Titans head coach doesn't hold back explaining the benefit of benching quarterback Will Levis
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan has a difficult decision to make over the next few days. After sitting Will Levis down for Mason Rudolph in the second half of Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Callahan must now decide if he'll be moving away from Levis entirely as the team's starting quarterback […]
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan has a difficult decision to make over the next few days.
After sitting Will Levis down for Mason Rudolph in the second half of Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Callahan must now decide if he'll be moving away from Levis entirely as the team's starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
With the Titans out of playoff contention at 3-11, it wouldn't seem to make much sense for Tennessee to give up on Levis after one poor performance. That's exactly why Callahan had his quarterback's back earlier in the year when Levis got off to a slow start.
But when asked about the potential benefits of benching Levis in Monday;'s press conference, Callahan didn't hold back. To me, that's a bad sign for Levis moving forward. It leads me to believe that Rudolph will be the starter against the divisional rival Colts in Week 16.
"I think there's a—the guys on the football team want to feel like we're all held to the same standard. And that's the biggest issue you face, is there's a locker room component to all these things and a team component to it," said Callahan on his QB decision. "You try to do best by all players involved and the guys getting ready to go play games on Sundays want to feel like we're going to put them in position to win. And that's ultimately where we—that's my job as a coach and our job as a coaching staff to do that. So as far as one singular player development versus all the other stuff, those things aren't what we're focused on right now. At the end of the day, we're trying to put together the best possible performances in three games left in the season and then we'll move into the offseason part of it."
That's clear as day. Levis is not playing up to the Titans' standards. The question remaining is if he's built up enough good will to justify getting another crack at being the starting quarterback. Only Callahan will be able to answer that.
If one bad game is enough to lose a quarterback his job…that leash was probably way too short. And if the locker room is an issue after that quarterback's one bad game…you're going to have a difficult time moving forward with that quarterback long term.
But the really most damning thing Callahan said was in regards to player development. The development of one player is not what the Titans' coaching staff is focused on right now. The main goal is to win football games and Tennessee does not believe in prioritizing development over winning…Even at 3-11, believe it or not.
With how Levis looked against the Bengals, Rudolph may give them the best chance to win games right now. Is that what's best for the football team's future? Definitely not. Do they care? Maybe not.
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