Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Offensive Coordinator Search Continues, Remaining Candidates & Wishlist

Episode Date: January 25, 2023

The next step for the Tennessee Titans offseason is to hire an offensive coordinator! We haven't heard a lot about candidates the Titans are wanting to talk to, but we have heard at least three! First, the candidates from outside the organization that the Titans HAVE talked to. Who are they and who makes the most sense? Next, the Titans do have one in-house candidate they are focused on, but a surprise OC options has popped up in the building. Also, the Titans gave an interview to one candidate, but not for OC and Tyler thinks they should re-consider! Finally, Tyler goes over some candidates who haven't been linked to the Titans yet and explains why it is concerning!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!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONUltimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL 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

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, what is going on with offensive coordinator? The next step in the Titans offseason will be decided soon. I'll tell you who I think will get the job, who I think should get the job, and who I think is the best realistic option for the Titans at OC. All of that and more 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. Titans fans, we got a lot of offensive coordinator buzz to break down on today's show. Before we get into it, do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by the Ultimate Football GM app. Ever dreamed of becoming an NFL GM and managing your football franchise? Then this game is definitely for you to download the game. Just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up in your app stores.

Our listeners get 100% free boost to their franchise when you use the promo code LOCKEDON in all caps in the game. Also, thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content for free all year round. Make sure you never miss an episode by subscribing on whatever platform you do stream. That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Hit that notification bell and throw a thumbs up on the video right now.

I'll give you guys year-long free content. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. But diving into the offensive coordinator buzz, we got some news over the weekend, and we've gotten some reports of people the Titans have been interested in over the last few weeks. We are going to start with who we know the Tennessee Titans have talked to, and that means that we got to start in Kansas City because the Titans have requested to speak with both the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, Eric Biennemi, who is a polarizing figure, quite frankly, in NFL discussions with how long it seems like he has been set

to get a head coaching job, but yet hasn't gotten one. And there are some underlying rumors and conversation about why that may be. But either way, the Titans did request to speak with Eric Biennium, and it makes total sense. Why would you not want to pluck from the most successful, most efficient, best offense in the NFL? And of course, of course, there is always Andy Reid, who actually calls the plays there, should he get the credit. They got Patrick Mahomes as well, the best quarterback in the NFL.

So is Biennium just a recipient of that? Or is he someone who does, in fact, deserve a head coaching position? Well, that's not what the Titans are looking for. The Titans are looking for an offensive coordinator. And it makes sense that Mike Rabel would go the Matt LaFleur route here, a guy who maybe could get a head coaching job, but is an offensive coordinator for a good offense, but doesn't call the plays like LeFleur was in LA with Sean McVay. So hey, Eric Biennium, come to Tennessee, revamp this offense, show us what you can do as a play caller,

and then you get your head coaching opportunity. Some people are saying that Biennium doesn't want to do that because, hey, there's the chance he doesn't look good and now he never gets that head coaching opportunity. But if it doesn't look like he's going to get that opportunity after the Chiefs finish their playoff run, then it only makes sense that he would take a chance and try to show what he's worth with the Titans. Now, if he doesn't stay

that and he stays connected to the proverbial teat that is Andy Reid and the Chiefs, well, then the other guy from the Kansas City organization that the Titans have tried to speak to is Matt Nagy. And look, I know that you could point out some of the failures for Matt Nagy in Chicago. His offense was a little bit wonky at times.

Looked like he had a good run first offense in place and then would get pass heavy out of nowhere, which goes back to his roots. But here's the reality. We're not asking Matt Nagy to be the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. We are asking Matt Nagy to be the offensive coordinator. Heck, he led Mitch Trubisky to a 12-4 season and put up some pretty good numbers. So I think that Matt Nagy, who's the quarterback coach for Kansas City right now, is actually a more realistic option for the Titans than Eric Biennemi.

And I got to tell you guys, I think I'd rather have Matt Nagy anyways, because at least I've seen him call some plays and have some success. Biennemi is much more of a mystery, quite honestly. But those are the two candidates from the Chiefs who I think are in the best position to help the Titans right away. Now, at this time, we haven't heard that those guys have accepted a request to be interviewed and their playoff run continues and could go all the way to the Super Bowl. So maybe the Titans do hire Matt Nagy or Eric Biennemi, but we simply don't know that right

now. We don't even know if the Titans are going to have a chance to interview, and if they want to move faster than what those guys want to do at offensive coordinator, then they may have to go ahead and make a hire. Anyways, I do want to mention a couple of other guys. Number one is Charles London, and Charles London is the offensive coordinator right now for the Atlanta Falcons. So obviously the Arthur Smith connection, the schematic connection of what the Titans are looking for. Coincidentally though, London was an offensive assistant with the Titans in 2011.

He also coached with Mike Rabel in Houston as an offensive assistant from 2014 to 2016. And he interviewed to be the offensive coordinator for the Dolphins and the Rams last year. So a guy who's been in the circuit. Look, you could say that this is just more familiarity here. The Titans are just looking for blind continuity, bringing back Arthur Smith's guy.

But obviously Charles London was interviewed by the Rams and the Dolphins. He's a guy who's respected around the NFL. So I don't think it would be insane for the Titans to make that hire and bring London over from Atlanta to try to get some semblance of Arthur Smith back. But of course, that's a guy who hasn't called plays before. And that makes me a little bit nervous personally. I just don't know if the Titans are in a position to take a chance on a guy who hasn't called plays,

but also the Atlanta Falcons offense last year, you know what I mean? I think that if you look at Matt Nagy's experience with the Bears and the 12-4 year that he put up with Mitch Trubisky, that's more enticing to me than Charles London's resume. And it just feels like, oh, I coached with him in Houston. Oh, that's Art's guy. But it just feels like, oh, I coached with him in Houston. Oh, that's Art's guy. But it just feels like another buddy hire by Mike Vrabel, even if he isn't coaching directly with

Mike Vrabel right now. It just feels like it's the same thing as hiring Tim Kelly, but just a guy from Atlanta with the obvious connections between the organization. I actually would prefer Tim Kelly over Charles London, if I'm honest. But we got to talk about those in-house candidates because we got a reminder this weekend from one of the NFL's top reporters about who the Titans' favorite in-house candidate is. So we're going to talk about all of that in just a moment. Before we get into it, do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by the Ultimate Football GM app. You've heard me talk about this mobile game for a few weeks now, and I really can't tell you how much fun it is to compete against my fellow Locked On NFL hosts. I've got Chris Carter from Locked On Steelers. He was the Locked On NFL champion.

Unfortunately, I didn't get in the top three. It is a difficult game. It's challenging, and it's very realistic. I mean, you are the general manager for your team. You hire and fire coaches and coordinators, trade players, go through free agency, the draft. You could set your scheme. You could set your base formations.

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That's ultimate-gm.com. The Ultimate Football GM app. Start your dynasty today. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We're talking offensive coordinator candidates. We just talked about three of the guys that the Titans have had contact with that are outside the organization. Eric Biennemi, Matt Nagy, and Charles London. Now I want to talk about some of the guys within the organization and one candidate

who wasn't talked about for offensive coordinator, but the Titans may need to hurry up if they really have interest in him. Before we get into that, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. I do just want to take a moment and thank all of you guys for your well wishes and for the positive thoughts and vibes that were sent my way, all the prayers and things like that. I definitely do appreciate it. I did not have a show out on Tuesday night like I normally would or Wednesday morning for the podcast crowd because I'm having some real

issues with my 10-year-old dog. As a lot of you guys who have listened to the show for quite some time know, my dog's name is Kobe. Yes, named after the basketball player, my favorite athlete of all time. And Kobe's been with me his entire life. Spent a lot of time single in my 20s. It was just me and man's best friend, the dog. So he means a lot to me. He is like my child in some sense,

not to diminish the relationship between human children and human parents. Obviously, it's a little bit different, but not out of the woods. Some improvements. I'm maybe not 100% into the show as I normally would be because my thoughts are with my dog and some of the complications that we're having. But all of you guys were really understanding. Like I said, you sent a lot of well wishes, sent a lot of prayers and things like that. And I've admitted I'm not the most religious guy, but the positive thoughts, I can't say enough. It didn't mean a lot to me. I got to move forward here. Obviously,

as the guys watching on YouTube can tell with the show, but just wanted to tell you guys why the show wasn't there on time. I am going to make it up to you. I'm going to have a show out on Friday evening and going to do a little bit of a mailbag conversation with the YouTube chat. So I know you guys came for football content. I'm sorry to waste two of your minutes explaining my life, but just wanted to let you know why I didn't have a show because I pride myself on being consistent and always having content for you guys Monday through Friday, like I promised. But moving forward here, the top in-house candidates, like I said, we got a report from Jeremy Fowler over the weekend who just reminded all of us that Tim Kelly has interviewed for the offensive coordinator position and is considered the top in-house

candidate. And look, I know that some of you guys have said all along, whether it comes to GM, whether it comes to OC, they need to get somebody from outside the organization. And look, there are better candidates. I'd rather have Matt Nagy, quite frankly, than Tim Kelly. bring in Tim Kelly, elevate Tim Kelly to offensive coordinator. It is not as big of an issue as if they would have hired in-house for general manager. I mean, Tim Kelly in 2019 with the Texans, 13th in total offense, 14th in points per game. 2020, 13th in total offense, 18th in points per game. And in 2020, Houston did not have a very good roster. Now, 2021, his last year as offensive coordinator for the Texans,

they were 32nd in total offense and 30th in points per game. But if you're going to be an honest person, then you know that they literally had the worst roster in the entire NFL. They were not set up to succeed. And it's hard to look at pretty good production from Tim Kelly when the Texans had an okay roster and had Deshaun Watson and then look at his last year in Houston

when they were absolutely horrific and blame Tim Kelly for that. What I do want to mention about 2021 though is Davis Mills looked pretty solid that year in his rookie season and he looked terrible this year. So you got to give Tim Kelly some credit there for making Davis Mills look solid and for the decent production that he had in Houston when they actually had a decent team. Now I get it if you're going to push back and say no they need a new voice. Tim Kelly was involved

last year blah blah blah then fair enough. I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong about that, but I'm just telling you that I'm not going to be upset or angry if the Titans do elevate Tim Kelly. I don't think that's a terrible idea. Now, I did want to get into this because Tim Kelly isn't the only current Titans offensive coach that is interviewed for an offensive coordinator position this year. Titans tight end coach, Luke Steckle,

interviewed for an offensive coordinator position with the Los Angeles Chargers. Tom Pelissero, one of the top reporters in the NFL, actually tweeted this out and said that Steckel is considered by some to potentially be the next Ben Johnson. Now, if you guys don't know who Ben Johnson is, that's the offensive coordinator from Detroit who was just on fire this year. Now, Ben Johnson is staying with Detroit. He's not taking head coaching positions or anything like that.

But to compare Luke Steckle, a 37-year-old tight end coach for the Titans, to Ben Johnson, the hottest OC in the NFL maybe, I was pretty taken aback by that. I was pretty surprised. And you know what? I got to tell you, if he's getting interviews to be the offensive coordinator of other teams, but not getting an interview with the Titans, that's weird to me.

That doesn't make any sense. So would the Titans potentially consider interviewing Luke Steckle for the job? I don't think it would be bad. He is a Princeton grad, so smart guy. Ivy League education doesn't mean you're going to be a great coach, but hey, he's not a dummy. His father actually was the offensive coordinator for

the Titans during the Super Bowl run. So there's some feel good, some butterflies in the tummy about that decision. His father, Les Steckle. So I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we have a lot of reason to believe that Steckle. So I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we have a lot of reason to believe that

Steckle could be the offensive coordinator. But what I will tell you is nobody really thought Arthur Smith deserved that shot in six games through the year of his first season. Nobody really believed in him yet either. So maybe Vrabel, who has already shown he loves tight end coaches, Arthur Smith, Todd Downing. Maybe you'll give Luke Steckle a shot here. If he's truly the next Ben Johnson, he's already getting interviews for offensive coordinator with other teams. At least interview him and see what he thinks. You know?

Now, I don't think Steckle is a legit candidate at this moment in time, but I'm just like prepping you guys for if you hear that coming soon, it'll be very interesting. The last thing that I wanted to throw in here, he's not an in-house candidate, but Justin Alton from the Denver Broncos, he took over as the play caller for the Broncos the last two weeks of the season. The Broncos put up 24 points

and 307 yards in week 17 and then followed that up with 31 points and 471 yards in week 18. That's against the Chiefs and then the Chargers, two playoff teams. After the Broncos' offense was anemic all year long.

I mean, the Titans interviewed Outen for a non-offensive coordinator position within the organization. Maybe run game coordinator, pass game coordinator or something like that. He went heavy play action with the Broncos. And I know that makes Mike Vrabel salivate. So, all I'm going to say is this.

I think screw whatever position Mike Vrabel had. I think they should consider hiring Alton as the offensive coordinator. I like what he did in Denver. Clearly, he has a good idea of how to run a play action offense, play action-based offense, which is what the Titans need to be right now until the offensive roster has changed. So I think Alton really should be on the heavy radar. And I'm surprised that they didn't interview him for offensive coordinator, but for a different staff position. I think they

maybe need to change their minds on that and take a look at him for offensive coordinator. But look at it. These are the only candidates that I think are realistic at this time. And if it were me, I want Matt Nagy. If not Nagy, then give me Justin Outen. And if not Outen, then I'll live with Tim Kelly. I'll live and give him a chance. Because there are some theories out there

that Tim Kelly was heavily involved in the opening game script and Tim Kelly was heavily involved in the opening game script, and Tim Kelly was heavily involved in red zone offense, which were the only two good aspects of the Titans offense all year long. Now, do I subscribe to that theory? I don't think so. It's too rosy. It's too favorable to Tim Kelly. But either way, it's something that is interesting. So who I think should get the job is Matt Nagy, who I think will get the job, probably Tim Kelly on elevation. But those aren't the only candidates. There are other candidates outside of these that we talked about

that the Titans need to talk to. I'm going to tell you who I think those guys are before we get into it, though. I do want to tell you guys about the official betting partner of the Locked On Podcast Network. So excited about this partnership. Guys, the NFL playoffs are here, and I, like I said, am really excited about our new sports betting partner for Locked On

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at fanduel.com slash locked on. Make every moment more with FanDuel, the official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Titans fans, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first to listen every single day. But as for your second listen, check out the Locked On NFL podcast. You get all your Titans news here with me in under 30 minutes. You get all your NFL news every single Monday through Friday all year long with the Locked On NFL podcast. I actually host the Thursday show.

So if you guys would go check that out, hit subscribe over there. I would appreciate the support as well. But moving forward here, we talked about all the candidates that the Titans have been involved with before or have talked to before or within the organization. Now I want to get to some people who the Titans haven't talked to yet, and it brings me some concern because there are some great offensive coordinator candidates out there

that the Titans, we haven't got any reports that they've even been interested. And I'm thinking about guys like Brian Johnson, really my number one choice for offensive coordinator. If I could pick anybody and instantly put them on the Titans coaching staff as OC, it would be Brian Johnson, the quarterback coach from the Philadelphia Eagles. Understands an RPO-based offense. Great at developing relationships with his players. A strength-driven

guy. He's all about coordinating the offense towards the strength of his players and especially his quarterback. He's got a great relationship with Jalen Hurts. Has been credited for a lot of his development. I mean, I think that Brian Johnson would be a fantastic hire

for the Titans as an offensive coordinator. And yes, he doesn't have that play-calling experience to go on, but the guys that the Titans are looking at with play-calling experience, Matt Nagy, Justin Outt, well, they're not even looking at him for offensive coordinator, Tim Kelly. Are we really that impressed by Nagy and Tim Kelly did not give a chance to Brian Johnson? I think that would be ill-advised. So Brian Johnson for me is a guy who maybe the Titans haven't requested because the Eagles are so deep in the playoff race, but

I'm going to be pretty disappointed if they don't even get a chance to talk to him. Other than that, some guys who do have play calling experience and have been let go recently of their jobs who I think could make some sense. Frank Reich. But it looks like Frank Reich is probably going to be the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. So can't really blame the Titans there.

They can't get their hands on Frank Reich. He should probably be a head coach. He is a good coach. Outside of that, I got a lot of pushback on this online, but Greg Roman. Greg Roman has led an offense to a Super Bowl with San Francisco back in the day. If you're Mike Vrabel, and look,

you guys can all shout and yell that you want a different offensive philosophy, but that doesn't mean Mike Vrabel does. So if Mike Vrabel still wants a run-heavy attack, well, who has crafted a better run heavy attack in the NFL than Greg Roman? He's been doing it for a decade. So, and if you look at Greg Roman's stats,

he has led some of the best offenses in the NFL. Stat-wise, scoring-wise. So, I had some people try to compare Greg Roman and Todd Downing and say, well, we fired Todd Downing. I don't want somebody who just got fired. That's absurd. Okay? People get fired all the time in the NFL.

It doesn't mean that they're bad at their job. It just means it didn't work out in that particular place. You see a ton of people have success who have been fired at previous jobs. What about Bruce Arians? Bruce Arians was an offensive coordinator for the Steelers. Got fired or went to be the head coach for the Cardinals. Got fired. I mean, just because you get fired once doesn't mean that you're never good ever again. Okay, so, but I'm not, I'm not telling you that I'm going to pound the table for Greg Roman like

I would Brian Johnson, but just throwing that out there. Also, Pep Hamilton. Pep Hamilton was the offensive coordinator for Houston, and when they get a new head coach, they may totally replace their staff, and if Pep Hamilton is a free agent, I think he would be a fantastic offensive coordinator, or at least somebody to pick the brain of. Also, I do want to mention, there was some talk about guys like Bill O'Brien or Cliff Kingsbury.

Kingsbury is in Thailand. He's going to take the money that the Cardinals owe him for the next four years and chill. And I can't tell you that I would do anything different. I mean, why go back and be an offensive coordinator and have to be under Mike Vrabel when you're getting paid millions of dollars to go to Thailand? I mean, I can't blame you, Cliff. I didn't want Cliff Kingsbury anyway, so that was great news to my ears. Bill O'Brien did make some sense, but he is going back to New England to be their offensive coordinator.

So those are two guys who I thought the Titans might talk to that are no longer in consideration. So I wanted to update you guys on that. But that's going to do it for me today. Tomorrow, unless we get big Titans news, which I live in fear at all times during this time of year, that there will be big Titans news that ruins my show and makes me have to go re-record and all that.

But either way, unless there's huge news, tomorrow, plan to go through maybe some cut candidates for the Titans. One of those cut candidates tried to go at me on Twitter on Wednesday. That was pretty interesting. But, again, on Friday, Friday night, I'm going to do a mailbag show. I'm going to take a couple of questions. I can't take

all your guys' questions anymore. The show would be 50 minutes long like I used to, and I appreciate that that's a real thing now. I used to not get enough questions, and now I get too many. So I'm not going to complain about that, but just want to let you guys know. So I'll take some questions, maybe take some questions from the chat on a Friday Night Live as well. So make sure that you guys stay tuned into 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.