'Titans got a stud HC': Reaction to Tennessee Titans hiring Brian Callahan as coach

The Tennessee Titans' new coaching hire is a step toward rebuilding the offense and elevating Will Levis.

The Titans are working to finalize a deal to hire Brian Callahan as the team's coach to replace Mike Vrabel, a source with direct knowledge of the deal confirmed to The Tennessean on Monday.

Callahan, 39, has been an assistant in the NFL working with quarterbacks for a decade, first working with Peyton Manning in Denver before Matthew Stafford in Detroit and Derek Carr in Oakland. He has been the Bengals offensive coordinator for the past five seasons, the last four with Joe Burrow as the team's starting quarterback.

While Callahan was not the playcaller in Cincinnati, he did play a big role in Burrow's development in growing into one of the league's top quarterbacks. The Bengals offense has been one of the league's best, helping Cincinnati to a Super Bowl appearance in 2021 and an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2022.

Callahan also helped backup quarterback Jake Browning when the former Washington Husky replaced Burrow for the final seven games after Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury. Browning, in his first NFL action, went 4-3 and exceeded Burrow's 2023 marks in completion percentage, passer rating, yards per attempt and completion and other efficiency metrics.

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Titans fans and observers across the league sense that Callahan should be able to get the best out of Will Levis, the Titans quarterback who will be going into Year 2 in 2024. The Titans have finished 27th and 28th in scoring the last two seasons, leading to two losing seasons and the dismissal of Mike Vrabel.

Callahan will be tasked to fix that and elevate Levis in 2024, which some believe he can do. Cincinnati Enquirer Bengals reporters Kelsey Conway and Charlie Goldsmith, who have covered Callahan in Cincinnati, are among them.

Tee Higgins to Tennessee Titans?

Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, from Oak Ridge, will be an unrestricted free agent receiver and one of the top players available regardless of position.

Burrow said after the season that he expects Higgins "to be back,m" and the Bengals could either sign Higgins to a long-term deal or offer him a franchise tag for one season. Spotrac estimates the salary for a wide receiver on a franchise tag to be $20.7 million, but Higgins could get more per year in the open market.

Former Titans defensive back Jason McCourty, now a NFL Network co-host and a CBS game analyst, connected dots in linking Higgins to the Titans on Monday.

Tennessee could definitely use a young and talented receiver that could eventually overtake DeAndre Hopkins as WR1. Higgins, 25, had 656 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 12 games in 2023 after 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and 2022 working as the No. 2 receiver in an offense that includes Ja'Marr Chase.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Reaction to Tennessee Titans hiring Brian Callahan as coach: 'A stud HC'