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What new Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan said about his staff hires — including dad
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- What new Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan said about his staff hires — including dad
Brian Callahan isn't in any hurry to fill out his first Tennessee Titans coaching staff.
The Titans formally introduced Callahan as their coach Thursday. When asked what his priorities will be when it comes to hiring assistants and coordinators, he didn't paint the process as a particularly urgent one.
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"We have people in mind, people we're going to talk to," Callahan said. "We're not in a rush. We can talk to as many people as we'd like. As those things come more into a clear focus as I actually get to go sit in the office and work, you guys will hear more about it. But the process won't be rushed. We'll get the right people."
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What Brian Callahan wants from Tennessee Titans assistants
Callahan says he's looking for assistants who are great teachers and communicators, who have great character and coach with energy and passion. He will be able to rely on NFL connections he forged during his time working in Denver , Detroit , Oakland and Cincinnati , as well as ones built through his dad, Bill Callahan, the current Cleveland Browns offensive line coach who also coached the Raiders and at the University of Nebraska.
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The Titans coach brushed off questions about interviewing his father to be part of his staff, saying he hasn't thought about what that might be like and can't talk about that possibility because the elder Callahan is still under contract in Cleveland.
The Titans have not officially fired any assistant coaches from former coach Mike Vrabel's staff. Titans general manager Ran Carthon said after Vrabel was fired Jan. 9 that he wants to give the next coach the opportunity to evaluate the existing staff for himself and decide which assistants, if any, he would like to retain.
In an interview with 104.5 The Zone Wednesday , Titans president and CEO Burke Nihill said he was impressed by Callahan's thoughtfulness in the interview process on the topic of building his staff, and his answers separated him from the other candidates.
An offensive coach by trade, Callahan spoke in detail Thursday about everything from how important it is to view mentoring quarterbacks as a partnership to how he wants to preserve the Titans' physical run identity, to why he views selflessness as being one of the most important traits a receiver can possess.
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But he also divulged a few thoughts on his defensive philosophy. Mainly, he wants the Titans' defense to mirror what he sees from the defenses that gave him the most trouble in Cincinnati.
"You have to have a very flexible and adaptable defense," Callahan said. "You still have to be physical. You still have to run and hit. You have to force errors. There's a lot of things you can do that in the pressure package game where it makes it really hard on an offense."
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Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com . Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Brian Callahan's dad to Tennessee Titans? New coach talks coaching staff
