On Monday evening, the Tennessee Titans hired Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to replace Mike Vrabel as the franchise's head coach. 

At first glance, it's a hire that makes sense. Callahan, who didn't call plays in Cincinnati, was part of a Bengals franchise that went from laughing stock to Super Bowl contender in just a couple of years. The next logical step in Callahan's career is a head coaching gig. And since the Titans needed to hire an offensive minded head coach after parting ways with the defensive minded Vrabel, it's a match that makes sense. 

But it's also a big risk. And it's not that I think the hire is doomed to fail, no one ever really knows how a coaching hire will work out (there are no home run hires and there are no sure-to-fail hires), I just think there are some concerns that Titans fans should have with Callahan. 

For starters, there's the fact that Callahan and Bengals head coach Zac Taylor looked like they were heading for a quick exit out of Cincinnati way back in late 2020. The duo went 6-25-1 through their first two seasons together with the Bengals from 2019 to 2020. If the Bengals don't land Burrow in the 2020 NFL Draft, there's a real possibility that Taylor and Callahan don't survive the 2021 season. 

Speaking of Burrow, he might as well be the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati. The former LSU star has had a heavy influence on the design of the Bengals' offense. And he has a lot of freedom on game days. 

The offense that Taylor was hired to run in Cincinnati isn't even what the Bengals currently run. And that's because of Burrow. 

From The Athletic (December, 2022): It took some time, but Taylor has completely let go of the offense he was hired to run and now calls the offense that Burrow ran in college. It’s no longer a mixture of two systems with obvious tendencies. It’s one system with concepts that build off of each other.

That offense works because it's what Burrow likes. It's not because it's a system that Taylor and/or Callahan are married to. So who knows what Callahan will actually run in Nashville. 

Then there's the fact that despite spending plenty of cash on offensive linemen in recent years, Taylor and Callahan, the leaders of the Bengals' offense, have never been able to build an above-average offensive line in Cincinnati. The Bengals finished No. 27 in pass block win rate in 2023. In 2021 and 2022, they finished No. 30. 

Cincy has a respected offensive line coach in Frank Pollack. And they've spent significant money on free agent additions like Orlando Brown Jr, Alex Cappa, Ted Karras, and La'el Collins. And they have a first round draft pick in Jonah Williams. Yet the Bengals are consistently among the most-sacked teams in the NFL. The Bengals' front office has given Taylor and Callahan the tools to fix the offensive line, but it's never been fixed. It's the same problem year after year. And now Callahan is going to walk into a situation in Nashville with an offensive line that has less talent than what he had in Cincinnati? 

I get it. It's not going to be Callahan's daily job to work with the offensive line. But it's ultimately going to be his responsibility to make sure the Titans' offensive line improves. And there's zero evidence to suggest that it will. There's hope, but there's no past history to point to as evidence that it will get fixed under Callahan.

Note: If Callahan hires his dad, Bill, to coach the offensive line, then that will alleviate much of the offensive line concern. Bill is currently the offensive line coach with the Cleveland Browns and it's unclear if his contract will allow him to leave for Nashville. 

Speaking of Callahan's daily duties, he'll be expected to be more of a CEO figure than he was in Cincinnati. Which means Callahan won't be able to spend as much time working with quarterbacks, his perceived biggest strength — though even that is questionable considering Dan Pitcher has been Burrow's quarterbacks coach for his entire NFL career. The Bengals gave Pitcher a lucrative extension last offseason to keep him around as Burrow's quarterbacks coach, which is undoubtedly what Burrow wanted (the Bengals listen to Burrow…otherwise Ja'Marr Chase wouldn't be on the roster). 

Maybe Callahan works out for the Titans. He'll be able to evolve in his own unique way as a head coach. But for me, this looks like Callahan got a head coaching job because he happened to be on the coaching staff of the team that has Burrow on the roster. And not because he helped Burrow, a player that was already a superstar when he entered the NFL after his magical 2019 season LSU, greatly improve his skills. 

Every hire is a risk. And I'm not predicting Callahan will fail. I'm just not quite ready to declare Callahan as the next superstar NFL head coach when, in reality, he's a roll of the dice. 

Mike Vrabel is gaining momentum to land new head coach job

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