NASHVILLE — In more ways than one, the recently hired Brian Callahan is a pretty drastic change from what the Tennessee Titans previously had in head coach Mike Vrabel.

There’s the whole offensive minded coach thing for starters. That’s a significant change from life under Vrabel. Then there's the differing offensive philosophies with frequency of run and pass plays.

But perhaps the most significant difference between Callahan and Vrabel is in their demeanors and personalities.

---

Mike Vrabel is intense. Genuine, true to himself, and beloved by most of his players, but intense nonetheless. His coaching style has always been similar. He is never afraid to challenge his players. In fact, he demands that they are challenged to excel. It might be too much for some, but it works on a larger scale.

During most of his press conferences with Titans media, Vrabel would toe the line somewhere between charming and smartass. You may get different opinions about which side of that line he was on more frequently depending on who you ask.

Vrabel was born to play football and born to coach football. That’s something he and Brian Callahan have in common. But Callahan’s personality and energy couldn’t be more different than what Titans fans have grown accustom to over the last six years.

During Callahan’s introductory press conference, he referred to himself as “laid back," which just about says it all. "My coaching style is consistent. My demeanor is pretty consistent. I pride myself on being a great teacher," said Callahan during his press conference last week. "That's first and foremost as a coach. That's all you really care about is, how well can you teach and articulate to the players what they need to do. I have plenty of intensity. I have a pretty laid-back demeanor most times, as you guys will see, but when it's time to make corrections and bring the energy as necessary, I can do that. But my coaching style is a teaching coaching style. We're trying to make sure that our guys know exactly what to do, how to do it, and can go execute at a really high level and as fast as humanly possible."

Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content

---

As Callahan was quick to point out, his laid-back attitude should not be mistaken for submissiveness. He has plenty of fire in the tank, it's just something he turns on rather than something he needs to tone down. 

I'm not sure one coaching style or demeanor is better than the other. Different players are receptive to different teaching styles. So none of this is to say that Callahan is definitively better than Mike Vrabel in any way. But there is no doubting the fact that their personalities contrast a bit. 

But if you're looking for something about Callahan to take away as a big positive from his introductory press conference, the new Titans head coach struck me as being very authentic and approachable. I can see why he gels so well with Ran Carthon and Amy Adams Strunk. I can see why Zac Taylor, members of the Bengals organization, and previous quarterbacks he has worked with rave about him. It's a big reason I was so high on Callahan as a head coach candidate in the first place.

If nothing else, this new era of Titans football is going to be very different from anything we have seen out of the two-tone blue in recent years. 

Brian Callahan is bringing a philosophy and energy to Music City that is a 180 from what Titans fans know. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe not. Either way, credit to the organization for trying. If they were going to move on from Mike Vrabel, this was the way to go.

Bengals reporter shares the latest on Tee Higgins following Brian Callahan to Tennessee Titans

Latest on Tee Higgins and Titans free agency.