Titans head coach Brian Callahan said “everything is on the table” as Tennessee prepares for Week 5.
Tennessee is 3-18 since hiring Callahan to replace Mike Vrabel at the end of the 2023 season. He gave up offensive play-calling after the Titans began 0-3 and said he spent more time Sunday talking to players on both sides of the ball.
“When you are 0-4, sort of everything is always on the table. Try to improve, find a place to win,” Callahan said. “I think if you sit back and say everything’s great, well, it’s not. We’re 0-4. We’ve got to do some things better. Do better, put ourselves in better spots.”
Callahan said “it doesn’t matter” when asked if he was given any assurance he would be allowed to finish the season with the team. He said that would be his expectation.
“I also know how the NFL works,” Callahan said. “I think we’re running the ball well. I think there have been some really good things defensively. I hate to say anything has been good enough to this point. We’re 0-4. We’ve got to do more of it, and more of it more often.”
Callahan said he’s been pleased with the fight from No. 1 pick Cam Ward at quarterback. He pushed back on the notion Ward is regressing, pointing to his response during the second half of the loss to the Colts in Week 3.
After Sunday’s loss, Ward said the team was “ass” after a 26-0 beatdown at the hands of the Texans. The Titans have been outscored by an NFL-worst total margin of 69 points.
“If we keeping a buck right now, we ass,” Ward said. “We 0-4. At this point we got nothing to lose. We dropped a quarter of our f—ing games and we’ve yet to do anything. So we have to lock in. Especially myself. From the offensive line, from the defensive line, from the special teams to all three phases we have to play together. We have not played together this year yet …”
The Titans are last in the NFL in yards per game since Callahan was hired.
“I think what everyone is learning about Cam is he cares a tremendous amount. That’s what he cares about,” Calllahan said. “He wants nothing more than to play well and to win.”
Ward operated without wide receiver Calvin Ridley (illness) at Houston and completed 10 of 26 passes for 108 yards with an interception.
“It’s hard to play quarterback in the NFL,” Callahan said. “He’s had to learn some hard lessons, I think. He’s also incredibly willing and incredibly passionate about trying to do things the way you need to do it. … He’s only going to get better the more he sees those things. … You don’t just arrive in the NFL a perfect product like that.”
