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Tennessee Titans hire 10 assistant coaches, retain 2 for Brian Callahan's first staff

Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan's first staff is nearing its completion.

The Titans officially announced the hires of 10 assistant coaches on Tuesday, filling out Callahan's staff that also consists of offensive coordinator Nick Holz and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. Most prominently, the Titans announced the hire of offensive line coach Bill Callahan, a long-time line coach and Brian Callahan's father who led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl as their coach following the 2002 season.

The full list of assistants hired are as follows:

  • Offensive line coach Bill Callahan

  • Wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert

  • Running backs coach Randy Jordan

  • Quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree

  • Linebackers coach Frank Bush

  • Secondary/safeties coach Steve Jackson

  • Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker

  • Outside linebackers coach Ben Bloom

  • Assistant wide receivers coach Payton McCollum

  • Assistant to the head coach Tom Jones

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The Titans are also retaining more than 10 coaches and staffers from last year, most notably defensive pass game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Chris Harris and former running backs coach Justin Outten, who will now coach tight ends.

Learn more about the Titans' assistant coaches below.

Offensive line coach Bill Callahan

The elder Callahan has worked continuously as an NFL or college coach since 1980. Most notably, he was in charge of the Raiders in 2002-03, posting a 15-17 record, and coached the University of Nebraska for four seasons, going 27-22. Since then, he's bounced around NFL offensive coordinator and offensive line coach jobs, most recently coaching the Cleveland Browns' line from 2020-23, and was the interim head coach for the franchise now known as the Washington Commanders for 11 games in 2019.

Callahan's coached some of the best offensive linemen in the NFL over the last decade, helping develop and refine the skills of stars like Tyron Smith with the Dallas Cowboys, Trent Williams in Washington and former Titans tackle Jack Conklin in Cleveland.

This year will mark the first time Bill Callahan and Brian Callahan have worked on a staff together.

Wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert

One of the NFL's longest-tenured receivers coaches, Tolbert has led NFL receiver rooms every year dating back to 2003. He's worked with players ranging from Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith Sr., to Odell Beckham Jr. and D.J. Moore. But his most notable tenure came when he coached receivers for the Denver Broncos from 2011-17, a span in which the Broncos appeared in two Super Bowls and won one thanks in part to star receivers like Demariyus Thomas, Eric Decker and Emmanuel Sanders.

Tolbert and Brian Callahan worked together in Denver from 2011-15.

Quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree

A Jackson native and former University of Tennessee quarterback, Hardegree comes to the Titans after two years as a quarterbacks coach and half a season as an interim offensive coordinator with the Raiders. Hardegree helmed the Raiders' offense down the stretch in 2023, developing rookie Aidan O'Connell along the way as the team improved after firing coach Josh McDaniels.

Hardegree and Brian Callahan briefly overlapped when the two worked in Denver in 2014. Between Denver and Las Vegas, Hardegree had stints coaching offense with the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and New England Patriots.

Running backs coach Randy Jordan

Jordan coached running backs for the Washington Commanders organization from 2014-23, serving as a senior offensive assistant in his final season. Prior to that he was a long-time college running backs coach, making stops at North Carolina, Texas A&M and Nebraska.

Jordan played nine years in the NFL, the last five of which for teams coached by Bill Callahan. Jordan reunited with the elder Callahan while he was the coach at Nebraska, and the two worked together again in Washington from 2015-19.

Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker

Rocker is making his second stint on the Titans' coaching staff. He coached on the team from 2011-13, his first NFL gig. He's spent time coaching at the college and pro level, including working the last three years with the Philadelphia Eagles where he overlapped with Wilson. He's also coached at SEC programs such as Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.

Rocker is the father of former Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker, now in the Texas Rangers organization.

Secondary coach Steve Jackson

Jackson should be no stranger to Titans fans. Jackson's been coaching since 2001, including a two-year stint as a defensive assistant with the Titans in 2016-17. But more memorably, Jackson played cornerback for the franchise from 1991-99, playing in 118 games with 13 interceptions.

Jackson crossed paths with Wilson when the two were both assistants on the Jets' staff in 2018-19 and coached alongside Brian Callahan with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020-21. He spent time with the Atlanta Falcons in the last two years before reuniting with Wilson and Callahan in Nashville.

Linebackers coach Frank Bush

Bush heads into his third stint coaching in the Titans/Oilers organization, the most recent of which came in 2011-12. A long-time NFL assistant, Bush worked as defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans (2009-10) and has been an assistant head coach for three franchises.

Wilson and Bush have a long history. The two worked together with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams from 2013-16 and with the Jets in 2019-20. Bush and Jackson also overlapped with the Jets and Falcons.

Outside linebackers coach Ben Bloom

Bloom has spent most of his professional career working in the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys organizations, overlapping with Bill Callahan at both spots. He spent 2020-23 as a senior defensive assistant, defensive run game coordinator and defensive line coach with the Browns, helping develop one of the league's best and most consistent pass rushes.

Assistant to the head coach Tom Jones

Jones worked in the Raiders' organization for 25 years, most recently serving as vice president of football operations and assistant to the head coach. Having spent that much time in the Raiders' organization means Jones has worked with both Bill Callahan and Brian Callahan at various points in their careers.

Assistant wide receivers coach Payton McCollum

McCollum was a defensive assistant with the Indianapolis Colts last season. He's primarily worked as an analyst and quality control assistant at various points of his career at colleges like North Carolina and Washington.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Meet the 10 assistants Brian Callahan hired for Tennessee Titans staff