have done head coaching interviews or will do head coaching interviews with the Titans, who I think actually make more sense as a coordinator. First, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by gusto.

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Ethos.com slash lockdown NFL application times and rates may vary. Fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast. We talked about why Mike Tomlin is not an option for the Tennessee Titans, not because I don't like Mike Tomlin, but because he literally is technically not an option for the Titans. He's going to go do TV for a year, and he's still under contract. with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But the Titans have interviewed enough guys and I think a lot of the candidates the Titans have interviewed or requested are really more options at coordinator. So I want to talk about who fits that bill. Who would make sense as a great offensive and defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans out of the group of coaches that they have interviewed or requested so far

and on the offensive side of the ball? Number one, number one on my list is Cliff Kingsbury. Cliff Kingsbury is my fourth or fifth best head coaching option, fifth best coaching option for the Tennessee Titans. But I think in reality, Cliff Kingsbury would be better as an offensive coordinator. I am not as confident in Cliff Kingsbury as a head coach as I am some of the other options that I like better. But Cliff Kingsbury is an offensive coordinator.

That would be an absolute home run. And here's why. Two words. Cam Ward. Not only did Cliff Kingsbury just create the best rookie quarterback season in NFL history with Jaden Daniels in Washington last year. But if you go back to college, who did Cliff Kingsbury work with in college? Patrick Mahomes. Who has a very similar skill set to Patrick Mahomes?

As a guy who's a playmaker who can get outside, create, has elite arm talent and arm angles in those situations, has mobility to make plays, but isn't necessarily a dynamic. running quarterback, Cam Ward. So Cam Ward's skill set actually does match up with Patrick Mahomes' skill set pretty well. And what system did Patrick Mahomes excel in in college? The air raid system. And I know a lot of people like to point out, oh, Cliff Kingsbury had Kyler Murray and then he had Jaden Daniels. Those guys are more traditional running quarterbacks. But Cliff Kingsbury didn't have a running quarterback in college all the time. It's not like he's beholden. to that again. He ran an air raid system with Patrick Mahomes when he was at Texas Tech in college.

So the air raid system, which is what Cam Ward ran at Miami. Are you guys putting two and two together now? So Cliff Kingsbury wants to run in his DNA a system that Cam Ward ran in college that made him the number one overall pick. We could talk about Cliff Kingsbury's ability to be a leader in the locker room. I don't think that Cliff Kingsbury, if you look at his scouting report as a coach, Cliff Kingsbury's concern is, can he lead a team? That's the concern with Cliff. But that's not as much of an issue when it comes to being the offensive coordinator. You don't have to lead the team.

So to me, there is no better option to be the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans than Cliff Kingsbury. He is my number one. Now my number two, and let me say this, there is not a big gap between number one and number two. I'm not like number one's good, number two's way below or anything like that. That's not the case. Number two is Mike McDaniel.

Mike McDaniel would be a slam dunk offensive coordinator. Quite honestly, I think that Mike McDaniel is probably going to get another head coaching opportunity. So I don't think that Mike McDaniel is even going to be available to be an offensive coordinator. But at the end of the day, if he is available, he would make personal, sense and we talk about potential pairings. What pairings would make a lot of sense and if the Titans go with a guy like Robert Sala as their head coach, which I think should be a solid option and he is going to interview with the Tennessee Titans, if they hire Robert Sala, Mike McDaniel as the offensive coordinator would be an absolute home run over the moon incredible decision and it makes a lot of sense because Mike McDaniel and Robert Sala

work together in San Francisco and those guys are really really good friends. I've even said, best friends. So, if you're somebody who's screaming up and down right now, I like Mike McDaniel more than I like Cliff Kingsbury, fine. You don't have to twist my arm. I'm going to be over the moon elated and overjoyed with both of them. They are by far the best offensive coordinator options on the market. Like I love both of those options as offensive coordinators. They are perfect because I think the concern with those people, the concern is that they're not leaders. But I don't have to worry about that if they're offensive coordinators and not head coaches.

I don't need them to be head coach level leaders. If they're offensive coordinators, I need them to be some of the most brilliant scheme offensive guys in the NFL with which both of them are. So, those are my top two picks for the offensive coordinator position if the Titans are interviewing people for coordinator positions. Like it's not even close. Now one step down from that, one step down from that, tear down from that on the offensive side of the ball for me is Brian Dable. Brian Dable was the former head coach of the New York Giants who got fired during the season. But he was the previous offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills.

And that's where he cut his teeth and got his opportunity to be a head coach. Brian Dable may not be as schematically gifted and innovative as Cliff Kingsbury and Mike McDaniel. But, and let me say this, Mike McDaniel's system is more of a rhythm timing passing precision offense. And I think Cliff Kingsbury's air raid offense would fit Cam Ward better than the precision timing passing offense of a Mike McDaniel.

But I still love both of them. But Brian Daible is a guy who brings some solid run game stuff to the table and has done a good job of getting young quarterbacks who maybe have some accuracy concerns, getting the absolute best out of them. Now, Josh Allen, Daniel Jones, who remember, Brian Daible got a playoff win with Daniel Jones.

Okay, but Josh Allen, Daniel Jones, Jackson Dart, they're all far better running quarterbacks than Cam Ward is. Cam Ward is nowhere near the level of design quarterback runner as Alan Jones and Dart. Okay? So that's why for me, Brian Daible was number three and I just want to say this. Brian Dable is a jerk. All right. He is a butthole.

You know what I mean? He's mean. He's rude. He screams at his players. He is a cantankerous personality. He's rough around the edges. He rubs people the wrong way. He is very, very condescending.

And again, he's just a jerk. He's a jerk. Now, I think there is a place for that sort of leadership in the NFL. There is a place to be a jerk because it's a demanding industry. You have to demand a lot. out of people. So I'm not saying that that eliminates him as an option. He's still my third best offensive coordinator candidate behind Cliff Kingsbury and Mike McDaniel. But because he has had most of his success with pure running quarterbacks

and because he is a little bit of a tough personality to deal with, I would have him at number three, but make no mistake about it. I would be hype about Cliff Kingsbury and Mike McDaniel. I would be happy with Brian Daibble. That would still be a very good hire as an offensive coordinator. So, I think that Brian Daibble would still be a slam dunk and I think a guy like Jeff Halfley, for example, could make a lot of sense if Jeff Hathley is hired as the head coach of the Titans.

Brian Daible was his offensive coordinator. I think there's some connective tissue there. Now, I got to tell you, the last two names on my list, who I really do think could be the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, is Arthur Smith and Matt Nagy. And if I'm honest with you, I would take Matt Nagy as an offensive coordinator over Arthur Smith. I'm so out on Arthur Smith and the way that he deploys his personnel

using Tyler Algier as much as he used Bijan Robinson, the inability to truly maximize the potential of a guy like Drake London or a guy like Kyle Pitts. Yeah, Kyle Pitts had one good season under Arthur Smith. and then he brings in John Hussmith that tries to phase Kyle Pitts out and never gets him back to that level ever again. Like, the way that Arthur Smith

deploys his personnel, the way that Arthur Smith runs all these sissy-foo-foo plays where he thinks he's so smart and he's going to outsmart the defense. Like, I just, I'm out on Arthur Smith as any of, as any kind of high-level coach on a team. He's not a head coach,

he's not even an offensive coordinator. Arthur Smith needs to go back to being a tight-ends coach or a run game coordinator or something like that. I am out on Arthur Smith. And again, we go back to scheme familiarity. While I'm not high on Matt Nagy as a coach, especially a head coach, I'm totally out. As an offensive coordinator,

Matt Nagy wants the opportunity to call plays again. He's not going to get to do that in Kansas City, and quite frankly, he's not even under contract in Kansas City right now. So, I think that Matt Nagy would make some sense for the Titans if they go with one of these defensive coaches because you do have a relationship with Mike Borgonzi and not only that, but I go back to

Cam Ward does have a similar skill set to Patrick Mahomes. They are similar players in their playmaking, their arm angles, their arm talent, their mobility level. They do have some, I'm not telling you that Cam Ward's going to be as good as Patrick Mahomes. The odds of that happening are very low.

I don't even need Cam Ward to be as good as Patrick Mahomes. I don't need to win three Super Bowls with Cam Ward. Give me one. Give me one Super Bowl before I die. That's all I ask, okay? Give me one, Cameron. That's all I really want. But again, what Matt Nagy has seen happen in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes could help him craft an offense that is better to suit Cam Ward's skill set.

Now, I know the pushback. You know, the Chief's offense has gotten worse once Matt Nagy. went back to Kansas City. And you're right. That's why he's number four on my list and he's in the lowest tier. He's in the hate tier. That's why I like Kingsbury and McDaniels and Davele way better than I like Matt Nagy. I'm not saying that he's the best one. Okay? So just keep that in mind when we're talking about the options and once a head coach is actually hired, we can examine their connections in the industry and then find some other options that makes sense too. but out of the guys who have interviewed for the Tennessee Titans head coaching spot, Cliff Kingsbury, Mike McDaniel, Brian Dable, Matt Nagy, and Arthur Smith

are the only guys that I think make sense as an offensive coordinator for the Titans. So with that in my, oh yeah, Jason Garrett, baby, what about... Listen, I, again, Jason Garrett comes from the Air Coriel system, which is an air raid system, which matches Cam Ward's personality and matches Cam Ward's skill set. So Jason Garrett is like a quarterback coach or a senior offensive advisor, I would be fine with that, but I'm not, he's absolutely not going to be an offensive coordinator or anything like that.

So those are the guys who I think make sense for offensive coordinator for the Titans. Now we need to talk about the defensive guys because at the end of the day, I think there are a lot of these candidates who the Titans have interviewed for head coaching positions or have requested for interviews that I think could make sense as a defensive coordinator as well. Do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you. By Quo, new year new systems. This is the time when a lot of us look at the messier parts of how we run our business and think there has to be a better way and there is.

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must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert again that's Home Chef. Fans let's cap off today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast again we talked about Mike Tomlin not being an option the Titans have interviewed quite enough people at this point and we talked about the best offensive coordinator options now I want to talk about the best defensive coordinator options before we do thanks again for making Locked on Titans

your first listen each and every day Remember Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content all year round always for free I had somebody asking the chat When does anyone think a coach will be hired? Chris I've talked about this previously I think the Tennessee Titans will not hire a coach until probably next Saturday I'm looking at the 24th of January I think the 23rd the 24th the 25th That makes a lot of sense but one thing that you have to take into consideration is what if the Titans are interested in Chris Shula What if the Titans are interested in Vance Joseph? What if the tight, which we know that they are?

And Vance Joseph already did an interview, a preliminary interview during his bi-week, but they're going to want to do a follow-up interview. So there could be candidates that are still in the playoffs by next weekend that could slow the Titans down. Okay? So I think that we should expect to hire, I would say next, not this upcoming weekend, the 17th, 18th, but the 24th, the 25th, I think by the 26th on Monday,

the Titans should have hired a head coach by then. And if they haven't, then we already know that one of the head coach, that the head coach that they're going to hire is someone who's currently still in the playoffs. It's going to be pretty obvious by the time that we get to that date. So I would say, you know, 10, 11 days from now, you might have your next Tennessee Titans head coach. But once we get a head coach hired, again, then it goes to who's going to be the coordinators. And if the Titans hire an offensive head coach, which is what I want,

then the defensive coordinator position becomes incredibly important. And when we look at some of the guys who have interviewed, I think my number one option as defensive coordinator out of the guys who have interviewed for a head coaching spot is Rahim Morris. Rahim Morris may not be a head coach in the NFL, but this is a guy who will inspire, who will lead, who will dominate the room and get the best. out of the defense. I think that

Rahim Morris, while again, he may not be a head coach, look at what happened with the Atlanta Falcons defense this year. Here's a stat for you guys. Over the last, outside of this season, take away 2025. Prior to the season the last 20 years in the, or the last year

in the NFL, the Falcons had the least amount of sacks in 2024. The last five years in the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons had had the least amount of sacks. The last 10 years in the NFL, the last 10 years in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons has had the least amount of sacks. The last 20 years in the NFL,

the Atlanta Falcons have had the least amount of sacks. Raheem Morris attacks it, get some good edge rushers, and now they had a great pass rush and a really good defense. It took a major step in that realm. So I think Rahim Morris is a very good leader. I think he's a very good defensive mind.

And I think Rahim Morris would make a ton of sense as the defensive coordinator if the Tennessee Titans were to hire an offensive head coach. Think if they went with a guy like Kevin Stefansky Rahim Morris would make sense. Think if they went with a guy like Mike McCarthy.

Rahim Morris would make a ton of sense. I also think that Rahim Morris would make sense as a defensive coordinator if the Titans hired a coach who is a defensive guy but doesn't want to call plays. You know what I mean? Or say the Titans hire, oh, I don't even like to say. I refuse to believe it, but for the sake of discussion,

say the Titans hire Matt Nagy. I think Rahim Morris would be an excellent option as the defensive coordinator. So, like, I think Rahim Morris, again, out of the guys that the Tennessee Titans have interviewed for a head coaching role, Rahim Morris would be the best defensive coordinator of them all. But the guy who got a request from the Titans on Tuesday

who kind of caught me by surprise, was Jonathan Gannon, who is the former head coach at the Arizona Cardinals who just got fire. Gannon may not be a leader to be a head coach. If you don't have the fire in your belly, but it's not good. He doesn't command a room.

But Jonathan Gannon is a great defense of mind. He had the Philadelphia Eagles defense on tilt when they won the Super Bowl. Well, Vic Fangio when they went to the Super Bowl in 2022. The defense was great for the Philadelphia Eagles. that year. And Jonathan Gannon runs a really nice scheme, cover four, zone-based scheme. And I think that Jonathan Gannon is one of the best options available. Now, my third best option

is a guy who hasn't gotten a head coaching interview. My next two options have not gotten head coaching interviews for the Titans, but I wanted to throw him in here for the sake of conversation. Dernard Wilson? Like, I don't think that Dernard Wilson is a bad defensive coordinator. And look at what he was able to do with the pass rush of the Titans. The Titans actually, after the by or the last, you know, eight weeks of the season,

the Titans pass rush was pretty good. The Titans' run defense got a lot better. I think that Dernard Wilson is a good defensive coordinator. He may not be a head coach. He may not be a great defensive coordinator like some of the guys who are getting head coaching jobs, but Dernard Wilson is a good defensive coordinator. And God forbid the Tennessee Titans ever give that man some talent.

Dernard Wilson had more. nothing in the secondary. Nothing is an edge rusher. Outside of Cedric Gray, nothing at linebacker. The Titans' defense has been bereft of talent for most of the last two years outside of the interior defensive line. Yeah, Tavondre Sweat and Sebastian Joseph Day and Jeffrey Simmons are good players. But outside of that over the last two years Cedric Gray was good this year. But like, it's not like DeNard Wilson has had a lot to work with and the Titans defense kept them in a lot of games when the offense was doing not. nothing. So if Dinard Wilson was brought back as the defensive coordinator, I would not be

mad about that. And then Anthony Weaver. Anthony Weaver, I thought he would get a head coaching request for the Tennessee Titans. He didn't. I would bring Anthony Weaver in. Miami Dolphins defense did great in the back half of the season. And again, that's a team that has some talent on defense, but it's not overwhelming. And they traded Jaylon Phillips and Bradley Chubb has been banged up. And he got the most out of Chop Robinson. So like, I think Anthony Weaver would be a great hire as a defensive coordinator. And the last name that I'm going to talk about here is Brian Flores. A lot of you guys get in the comments and say,

Brian Flores, Brian Flores, Brian Flores is not coming to Tennessee. Brian Flores is not coming to Tennessee. If you remember back with the Mike Malarkey situation, there were accusations of improper racial profiling for the Titans where they gave a sham, Rooney Rule interview to Dernard Wilson, or not Dernard Wilson, to Brian Flores. He found out about it because Bill Belichick called the wrong guy. He meant to call Brian Dable and he called Brian Flores

and told him he was getting the New York Giants job. The Titans have had issues with that before. Like, Brian Flores is not coming to an organization that has had some, you know, racial accusations in their past. I'm sorry, guys, but you just have to be realistic about that Brian Flores will not coach in Tennessee. I'm sorry to burst your bubble on that. But nonetheless, I think Brian Flores will get a head coaching opportunity.

He's not going to go be a defensive coordinator for the Titans. If he's going to be a defensive coordinator this year, he's going to go back to Minnesota. So, and Kevin O'Connell, the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, basically said exactly that in his press conference earlier this week. So keep that in mind. Now, I don't think John Harbaal is not a coordinator and wouldn't be a coordinator. Mike McCarthy's not going to be a coordinator.

Kevin Stefansky is not going to be a coordinator. Robert Salah's not going to leave to be a coordinator somewhere else. Steve Spagnola is not going to leave to be a coordinator somewhere else. Lou Anerrumo, Jesse Mentor, Jeff Halfley, Chris Shula. These guys are Vance Joseph. They're not going to take coordinator positions. If they did, they would just stay where they're at. You know what I mean?

Or like in Kevin Stafansky, Mike McCarthy's case, they're just not going to take that. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. and this was Locked on Titans.