Tennessee Titans hire Bengals' OC Brian Callahan for head coaching job
The Cincinnati Bengals are losing their offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, whom the Tennessee Titans hired to become their next head coach, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Enquirer. The NFL Network's Tom Pelissero first reported the news.
Callahan, 39, has been head coach Zac Taylor’s offensive coordinator since he took the job in 2019. He’s been instrumental in Cincinnati’s offensive success over the last three years.
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The Titans fired former head coach Mike Vrabel following the season citing they wanted to go in a different direction organizationally. Callahan is an ideal fit for the Titans as they have a young quarterback in Will Levis who just completed his rookie season. Tennessee is hoping the pairing of Callahan and Levis will mirror what took place in Cincinnati with Joe Burrow.
Callahan has worked with the following quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford and Burrow. It's also worth noting that Brian is likely to want to bring his father, Bill Callahan, with him to Tennessee. Bill Callahan is currently the offensive line coach of the Cleveland Browns widely praised as one of the best in his profession.
It is expected that current quarterbacks coach, Dan Pitcher, will take over as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator in place of Callahan. The Bengals will have to act fast with Pitcher, though. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Pitcher is scheduled to interview with three different teams for their offensive coordinator role. The Patriots, Saints and Raiders are all scheduled to interview Pitcher this week.
Burrow and Pitcher have a close relationship and the Bengals rewarded their quarterbacks' coach with a new contract last January after he received interest from NFL teams for their offensive coordinator job. An important note when discussing Pitcher's future will be the topic of calling plays. With Taylor continuing to call plays for the Bengals, it's unclear how important that is to Pitcher when weighing his options. At any of the other three jobs he's interviewing for, he would be the play-caller.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Tennessee Titans hire Bengals' OC Brian Callahan for head coaching job
