Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans BATTLE for Brian Callahan, Bobby Slowik v Mike MacDonald Reaction & Predicting HC Landing Spots

Episode Date: January 21, 2024

The Tennessee Titans have scheduled a second interview with Brian Callahan and it will take place on Monday, but the Titans could have some serious competition for his services with the Carolina Panthers. It will be a tight race, but the Titans should have the advantage. Next, two top candidates for the Titans faced off this weekend in Bobby Slowik and Mike Macdonald. Some of the over-reactions to their battle are insane, but we did learn some things. Finally, who will get each of the remaining open jobs in the NFL? Tyler gives his predictions including predicting the Titans will sign Callahan.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Jase MedicalEmpower yourself when you purchase a Jase Case, providing you with a personal supply of 5 antibiotics that treat 50+ infections. Get yours today at jasemedical.com and use code LOCKEDON to get $20 off your order.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelRight now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED when you place a FIVE DOLLAR BET. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tennessee Titans have the edge in the competition for Brian Callahan. I'll explain why on today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it! 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. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified

candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. We got a lot of coaching news over the weekend. First, I'm going to go over the competition for Brian Callahan, who's going to have a second interview with the Titans on Monday. We also got to talk about Mike McDonald and Bobby Slowik and their performance against each other in the divisional round. And then finally, I'm going to predict where some of these head coaches

finally land before we get into all of that. Thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Also, I owe all of you a big thank you. We have hit 10,000 subscribers on the Locked on Titans podcast. Also, I owe all of you a big thank you.

We have hit 10,000 subscribers on the channel. Thank you all so much. An even bigger thank you to my everydayers tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. And now you know it's time to get to 15,000. So hit that subscribe button. I got draft content, free agency content,

breakdowns on the coaching staff, roster management, cap management, all that stuff coming your way again every single day and always for free. So with that being said, we got to get into the tale of the tape, the competition for Brian Callahan. So again, Brian Callahan, offensive coordinator from the Cincinnati Bengals, will have his second interview with the Tennessee Titans. He is the only candidate to get a second interview so far. It's going to be on Monday, and Callahan would make a ton of sense for the Tennessee Titans. I have discussed his credentials. Number one, he may not have called plays before, but he has entirely designed the Cincinnati Bengals offense along with Zach Taylor, their head coach.

Those two have been connected at the hip, so he might as well have called plays at that point because he's so intimately involved in the process. He has the ability to put together a fantastic coaching staff, not only with his father being the best offensive line coach or second best offensive line coach in the NFL, but also with all of his connections throughout the NFL, being a child that was raised in the league with his dad, who was a former head coach, Bill Callahan, of course. So he has a ton

going for him. Great with young quarterbacks vouched for by Peyton Manning in the past. They've worked together. Brian Callahan is absolutely qualified, but the Titans may be in a competition for Brian Callahan with the Carolina Panthers, a team that wants to have an in-person second interview with Brian Callahan as well. But interesting to note that Jeremy Fowler from ESPN reported that Callahan would have that in-person interview with the Titans on Monday. And he also said that Callahan could do the second interviews, again, with Carolina or the Atlanta Falcons, but it'll happen after Tennessee. So Tennessee is the priority for Brian Callahan right now

based on the tweets from Jeremy Fowler. But again, that competition, in my opinion, is going to come from the Carolina Panthers. So what I wanted to do here is let's do a little tale of the tape with some of the factors that could play into this. And number one, you got to look at your quarterback. It's the most important position in the NFL. And Bryce Young may have been the number one overall pick

ahead of Will Levis. But Will Levis is the better quarterback. If you want the better quarterback, the Tennessee Titans win that battle. Will Levis is a better NFL quarterback than Bryce Young. I feel very comfortable saying that at this time. So that's a win for the Titans. You move forward, you look at the general manager.

That's obviously going to be a big factor. Now, I am a believer in Rand Carthon. I have said that throughout the last few weeks pretty staunchly. But the Carolina Panthers don't have a general manager right now. So Brian Callahan very well could pick his own general manager with all of those connections that he has in the NFL. And I don't care how good Rand Carthon is. If you get the opportunity to handpick your general manager, that's an advantage for Carolina. There's no way

around it. So quarterback, I'm going Titans, but general manager, not because I don't believe in Rand, but handpicking your own guy, that's hard to pass down. So I'm going to go general manager and go with Carolina, giving them the edge there. Then you get to ownership. That's the next big thing, the ownership. All right. And that's a split one for me because you want to talk about stability. Well, that's the Titans. Amy Adams Strong just gave Mike Rabel six years, six years, gave John Robinson seven years. Amy Adams Strunk is nowhere near the unstable owner that David Tepper for the Carolina Panthers has proved to be.

So you want to talk about stability and ownership and actually getting an opportunity to build things the way you want? You're probably going to get more patience from Amy Adams Strunk than you are crazy David Tepper in Carolina, who's just been flowing through coaches, trading up for Bryce Young, being insane, giving away DJ Moore and draft picks. You're getting more stability and ownership from the Titans, but the other side of this is money. David Tepper is worth $20 billion. Amy Adams Strunk is worth $1.6 billion. So it's not just about Brian Callahan getting himself paid. If he wants to truly assemble the best coaching staff possible, he is going to have to pay top tier coordinators. It's no secret

if you've been following this team, the Tennessee Titans are known for being cheap with their coaching staff. Not the head coach, the assistants. The Titans are one team that pays the assistant coaches very little compared to other teams around the NFL. It's something that's known in the NFL. If you don't know about it, then believe me or not, all right, you don't have to if you don't want to, but I'm telling you, the Titans are known as someone who doesn't pay a lot for their assistant coaches. So if you look at money, it's not even close. The Panthers are going to blow the Titans out of the water.

Again, their owner's worth $20 billion. The Titans owner's worth $1.6 billion. And she just liquidated a bunch of assets to help pay for the new stadium. So to me, you look at stability and then money, ownership at best is a tie. So right now, QB win for the Titans, GM win for the Panthers, and ownership, that's a tie. So one, one, one. But then, look at the roster.

I mean, you want to talk roster future or roster present? It goes to the Titans. Number one, the Titans have a better roster right now. So you're starting at a much better place than you would be in Carolina. Better quarterback, better roster overall. And you want to look at roster future? Draft picks and cap space. Carolina only has about $30 million in cap,

and they traded away their first round pick for Bryce Young. So if you're talking about roster right now or roster in the future, the advantage goes to the Titans. So you want to do a tale of the tape with those factors? To me, the Titans win. It's two wins, one loss, and a tie. And I'm going with Tennessee. And, you know, from the money perspective, if you want to at least talk about the money, Tennessee, no state income taxes. So that has to help there as well.

So for me, if you want to do a competition between the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans for Brian Callahan, I think Tennessee is the winner. And I think we'll get some news about who wins that competition if that's exactly what the Titans want to do this week. And I'll be here to break it down. But those aren't the only candidates I think the Titans are seriously considering.

Mike McDonald, the defensive coordinator for the Ravens, and Bobby Slowick, the offensive coordinator for the Texans, are two names I think actually matter. And they went against each other this weekend. We're going to talk about some of the takes coming out of that matchup. Before we get into it, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. At the start of the new year, every small business owner is asking themselves the same question.

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We just broke down the tale of the tape in the competition for Brian Callahan, who I think is an excellent candidate for the Tennessee Titans. But there are two other candidates who I think are realistic options for the Titans going forward and could realistically be in their top three of candidates along with Brian Callahan. And that's Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike McDonald and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Those guys matched up against each other in the divisional round.

And boy, did we get some extreme reactionary takes coming out of that game. I'm going to dive into my thoughts on both of those coaches coming out of divisional weekend. Before I do, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Again, hit 10,000 subscribers. Can't thank you all enough. If you're not subscribed, it is the perfect time.

I have Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. We're going to be talking free agency, roster management, cap management, draft picks. We got a whole entire coaching staff to fill out here outside of just head coaches. So a lot of content to dive into this offseason. Make sure you stick with me here. But talking about these two candidates, Mike McDonald. So we talked Brian Callahan, who I think is the Titans top candidate right now based on the reporting. But then I think the other

two top candidates are Mike McDonald, the Baltimore Ravens DC, and then Bobby Slowik, the Houston Texans offensive coordinator. And I got to talk about Bobby Slowik here a little bit. Okay. So obviously the Texans lost. It wasn't pretty. The Texans were completely outclassed. And of course, as is the case normally, the instant reactions and the overreactions online

were out of control. Bobby Slowik last week was the GOAT. Bobby Slowik was generating five yards of separation for his wide receivers. They absolutely dominated a great Cleveland Browns defense, scored 45 points on them, absolutely dominated. And everybody was like, oh, Bobby Slowik, Bobby Slowik. And, of course, one game against the Baltimore Ravens. And now Bobby Slowick's a bum.

He's a loser. Doesn't deserve it. Completely outmatched. Despite, despite the Texans being 10-point underdogs on the road with a rookie quarterback missing two of their three top receivers going against a Baltimore Ravens team that is significantly, significantly more talented. Again, the Texans were

10-point underdogs. Did you think the Texans were going to be in that game? Because I had money on the Ravens on FanDuel Sportsbook. I was telling all my buddies, hey, the Ravens are going to win by double digits, boys. This is not close. They're a way better team. I picked the Ravens to win on Locked On NFL too. Did you think that the Texans were going to keep it close with the Ravens?

If you did, that's on you. Okay? That's on you. So, if you're going to keep it close with the Ravens? If you did, that's on you. Okay? That's on you. So, if you're going to take all of those factors, rookie QB, on the road, against a way better team, 10-point underdogs, missing a bunch of talent on offense,

and you're going to take all that and say, oh, well, Houston didn't look great. Bobby Slowick's a bum. We don't want him. And just throw out the entire regular season and throw out the drubbing against the Cleveland Browns.

And just none of that matters now because they lost on the road to a way better football team. I don't know what to tell you. Like, put down your pitchfork and wake up a little bit. Touch grass, as the kids would say. Like, it's just so over, just such an overreaction. So reactionary. And it's unbelievable to me how, yeah, you see that from fans. You know, fans are fanatic. That's what it's short for. So you're going to see those emotional overreactions all the time. But even people in the Titans media,

just so over the top with their reactions since Mike Rabel got fired. It's absolutely hilarious to me. And then you have the other people who are like, Titans need an offensive coach. Titans need an offensive coach. Yeah, it'd be better for the Titans to get an offensive coach. Oh, I'm going to laugh at you guys if they don't hire an offensive coach. The Titans don't necessarily need it.

Just talking out of both sides of their mouths. Trying to cover their bases on both sides so they're not wrong. You know, just scared to actually put their foot down. And it's just unbelievable to me. So, to me, it's so clear that the Texans were never beating the Ravens. They're not even close to as good of a team.

So, to tell me all of a sudden now that everything that Bobby Sloick's done this year, leading CJ Stroud to the best rookie quarterback season we've ever seen, none of that matters anymore because he got beat by a way better team on the road with a rookie quarterback and an injured offense. I mean, you're just not being realistic, okay? And let me also say this. A lot of people are really big on this leader of men phrase.

Bobby Sloic isn't ready. Bobby Sloic isn't ready. You know, that's what people want to tell you. Was Matt LaFleur ready? No. Not according to the Titans, he wasn't. And they hired Mike Vrabel, macho man, leader of men, instead of the X's and O's, nerdy, not ready,

Matt LaFleur and how that turned out. Matt LaFleur is a way better head coach than Mike Rabel. He's been to the divisional round of the playoffs four out of his five seasons. He's got one of the top three winning percentages of all active NFL coaches. He just took the youngest roster in the NFL led by a first-year starting quarterback and went to the divisional round and should have, if not for Jordan Love turning into Brett Favre all of a sudden,

should have beaten San Francisco. They would have been a team all night. Matt LaFleur was in the building and the Titans let him go because they had a leader of men. I don't care about that rah-rah leader of men, motivational macho crap. Get a schematic X's and O's head coach for your young quarterback, for your offense.

Like, I just can't, just the reactions. Now, on the flip side of that, with Mike McDonald, as I've said all along with Mike McDonald, he is the only defensive coach that I would have happiness if the Titans hired. The only one. Okay? He's not higher than Slowick or Callahan for me,

but McDonald is the only one I would be happy about. And here's why. Number one, he's 36 years old. Young, innovative head coach who has had a ton of success everywhere he's been for three years running now. Michigan, Baltimore, doesn't matter. He's fantastic. Not only that, but he has had a specialty

of stopping Kyle Shanahan offenses. Whether it be Miami, whether it be Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco himself, whether it be Bobby Slowick in the Houston Texans. Mike McDonald is the only defensive coordinator that we've seen to have consistent success against this new Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. So, if you're not going to hire a Kyle Shanahan coaching tree guy

to coach your offense, you better hire a defensive guy who can stop him. And Mike McDonald has proven he can be that. Okay? So, unlike Mike Rabel, who is a rah-rah leader of men, defensive guy who sucks as a defensive coordinator. Mike McDonald is actually an innovator on defense

who is great at stopping offenses. And because he has been trained and mentored by the Harbaugh brothers who put talent in their coaching staff ahead of loyalty, clearly still getting over my sickness, feeling better. Thank you guys for reaching out, but obviously I'm still not 100%. But with all of those factors, young, innovator, years of success, specialty against the Shanahan offense, ability to put together a talented coaching staff

and not just focus on blind loyalty, Mike McDonald would be my only, only okay defensive hire. And I think he proved why this weekend. So, and we're seeing it. We're seeing it all play out in front of us. So, Brian Callahan, Bobby Slowick, Mike McDonald, I think one of those three guys will be the next Tennessee Titans head coach. But I'm going to predict not only who the Titans next head coach will be,

but I'm going to predict all of the openings at head coach around the NFL here in just a moment. Before I do that, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, the NFL regular season is over, but we're into the playoffs, baby, and that makes it the perfect time to get in on the action with FanDuel. Again, America's number one sportsbook.

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FanDuel looks excellent. It's aesthetically pleasing, I would say. Love it. So make sure that you visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and make your first bet a layup. It's FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We broke down the tale of the tape in the competition for Brian Callahan. We talked about Mike McDonald and Bobby Slowick

and how the takes just went out of control this weekend when they played against each other in the divisional round. But now, I want to kind of step back, talk about what's happened in the coaching landscape so far, what spots are open, who I think fills them, and of course, who I think is the Tennessee Titans next head coach. Before I get into that, thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen each and every day.

I want to also let you guys know that Locked On has launched the first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. It's called Locked On has launched the first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. It's called Locked On Sports Today. It's here for you 24-7, covering the top sports stories of the day with local experts from Locked On, plus all our national shows, including Locked On NFL,

which I do the Thursday show up. Check that out. Covering every league. Go to Locked On Sports Today on YouTube and subscribe to the first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel. Okay, so. We got some coaching news over the weekend.

Antonio Pierce, who I never wanted the Titans to hire anyways, went back to Las Vegas. I think that's not going to work out. To me, it's like, it's like when you have great physical chemistry with someone on a first date. You know, you laugh and joke at dinner. You make out in the car before you go home.

Everything's good. You're feverishly texting back and forth for the first couple of weeks. And then you get to know the person a little bit more and it's like, man, this isn't probably going to work long term. We don't have enough interest. We don't kind of have a vision for the future. I think Antonio Pierce would be a good head coach down the line,

but I don't think it was the right hire for the Raiders right now. But either way, that's one opening and one candidate I didn't want both off the board. Perfect. Now, Mike McCarthy stayed in Dallas. Nick Sirianni staying in Philly. None of those opened. That's good news for the Titans as well.

Less competition, okay? Then, in my opinion, it's pretty obvious at this point that Bill Belichick is going to go to the Falcons and Jim Harbaugh is going to go to the Chargers. So the Chargers, in my opinion, is the best opening, maybe Washington, but I think that Harbaugh is going to the Chargers, Belichick going to the Falcons. Take those two spots off the board. I didn't want either of those candidates either. So this is all great news. All right. But that leaves Seattle, Washington, Carolina, and Tennessee. Okay. So in, in, excuse me, I get to that third segment. You guys know it's been a struggle for

like five days now, but start with Seattle. I think they're going to hire Dan Quinn. They're going to bring him back. They're going to keep Shane Waldron at offensive coordinator. I think they're going to hire Dan Quinn. They're going to bring him back. They're going to keep Shane Waldron an offensive coordinator. I think they want to keep things as similar as they possibly can. They don't want to totally overthrow everything. So if you bring in Quinn,

it's a guy who's respected in the building, a guy with relationships to the franchise. He can come in, pick up the defense, get it back to what it was, and you let Shane Waldron continue his progression with Geno Smith. Okay? I think that makes a ton of sense. Then, Washington, I think it's the least kept secret in the NFL that Ben Johnson is going to Washington. Alright? Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.

Washington, in my opinion, is the best opening. You're going to Washington. All right? Detroit Lions offensive coordinator. He's going, Washington, in my opinion, is the best opening. You're going to get the quarterback that you want with the number two pick. They have the most cap space in the NFL. They just hired Adam Peters

from San Francisco who's considered to be maybe the top executive that's not a general manager in the NFL. They have a brand new owner with open pocketbooks that's willing to spend

as much as possible. I think Ben Johnson is going to Washington, and I don't think that it's very close. He didn't even take his interview with the Titans because I think he knows where he's going. That leaves, like we, and the episode comes full circle, folks. That leaves Carolina and Tennessee. All right.

And I think that Brian Callahan is going to one of those teams. Could be. I think the Titans have the edge. But I talked about how the one place where the Titans lose may be the biggest factor of them all and it's cash money.

Okay. So, who goes where? I think the Titans do find a way to to sign Brian Callahan I think the Titans find a way to do it I think they bring in Callahan and I think Carolina ends up going with Mike McDonald

or Dave Canales the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that's what I think happens there I think the Titans do Brian hire Brian Callahan at this time. But I think, in my opinion, that Brian Callahan and Mike McDonald are the guys who get those jobs. So, if Carolina gets Brian Callahan,

the Titans will hire Mike McDonald. If the Titans hire Callahan, I think Carolina hires Mike McDonald. If the Titans hire Callahan, I think Carolina hires Mike McDonald. It's that simple. So here's my thing though. Bobby Slowick probably not going to get a job here because again, a lot of people are saying he's not ready. But here's my issue. When he is ready next offseason, Titans aren't going to have a shot at him.

And they're going to be sitting there with Mike McDonald, a defensive coach, who hires a good offensive coordinator and then loses him in a year, or loses him in two years. So, to me, if they hire Callahan, that would be fine with me. I'm cool if they pass on Slowick for Callahan.

But if they pass on Slowick for Mike McDonald, I'll just be so disappointed because it just lacks vision, in my opinion. Even, I continue to say, even if Bobby Slowick, quote-un quote unquote isn't ready. Again, Matt LaFleur wasn't ready in 2018 and look what happened. You got a young quarterback. You're going to have a young roster. One of the youngest rosters in the NFL. Let Bobby Slowick

grow with the roster. Even if he isn't ready. All you do is you hire some very experienced assistant coaches, Mike Munchak, over the weekend. It all came out that Mike Munchak wants to come back to Tennessee to coach. He's one of the best offensive line coaches in the galaxy and a former head coach. Let Mike Munchak come back, be the offensive line coach for Bobby Slowik, be the offensive line coach for Bobby Slowick, be the assistant head coach

so that he can help Bobby grow as a leader. And then, in a year, you have one of the best offensive minds in the entire NFL and a guy who has grown with his team. Okay? Like, it just lacks foresight to me if they pass on Bobby Slowik from Mike McDonald. Now, will I be happy with the Mike McDonald hire? Sure.

I think he's a great defensive coach. An improvement on Mike Vrabel. I do. But, again, I'll still be disappointed that they didn't get Slowik or Callahan but my official prediction, I think the Titans getting done and I think the Titans hire Brian Callahan and whenever the news hits make sure that you're here with me on the Locked on Titans podcast alright guys, as you can probably tell, I'm not going to make it much longer

that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.