Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans DODGED A BULLET with Robert Saleh as John Harbaugh HIRES Matt Nagy for Giants OC

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

The Tennessee Titans went all-in to try and hire John Harbaugh before he ultimately went to the New York Giants and while it felt like the Titans missed out, we see now the Titans dodged a major bullet after Harbaugh hired Matt Nagy as their offensive coordinator. Saleh may not have been the top choice, but sometimes it is the unanswered prayers you are thankful for the most. With Saleh and Brian Daboll now in control, the Titans will likely shift their roster and some big changes need to happen at quarterback, running back and wide receiver to match what Daboll needs. Not only that, but Chig Okonkwo could be an odd man out as Daboll's system doesn't really utilize a limited tight end of his skillset, but the offensive line will need to change as well as the interior requires strength and some quickness, specifically at center. LOCKED ON TITANS EVERYDAY CLUB: https://lockedontitans.supercast.com/ 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!TurboTaxFor a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 — all in, if a TurboTax expert didn’t file for you last year. Just file by February 28. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today.FanDuelIf you’re a new customer, bet just $5 and get $200 in Bonus Bets if you win. Make it count — because after the Super Bowl, the season is over. Last call for football on FanDuel, an Official Sportsbook Partner of Super Bowl Sixty.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 LOCKEDON 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 firmIndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/lockedonnfl.GustoTry Gusto today at http://gusto.com/lockedonNFL and get three months free when you run your first payroll.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 to http://Quo.com/lockedonnfl.BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist.  Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON. DripDropRight now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. Go to http://dripdrop.com and use promo code 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.

The Tennessee Titans absolutely dodged a bullet when they hired Robert Sala instead of John Harbaal. And I'll explain why on today's edition of Locked on Titans. 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 Brian Dable's system is going to require change and there are some players like Chigacanquo and Tony Pollard who I don't think fit. Also, we're going to talk about how the Tennessee Titans dodged a bullet by hiring Robert Sala instead of John Harbaugh. Before I 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 out to my everydayers out there.

Tune in Monday through Friday, couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one. Now that we basically have the coaching staff set, it's time to look to the roster. And on today's show, I'm gonna go over my thoughts on how things work on offense in Brian Dable's system and on tomorrow's show, I'm gonna go over what I wanna see from the defense

and the changes and skill set that I think the Titans are gonna look for there. But of course, we begin with the Titans missing out on John Harbaugh and why, quite frankly, that was an unanswered prayer that we should all be happy about. But make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed, be in every day or with all of this stuff coming your way, stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast.

But man, I got to admit, I had John Harbaugh as my number one coaching candidate. He was the number one guy that I wanted the Tennessee Titans to go after and the Titans were set up to have the meeting with them and then he used them for leverage to get to the Giants, took the Giants job and it was like, dang. The Titans missed out on the top candidate. I thought it would have been a great fit. But if you could go back to two weeks ago and tell me that with John Harbaal,

you were going to get Donard Wilson and Matt Nagy as the coordinators, I would not have been as interested. That has fundamentally changed how I view the situation. Like, I would much rather have, and I talked about this earlier this week. I would much rather have Robert Sala, Brian Dable, Gus Bradley, and Bones Fossil over John Harbaugh, Matt Nagy, and Dernard Wilson. Like, it's not even close.

In a vacuum, one coach for another coach. Yeah, the experience Super Bowl winning head coach. Sure, that's what I want. But now that we see the totality of what's going on here, what a bullet dodged by the Tennessee Titans. Imagine if you would have woke up this morning to the news that Matt Nagy was going to be your offensive coordinator. Imagine that.

Insanity, that would have been a nightmare. And here's the reality. John Harbaal crashed out here. That's what happened. There is no way around it. Todd Monkin went and took the head coaching job of the Cleveland Browns. John Harbaugh did not expect that. And then he scrambled.

This guy interviewed Brian Callahan to be his offensive coordinator. He had Cliff Kingsbury right there and didn't take him. Cliff Kingsbury would be a 10 times better coordinator for Jackson Dart than Matt Nagy. And I've talked about why Matt Nagy is a disaster all along. talked about why I didn't want him anywhere near the franchise. He wasn't high on my list to offensive coordinators. Certainly wasn't high on my list of head coaching candidates. And with how much I wanted John Harbaal to be the head coach,

again, if I would have known that Matt Nagy would be his offensive coordinator, Dernard Wilson would be his defense. And I think Dernard Wilson is a fine hire. Dernard Wilson is a good defensive coordinator. But he's not a great defensive coordinator like Robert Sala is. He's not a great defense of mind like Robert Sala is. And remember, Robert Sala is calling the place. So I go back to the great American poet,

Garth Brooks. Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. And again, how lucky the Titans got here. Think about the coaching staff that the Titans have right now. Robert Sala, Brian Dable, Bones Fossil, Gus Bradley, in Carmen Bracillo, who came over.

You keep Luke Stocker on the staff who, I talked to somebody who knows the Tennessee Titans organization very, very well earlier today. And they said, yeah, Luke Stocker, he's the real deal. He is the real deal behind the scenes and they are making it a priority to get him ready to be the offensive coordinator. So you're telling me that I get Robert Sala,

Brian Dable, Bones Fossil, Luke Stocker, Carmen Bracillo, Aaron Whitecotton, Gus Bradley. I get all of that on my coaching staff and I could have and I wanted, John Harbaugh? Again, I don't know how else to say what other phrase to go with

other than what a bullet dodged and with everything going on with the Titans right now. I mean, Gus Bradley, we talked about it yesterday, turn down more money and the opportunity to call defensive plays and said, nah, I don't want that in Arizona. I would rather come to Tennessee

because I want to work with Bobby Salsa. And I want to be a part of what the Titans are building over there. The new stadium, the new jerseys, the new culture. All of that, where would we be right now if the Titans had actually hired John Harbaugh? where would we be? So, it's just funny to me

that looking back to two weeks ago when I was pounding the table saying John Harbaal was the number one candidate and again, it just shows you that there's so much more to this than just the head coach there's so much more, your general can be the best general in the world

but if you have terrible lieutenants you have terrible captains, you're going to have terrible soldiers and you're going to lose the war. And getting a guy like Robert, yes, John Harbaugh, Harbaugh has the pelt on the wall. He has the Super Bowl championship.

He has the winning record. He has a lot of things to be excited about. But what I find hilarious is, so hilarious. And listen, I'm chronically online. All right, I'm on Twitter. I'm on Instagram. I'm on TikTok, Facebook. All the time, all day long, it's part of my job.

But the way that New York Giants fans reacted, when John Harbaugh picked the Giants, Oh, Cam Ward's a bum, your poverty, franchise and here was the kicker. Enjoy Matt Nagy. Enjoy Matt Nagy. I heard that over and over again from Giants fans. Enjoy. They're beat writers and media people. We're clowning on the titans saying enjoy Matt Nagy. Well who has to enjoy Matt Nagy now?

All right. Karma came right back around for Giants fans. All of that talking, all that peacocking. And where did it lead you? Back to. to him, Matt Nagy. And again, it wasn't like Matt Nagy was the first choice for John Harbaugh. No, he wanted Todd Munkin. He interviewed other people.

They had to settle for Matt Nagy. And I see Giants fans in my comments all the time saying, Giants' leftovers. You guys got a bunch of Giants' leftovers because of Brian Daibold and Carmen Briscilla. But you guys took the Titans' leftovers and DeNard Wilson.

And if you want to go by the statistics, Because that seems the only thing that some of these people can go off of because you don't actually know football, you don't actually watch the film, you don't know the scheme, you don't know the context, your brain isn't capable of handling that anyways. If you want to go off the stats, how can you be excited about the Dernard Wilson hire? Now, me personally knowing the scheme, watching the film,

understanding his system. I know that Dynard Wilson is a pretty good, a defensive coordinator. But if you want to play the argument that Giants fans played against us with Brian Daebel, then I'm going to play that argument right back at you with DeNard Wilson. You can't be a Giants fan saying that, oh, the Titans are taking

Giants' leftovers, failed, and then be happy about DeNard Wilson with the way his stats look. Don't work like that. No, it don't. So, karma takes its time. Karma is like Michael Myers. It ain't going to go run.

It ain't going to hustle. It's going to take its time. It's going to be patient. And before you know it, he's in your backseat, strangling you out. And you know who's going to strangle out Jackson Dart and strangle out John Harbaugh's tenure with the Giants? Matt Nagy.

So, again, sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers because I would take a thousand times over. Robert Salah, Brian Daibel, and the coaching staff the Titans have put together over the Ravens staff with John Harball. who can't call either side of the ball, has Dernard Wilson and Matt Nagy to be his coordinators,

lost out on an offensive line coach because the guy went with Todd Munk and the Cleveland. A bunch of rejects, a bunch of second place, a bunch of third place options for hardball in New York when the Titans got their first place option at OC and D.C. So a bullet dodged, and I admit, I wanted John Harbaugh, but if I could go back two weeks from now, I'd look like Matthew McConaughey and Interstellar banging on the door.

No, you do not want John Harbaal. No, you don't. And thank God that things worked out the way that they did for the Titans. Now, with that being said, with new coaches on both side of the ball, there are going to be some big changes to the scheme. And with that, there are going to be changes to what skill sets the Titans are looking for. And I think the writing is on the wall for Tony Pollard and Chickicankwo. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you.

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So you could focus on your goals. If you want to switch therapists, you could do that at any time. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash locked on. Once again, sign up and get 10% off at B-E-T-T-E-R-H-E-L-P dot com slash locked-on. Fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast. We talked about how the Titans dodged a bullet missing out on John Harbaal and that coaching staff he's putting together in New York. I'd much rather have Robert Salad.

But now I want to start diving into the roster. Now that we have a lot of news on the coaching staff And we got another coaching hire. Mark Juan Manuel, who was the safeties coach and DB's coach for the Giants. He coached with Robert Salo with the New York Jets. He's going to be the safeties coach. So now we're just looking at the nickelback coach and the linebacker coach for the defense. And the staff, for the most part, is pretty much set.

So waiting on those final pieces to happen. But we basically know what the coaching staff is going to be. And again, it's time to turn to the roster. And with new coaches coming in on defense and on offense, that means the skill sets for the players that the coaches want is going to change. And I talked about how Mike Borganzi said in a recent media appearance that they want the coaches to do teach tape on what they're looking for. Put a scouting tape together to show us what you want from your position group.

So wide receiver coach is going to send in a tape. This is what I want from my wide receiver. The defensive line coach, Aaron Whitecotton, is going to send in a tape saying, hey, this is what I'm looking for with my defensive line. All right, so I'm going to focus on offense today, and on tomorrow's show, I'm going to talk about the defense. But starting with quarterback, the Titans have to get a better backup quarterback. They can't do the Brandon Allen thing anymore.

And the reason that Brandon Allen was the backup quarterback is because he knew Brian Callahan's system. and if Cam Ward were to get injured, like we saw in week 18, the Titans don't want to win anyway. All right, we're tanking if Cam Ward gets hurt, okay? But that cannot be the case this year. This season, that cannot be the motto for backup quarterback.

Hey, you just need to be a teacher for our young quarterback, and we don't want to win if you get hurt anyway. It's time to win football games. Whether Cam is out there or the backup is in for a quarterback, couple of weeks or whatever situation it is, the Titans must be going all out to win football games. There's no more tanking. There's no more worried about draft pick positioning. It's time to turn this thing around. Okay? The culture got so bad, you cannot afford to do that for another season.

You need to win. And that means that the Titans must take the backup quarterback position much more serious. Now, I'm not going to do my full free agency preview on today's show. we're just talking about general themes here. But a veteran player, like Tyrod Taylor, if James Winston gets cut, even a guy like Mitch Trubisky, I would also say a player like,

you want to bring in a Teddy Bridgewater, a Tyler Huntley, Snoop Huntley, former Pro Bowl quarterback, right? But seriously, Snoop Huntley is one of the better backups in the NFL. Those are the kind of guys that the Titans need, to go get. No more Brandon Allen's, no more Logan Wood sides, and these dudes who really can't make a difference and are just going to lose you the game. Like, even Kirk Cousins is expected to be released. I don't think that Kirk Cousins would do that because he

wants an opportunity to start. He'll probably go to in Arizona, a New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, you know, something like that where there's a better chance for him to start because he ain't starting at all unless Cam Ward gets hurt and we don't want that to happen anyway. But again, I would take Kirk Cousins as a backup if that's what he wanted to do. Now, I would prefer somebody who can more closely mirror Cam Ward skill set. Now, Tyler Huntley isn't, you know, Cam Ward skill set necessarily. But here's the thing. Brian Daibble has had a ton of success in his career with mobile quarterbacks.

Okay? And if Cam Ward is out for a couple of weeks, having a guy like Tyler Huntley who can actually run. that quarterback run game and throw people off because teams are going to have film on Cam Ward and him and Brian Dable's offense. Well, Snoop Huntley is going to be able to do something totally different and that could throw teams off enough for the Titans to get some wins. Now I see comments in the chat about Malik Willis. Malik Willis ain't coming back to Tennessee. He's going to go get an opportunity to be a starter somewhere like Miami or Arizona or the New York Jets.

Malik Willis ain't coming back here so you can let that go. Also, seeing comments about Mac Jones. Okay, I would take Mac Jones, but I think Mac Jones did so well in his opportunities that he'll probably go get an opportunity somewhere else to maybe be a starter or at least compete, and that ain't happening. Okay, that ain't happening here. Now, I also see a lot of comments about Will Levis.

And guys, I'm going to tell you the same thing that I said online, the same thing that I said last year before Will Levis got hurt and had surgery, here's something for you to chew on. Will Levis' shoulder looked like that the year before. He was showing it in the locker room as a joke. Oh, look at my shoulder. Look how crazy it looks. The reason that he got surgery

was because he was pouting that the Titans went to Cammore. Will Levis didn't need to get that surgery. He did it because he did not want to be with the Titans anymore. And what happens when a player gets surgery and then heals. He comes back to the team. Will Levis didn't come back to the team. Will Levis wasn't in the locker room

in week 17 and week 18 hanging out with the team being part of the team because he was healthy. Why is that? Because he's done with the Titans and the Titans should be done with him. You guys think that this is maddened and that personalities don't clash

and that the interpersonal dynamics and the politics of the locker room don't matter. and I tried to tell you last year, the same thing. You can't just keep Will Levis around. He's bitter, he's angry, he wants to go somewhere else. It's best for both parties. For the Titans to trade Will Levis somewhere else.

It's best for Will Levis. I'm not hating on Levis. He got replaced by Cam Ward. He's salty about it. I would be too. I think my personality is probably more similar to Will Levis than it is Cam Ward. I'm a salty, petty kind of guy.

I admit it. So it's time for Levis to be traded, not released. You're not giving him away from nothing. He's still on a rookie contract. There are plenty of opportunities out there that could bring in a Will Levis like a Jets, like a Cardinals, like a Rams. This is a terrible quarterback class in the draft.

Terrible quarterback class. Get to day two. Get to day three of the draft. And I bet that you'll have a couple of teams that'll say, hey, we'll give you a sixth round pick next year. And if Levis starts X amount of games, it'll turn into a fifth. Or, I mean, Kenny Pickett went for a fifth rounder.

Why can't the Titans say, hey, give us a fifth round pick in 2027? And if Will Levis starts eight games, it turns into a fourth. They can absolutely have the opportunity to do that. Absolutely. So this ain't madden, all right? These guys are people. There are politics involved.

There are interpersonal dynamics. Will Levis does not want to be here and it would be better for Cam Ward and the Titans to send him somewhere else and bring in a veteran quarterback that isn't worried about, oh, I've got to be a starter in the NFL again. I'm a starter in the NFL. I'm going to do whatever it takes.

I'm not helping Cam Ward study. I'm not helping Cam Ward with film study. I'm doing my own thing to show that I am the God. That's not what's best for Cam Ward, and it's not what's best for Levis either. If you asked Will Levis right now, he wants to go somewhere new and get a fresh start. The Titans should want that as well.

So they must take backup quarterback more seriously and get a veteran quarterback who's had experience who isn't so worried about being a starting quarterback in the NFL. Snoop Huntley doesn't care about being a starter anymore. He knows he's a backup. Tyrod Taylor knows that. Teddy Bridgewater knows that. James Winston if he gets cut knows that. Now, you move to running back and I talked about this quite a bit yesterday

so I don't need to spend as much time on it, but Tony Pollard say bye, all right? In Brian Daibald's scheme, you need a power runner. Think about Cam Scataboo. You need a power runner in the Earnhard Perkins system because of the variety of run plays that they have. The power run, the gap run scheme is about north and south. It ain't like the zone scheme, and the Titans will run zone as well. But Tajay Spears fits the zone scheme very well.

But in the power gap scheme where you have pullers and down blocks, you got to hit the hole. No dancing, no wiggling, no east-west, north and south. I'm sorry, but Tony Pollard is not enough of a powerback to be that guy. And the Titans can save $7 million and only have 2.5 million dead to get rid of him. Bye-bye Tony Pollard. They need a true power back. Someone who runs with power like a Kenneth Walker.

Now, Breeshall may not be a prototypical powerback, but he gets downhill. I like Tyler Algier. Tyler Algier is a great depth piece for a running back in free agency. I see people talk about Mike Washington out of Arkansas I love Mike Washington. If the Titans trade down in the draft and want to get Jeremiah Love, I'm here for it.

Let's pick up some additional picks and then take a running back. That would make it worth it. Can't take Jeremiah Love at number four though. I'm sorry, I have a hard time with that. But what the Titans should be doing is they should be cutting Tony Pollard, signing a running back in free agency,

whether it's a value veteran like Tyler Algear or Rashad White, or whether it's a big time one like Kenneth Walker or Breece Hall. I think Kenneth Walker goes back to Seattle, so got to be honest there. And they should be drafting a running back with one of their nine picks in the end of the draft. There's some good running backs in this class. There are always good running backs in the draft. Running backs are a dime a dozen.

And I see Bloodwork say the Nebraska guy. I don't have Emmett Johnson. Yeah, Emmett Johnson. No, I love Emmett Johnson at Nebraska. I am in on that. We're not getting into draft and stuff for a couple of weeks, guys. But again, think about the names that we're talking about here that are going to be available.

Bye-bye, Tony Pollard. And then at wide receiver, the Titans desperately need a breadwinner with speed because Brian Daibble is big on isolating a wide receiver on one side and running vertical routes with him. Because that's a great way to attack cover four. You attack cover 4 with a vertical route on the isolated cornerback on the backside. And the Titans don't necessarily have that.

Calvin Ridley, if he comes back healthy, could do that to a certain level. But that's something that the Titans are going to have to consider. But here's the problem. I don't think that that true number one wide receiver, like a Malik neighbors, there isn't a guy like that. And the only guy who could be that, in my opinion, is Jordan Tyson. Mackay Lemon is more of a slot guy. I think Lemon could play outside,

but that isolated wide receiver on the backside, matched up one-on-one with a cornerback to go vertically, that's not Mackay Lemmon's game. That's a Malik neighbor's type guy. And maybe the Titans go get that in a trade, and we'll talk about that. But if they can't find anything good in free agency, let Calvin Ridley be that guy.

And again, Brian Daibble coached Calvin Riddell, coached Calvin Ridley at Alabama so there's a personal connection there. Now, here's what I will say. Here's what I will say. The Titans also need a great slot-wide receiver because in the Earnhardt Perkins offense that Brian Daybull runs, there's a ton of option routes.

Think about Julian Edelman, Wes Welker, Danny Amandola, guys like that for the New England Patriots who would run those option routes. If a guy is shading outside, I'm cutting inside. If a guy is shading inside, I'd cut it. outside. If a guy is over the top, I'm going to settle down. If the guy is underneath, I'm going to go vertically.

You have to have a very smart, shifty slot-wide receiver to play that role. That's why I'm interested in Wondell Robinson and free agency if the Giants don't resign him. That's why I am interested in Mackay Lemon, because he could play that spot perfectly. So there are a lot of options to fill the slot role for Brian Dable. And listen, people will say, we have Chim Dekay, Chim D.K. is a vertical

slot receiver. He's not the underneath quick, shifty slot-wide receiver. That's not who Chim D-K is. He's not good at the underneath routes like that. He's a vertical slot to use that 4.3 speed. So, for me,

the Titans need a shifty underneath slot guy. And if they don't, Zachariah Branch out of Georgia, oh my God, if the Titans could go edge, cornerback, Karaya Branch, we are cooking. He would be perfect in that role. So, yes, with that.

Now I see who's Z, who's X. Elikaio Manor's probably your ex. I think that you should look at somebody in free agency to come in and compete with him there. Z wide receiver is going to be Calvin Ridley if he's still around. I think Chim D.K. can play the Z spot as well. And then Chim D.K. can play in the slot. and then the Titans need to bring in another slot-wide receiver in the draft or in free agency as well. There are multiple spots that need to be added there.

But again, quarterback, they got to take back up more seriously. Trade Will Levis. They need to get a true power back, which means you need to cut Tony Pollard, and then they need to get a breadwinning wide receiver who can be isolated on the outside, although I think it'll be tough for them to find that. And they more likely need to address

the shifty slot-wide receiver who can win on the underneath routes and option routes that are prevalent in Brian Dable's system. Now, with that being said, we move to the trenches and the tight end spot. And again, bye-bye, Chigacanquo. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Home Chef. As the new year gets going, a lot of people are trying to simplify their routines. And dinner is a big one between busy workdays, cold winter nights, packed schedules,

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That's right, three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash locked on NFL. One more time, that's gusto.com slash locked on NFL. Fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast. We talked about how the Titans dodged a bullet with Robert Sala instead of John Harbaugh. We talked about quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and why Brian Daible's scheme will require specific skill sets to be added to the team. And I can't wait to get into all the names in free agency in the draft. We did a little couple of names in there, but we're going to dive into all of that.

And that is why you need to be an everydayer and join the Locked-on Titans every day or club. You're going to get access to ad-free versions of the podcast. You're going to get entered in a locked-on Titans group chat that's up to like 35, 40 people at this point. We are cooking in the Locked-on Titans group chat. You can ask me all these specific questions about guys you like in the draft, free agency, all of that. But make sure that you go down in the comments,

into the description, click the link, join the Locked-on Titans every day or club. But with that being said, tight end. Say goodbye, Chigacanquo. And if you saw Chigacuco's tweet at the end of the season, he made it seem like he knows he's not coming back to the Titans either. But Brian Dable being hired as the offensive coordinator

kind of slams that home for me. I know that a lot of you guys like Chigaconquo, but as I said on yesterday's show, I think a lot of that is Stockholm syndrome. You only watch the Titans games all the way through. Maybe you catch a primetime game or two each week, but you are watching the Titans game locked in for three hours every single week.

You aren't doing that for all the other teams in the NFL. You're not, okay? So when you see Chica Conquo make plays for the Titans, you think, oh, he's the best weapon on the Titans,

but you don't compare that to all the other teams in the NFL. Chigacanquo is a tight end two in a more different offense than Brian Dayball runs. He's a tight end

two and a half if he comes back to the Titans. Brian Dable's system requires traditional tight ends. Think about in Buffalo. A guy like Dawson Knox. A guy like Dalton Kincaid. Think about in New York. Daniel Bellinger.

Theo Johnson. These are big-bodied traditional tight ends. Okay? If you're going to run power stuff, if you're going to run three wide receivers with one tight end you need that tight end to be able to block and the Titans tried over and over and over again to put a square peg into a circle hole with Chicka Conquo

the guy cannot block not a lick the past two seasons in the NFL he has been the lowest graded blocking tight end in the NFL period he is unbelievably bad. You have Gunner Helm, who is your tight end one. Traditional tight end. The Titans need to go get another traditional tight end. And here's the thing. If you want to keep Chigaconquo, and I just think he's so overrated by the fan base, he's a terrible

route runner, he doesn't have good hands, he can't block, all that Chigacuo can do is catch short passes and make some people miss. That's all he brings to the table is yards after catchability. He is terrible at literally everything else that a tight end has to do. His only skill is yak, terrible at everything else. And when you have a limited skill set like that, and when the offense that the Titans are moving to requires big-bodied tight ends, think back to the Patriots. Rob Grancowski, Aaron Hernandez. I know, Hernandez

gives you the hebi-jeebies just to say it. But those are big-bodied physical tight ends. Chica Conquo does not fit that. He doesn't. So if the Titans are going to bring back Chigaconquo, it's got to be on a cheap, super cheap deal. And here's why. Because they're going to have to go pay another tight end

like a Daniel Bellinger, like Adam Troutman, to come in and be the real tight end too. And especially in today's and, where teams are going back to 13 personnel with three tight ends, 12 personnel with two tight ends. Because defenses are playing too high safety looks and you've got to run the ball more. It makes the value of a tight end that can, and I'm not saying a blocking tight end. You guys always come at me and you say they can go get a blocking tight end.

I'm not saying a blocking tight end. I'm saying a tight end who can block. we don't have to get Jeff Swam or Chris Manhurts or something like that that can't catch the ball at all but you need a tight end with more versatility that can block not the only thing that he can do but a tight end that literally can block and Chig can't so if the Titans bring Chig Ongu back it needs to be as Tide End 3

and he needs to be paid like a third tight end. Because the Titans are going to have to pay a real tight end to who they're actually going to use as a tight end. And people say, oh, use Chigaconkwo in the slot, but the Titans haven't misused Chigacanquo. He's a limited player. They have used him the only way he can be used. And he can't run routes. He's not as quick as a wide receiver.

So he can't just be a wide receiver or he would be a wide receiver. But he's not good enough at wide receiver stuff to be a wide receiver, which is why he plays move tight end. It's that simple. So, tight end is going to be a big spot where if Chig is back, it's his tight end three, it's five or six million dollars on a one or two year deal

because the Titans are going to have to go out and pay five or six million dollars to another tight end so that they have a real tight end to. Now, let me move to all offensive line. I expect less changes. And I see, Chig should be a fullback. He can't block. He cannot block. He can't play fullback.

He can't block. He can't block a single second. Okay? He's the worst blocker at the tight end position in the entire NFL. He can't play fullback. You have to block to play fullback. He can't. I'm sorry.

Let it go. Okay? But move it to the offensive line. The tackles are going to be. of the tackles. The Titans may draft, a backup offensive tackle that they can develop on day three or day two.

Chegg is an athletic freak like Jared Cook. You guys just go look up the difference in size between Jared Cook Jr. Like, come on, man. This is why I stay out of the chat during the show. Sorry to all my audio listeners who think this is nonsense. My bad.

But offensive line, the only place where I really see a need for a schematic change might be at center. And if the Titans decide to make a change at center, they need to go for somebody with more athleticism. Because what Brian Daible does in the run game is very interesting. He makes great adjustments based on the fronts that you're seeing.

Carmen Bracillo, the offensive line coach is a big part of that. So think about if a center, think about the center and the left guard. Okay? The center needs to cross the face of a defensive tackle that's on his inside shoulder between him and the left guard. That's a difficult block. Okay? The left guard is going to pull and that defensive tackle could just follow him. And it's going to be hard for the center to cross his face.

What the titan or giants have done sometimes is what's called a cage tag on the offensive line. where now they say cage, cage, cage. And what they'll do is, instead of having the center cross the face of the defensive tackle, which is a very difficult block, they'll have the left guard who was supposed to pull down block on the defensive tackle, and then have the center be the puller.

They change the responsibilities of the offensive line at the line of scrimmage to better fit the front. So if Brian Dable is going to follow that sort of trend, they'll need a more athletic center. Now, I wouldn't go as far as to say like an Aaron Brewer center, the Earnhardt Perkins system is power and gap related. You need somebody with a little more gumption than that. But like Corey Levin could be a good, cheap option.

Tyler Lindembaum could be a very expensive option. But they need to find a balance between Cushingberry, who is more of a strength center and an Aaron Brewer who is more of an athletic center. They got to find it in between. Now, I just have to a couple of these comments, man. I just can't. He gets more yards than our wide receivers.

Because the Titans wide receivers sucked. That's not because Chigaconkwo is good. It's because the wide receiver sucked. He could totally play wide receiver. No, he can't. He's a tight end. If he could play wide receiver, he would play wide receiver. He can't run routes.

He's not quick enough. He is a tight end and not a very good one. Like, I don't know what you, like, if he could play wide receiver, he would be a wide receiver. He's not good enough at wide. wide receiver stuff to play wide receiver. You guys got to let this Chica Conquo thing go or at least be honest about it

and acknowledge his flaws. Like, what are we doing here? But anyway, tomorrow, I'm going to do the entire defense. I'm going to tell you why Tavondre Sweat is one of the number one trade candidates for this team right now because he simply is not a clean fit in the scheme. I'm going to talk about Femiola Dejo as the Sam linebacker

and I've seen some comments, but in Robert Salas zone scheme, you definitely do need better outside corners than what the Titans have right now. So breaking down the defense on tomorrow's show, make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. That's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.