Titans assistants are 2022 head coaching candidates, according to ESPN
The Titans have overcome a lot of obstacles this season. That is partly due to the performances of the players, but the coaches across the board have made big adjustments. Of course, Mike Vrabel catches plenty of the headlines. He sits in the top five in terms of odds for the Coach of the Year […]
The Titans have overcome a lot of obstacles this season. That is partly due to the performances of the players, but the coaches across the board have made big adjustments. Of course, Mike Vrabel catches plenty of the headlines. He sits in the top five in terms of odds for the Coach of the Year award. Aside from him, both Shane Bowen and Todd Downing are gaining attention for future head coaching positions.
ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler created a list of top candidates to land a head coaching job in 2022. Check it out here.
Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen
The steam for Bowen makes plenty of sense. Even with questionable roster depth in the secondary and a slew of injuries, the defense has kept the Titans in a handful of games. Jeffery Simmons and Harold Landry III have emerged as a special duo on the D-Line, and the safety tandem of Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker has been impressive.
The Titans own a top ten run defense, and the overall defense in terms of yardage sits in the middle of the pack. Without multiple pieces throughout the unit, that is impressive. Not to mention, the offense has been missing key pieces as well. They have needed the defense to step up in some big games, and Bowen's squad has done that.
Offensive Coordinator Todd Downing
Speaking of the offense, there have been ups and downs. Could you expect anything different when they have rarely had all three of their best offensive skill position players all on the field at the same time? A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, and Derrick Henry have all had injuries struggles this season.
Regardless, the Titans have had the 12th-best offense in the NFL in points per game. Their running game is still top five in yardage in the league in 2021. That is without the best RB in the NFL since Week 8. Todd Downing has juggled personnel changes as well as scheme adjustments. He and the team have made it work more often than not.
It will be intriguing to see how the offense once again looks once Brown and Henry return alongside Jones, who could be back this Sunday.
Downing and the offense's success before and after the big injuries have helped to not rush those top offensive threats back, too.
Only time will tell if either coordinator gets an HC opportunity, but the team's resilience this year has seemingly put them on radars.
Featured Image via USA TODAY-Sports
