NASHVILLE — By firing Mike Vrabel and hiring Brian Callahan as their next head coach, the Tennessee Titans made a deliberate decision to modernize their organizational philosophy.

Out are the days of being a run-first offense that hopes to out tough an opponent and steal a victory. Out are the days of run, run, pass, punt. In are the days of a renovated offense that prioritizes quarterback play.

And with the latest NFL trend surrounding the Super Bowl, the Titans' decision to roll with Callahan is looking even better.

---

Super Bowl Coaching Trend

In case it wasn't already obvious how much of a offensive league the modern day NFL is, each of the last 10 teams to go to the Super Bowl have been led by head coaches with an offensive background,

That's five straight seasons of nothing but offensive coaches meeting in the big game. Andy Reid (4x), Kyle Shanahan (2x), Sean McVay, Nick Sirianni, Zac Taylor, and Bruce Arians make up the group since 2019. 

But even further than that, the last defensive coach not named Bill Belichick to make the Super Bowl was Dan Quinn with the 2016 Atlanta Falcons. The last defensive coach not named Bill Belichick to win the Super Bowl and hoist the Lombardi Trophy was Pete Carroll with the 2013 Seattle Seahawks. That was 10 seasons ago now. It has been a while.

When you start getting back into the early 2010s, a lot of head coaches with defensive backgrounds begin to show back up on the list. This is where you find you Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, and John Fox among others. But needless to say, the NFL has been trending towards favoring offense for a while now, and the teams that are winning in today's game are those that have elite quarterbacks and offenses.

Outside of this season's Kansas City Chiefs, the last 10 teams to make the Super Bowl have all finished the regular season as a Top 8 scoring offense.

---

Titans Hire Offensive Coach in Callahan 

All of this is to say that the Tennessee Titans made a wise decision by pivoting to an offensive minded head coach in Brian Callahan during their recent coaching search. 

While I believe strongly that firing Mike Vrabel was a mistake and that he will win a lot of games in his next job, if the Titans were going to move on, offense was the way to go. It's very possible that Vrabel has a ton of success elsewhere and the Titans are still very happy with what Callahan brings to the organization.

Developing Will Levis needs to be the organization's priority moving forward. Callahan will help them do that. But even beyond the young quarterback, results around the NFL tell you all you need to know. Offensive head coaches are the wave. If you don't ride it, it's going to keep knocking you over.

There's no guaranteeing the Callahan era of Titans football works out. But Tennessee is taking their best swing at becoming an offensive juggernaut. That's something I can absolutely respect.

The biggest difference between Brian Callahan and Mike Vrabel as Titans head coach

Brian Callahan and Mike Vrabel are so different.