The OTP | Week 1 with Titans Head Coach Brian Callahan

The OTP | Week 1 with Titans Head Coach Brian Callahan

[Music] I’m Taylor Zarzer and this is the OTP and it’s game week, the real thing. It’s September with Amy Wells. I’m Taylor Zarzer and we welcome you to the program. Coach Callahan will be with us here in just a couple of minutes. Miss Amy, I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and got to recharge the batteries before it gets real. I did. It was it was a lovely weekend. It’s everything is so good when college football is back on. It just makes the world a little bit better to live in. You know, everything is just bright and shiny and there’s games on TV all the time. So, it was a lovely weekend, but golly, it felt good waking up this morning and being like, “Oh my gosh, it’s week one. Now we get to do it. We’ve been watching these games. Now we get to get involved.” And this is when things really get real. I’m so excited. Uh, week one is finally here. Happy 29th birthday again. Yes, I’ve been 29 approximately seven times now. It feels really, really good. It never gets old. The 7th annual 29th birthday. Exactly. Feels great. I hope um you weren’t uh watching your children on your birthday that other people were watching them for you. They sure were. I had I had a jalapeno margarita and I enjoyed my time. It was a lovely day. Um, and it it’s the kickoff to everything good. I always say Labor Day weekend and consequently my birthday weekend is the kickoff to like football season and then we’re in the holidays and then it’s the Super Bowl and then we have to wait until we start all over again. Yeah, we it was great to have college football back. Um, as a college football commentator, it is really hard to get used to these guys switching uniforms all the time. It’s crazy how much transition has gone on in college football. Uh, I would say more transition really in college now than there is in the pros. There are a lot of fresh faces on the Tennessee Titans, but that’s hard to get used to. But now the best players in the world get ready to play some football this weekend as the Titans travel to Denver to take on the Broncos. Before I get your thoughts on the Titans going to Denver and playing the Broncos, I want to get your thoughts on 2025 with the Tennessee Titans so far. There have been eight months in the year. I realize the Titans don’t start playing football until the ninth month of the year, but how would you describe what it’s like to be around the Titans the first eight months of 2025 as they try to build a championship roster? You know, it’s so funny. We talk about the off season, and the off season, if you’ve been around for any length of time, you know, is a myth. There is no offseason. It is it is a figment of all of our imaginations. And for this Titans team, 2025 started off with a pretty big shift in the move to hire Mike Bonzi and have a new general manager. With that comes a substantial amount of change in terms of what we’re looking for with our our personnel, how that workflow is going to be. And so you jump right into the thick of things with, okay, so we’re going to the Senior Bowl, we’re going to the East West Shrine game, we are going to the combine, we’re doing all of those things, and then that transitions right into visits and pro days and everything that you’re doing to get ready for the first pick in the NFL draft. I know it feels like a lifetime ago that we were getting ready to have the number one pick in the draft, but that was a real thing. And it it feels like really it was 5 years ago, but it was just a couple of months that we were going through the evaluation process. And so when you’re doing that, there’s so much unknown. There’s so many question marks to what is this team going to turn into? What’s the ethos of this team really going to be? Once we got through the draft and we were able to actually bring the young guys who were going to be making up the foundation of this team into the building, then we started to see what this was going to be. We started to see what Mike Borggoni and Chad Brinker have been talking about. We started to see Brian Callahan and some of the ways that he had changed the way he was approaching this season and some of those lessons that he learned from year one really show themselves in the off season of year two for him and his coaching staff. So, I mean, it’s been a wild ride just to get to this point. And I think that for Titans fans and for people in the building, it feels almost like a relief that we’re finally here because all of this work that we put in, all of the evaluation, all of the the lessons learned and the reflecting and the tinkering and the changing and trying this and doing this and just infusing competition and camaraderie into this team has all gotten us to the point where it’s like, let’s see if this works. Yeah. And there I I mean the Denver Broncos are such a great matchup to start with because they’re such a strong team, especially defensively. So for this young offense, it’s a great test. It’s a great bar to see, all right, where are we? Are we where we need to be? What do we need to change? What do we need to tinker with? And so I I’m excited to get this team like out into the world. It feels like we’ve been raising our children and now we’re sending them out and hopefully this works. That’s such great perspective. And you’re so right. I mean that is you really in a nutshell just describe what the last eight months have been like and we’re going to talk to coach Callahan about that in the next couple of segments about building this roster and about the leadership of the roster the attitude of the roster and then certainly how he prepares to take on the Denver Broncos come this Sunday out there in Denver Colorado will get his keys to the game. We have the Titans time machine ahead. Uh a really fun one this week in the Titans time machine that I think you’ll like. And then our man Will Bowling, who will be on the sidelines for the road games this year, will be uh with us for his perspective on playing the Broncos. So, a couple questions I have for you, Amy. First of all, you are familiar with how beloved the late great Steve McNair and Eddie George are in the Titans organization. You knew about Bruce Matthews and what an unbelievable pro he was. Frank Wchek, the late great Frank Wichek, who of course was a valued member of our Titans radio team. There have been some legends around these parts. And then you were here when Chris Johnson kind of took this place by storm. And then Derrick Henry became the best running back in the National Football League. You saw the evolution of those great talented Titans. How would you describe the buzz around the new Titans quarterback, Cam Ward? Oh my goodness. Well, it everybody is incredibly excited because the way that we’ve seen him show up is so different than what you usually see a rookie um kind of embody when they first walk into their new team, the facility, all of that stuff. He he seems to be pretty unflapable. Um I don’t want to go so far as to say like ice in his veins because we have seen him get really competitive. We see him talk a lot of smack. We see him kind of go through those times where he’s really feeling competitive and juiced up and that to me isn’t like ice in your veins like Joe Cool. He I mean he gets into it and he gets fiery, but he is also incredibly professional, incredibly passionate about what he’s doing. And the perspective that he has on what his role is, how it fits into the rest of the team, and like ultimately what it is that we’re doing here is just so unique to somebody that’s that young and in such a high-profile position. He talks about getting here early and like, well, if I can’t get up for this and show up at 5 in the morning for something I’m really passionate about, what business do I have doing this? That is a very mature way to approach your job. Yes. Um, e for anybody, let alone for the quarterback of an NFL team who’s like rather young. Um, I think the way that he prepares, the way that he comes out early for practice, stays after practice, the people that he talks throughout to throughout the course of a practice, and we even saw it on the sidelines during the preseason games. He interacts with so many different people throughout the course of the team. Like, it’s not just he’s only talking to his quarterback’s coach. He’s not only talking to his receivers, he’s down talking to Jeffrey Simmons and the defense about certain things. He’s talking to every person on the offense to try and get things right and make sure that they’re jelling together. Again, to have that zoomed out approach to what this means as a team sport and as a leader in all of it. I mean, it’s no wonder they made him a captain, as a rookie. He acts like a captain. So, I think that everybody is picking up on there’s something special about this guy beyond what he does on the field. I mean, that’s not even talking about I mean, the arm that he has that we’ve all been amazed by. I mean, you want to talk about a pretty football. If if you see it, it’s coming from Cam Ward. I mean, he’s just he’s precise. He’s accurate. It looks good. He he doesn’t even look like he’s trying. Yeah. Um, and so being able to to see the on the- field talent, see the off the- field persona, and that there’s just a little something different about this guy. I think we’re all really excited about that. What’s going to be challenging is remembering that he’s a human. Yeah. And that he’s a rookie, so he’s doing a lot of things that he’s never done before. He’s going to be put in situations that he’s never seen before. and against talent that is hip to his game. Like those guys on the defense are getting paid just the same way he is. And so we all have to remember that when when we go into this and I feel like I’m I’m telling these this fan base, you I’m telling everybody things that you already know, but we all have to be cool about Cam Ward because he is still a rookie. We we do. And I think you’re saying what you just said about him, you could say about the entire team in general. And I realize the last few years have been very frustrating for Titans fans. They want wins. They want to go undefeated. They want to get back to the Super Bowl. You want to win championships. I get that. Everybody wants that. I assure you, everyone in this building wants that, too. But the reality is is when you’re building a championship level team, there’s still going to be some ups and downs. Okay, before we let you go, give me another player, a newcomer, doesn’t have to be a rookie that you’re really fired up about and you’re saying, Titans fans, wait till you see this guy. Oh, a rookie. No, it doesn’t have to be a rookie. It can be any new Titan. Any new Titan. Yes. Oh, I’m really fired up about Cody Barton. I knew you were gonna say him. I’m so fired up Cody Barton. I know because I talk about him a lot and I I understand this, but golly, it’s been fun to watch him work. It has been really fun to see his infusion of leadership, but also his skill set. I mean, where the ball is, so too is Cody Barton. They He’s made some great plays throughout the preseason. He is flying around out at practice and he’s bringing up the young guys with him which has been so much fun. Um so I think that he’s just been such an asset to this defense, to this team overall and especially at a position where middle linebacker at the end of 24, we weren’t really sure what was going on there. Like this is going to look different in 25. And now we have a guy who’s done it before. He’s a proven contributor. He’s a guy that can make plays and now he’s a captain on this team. Like that’s so good for the Tennessee Titans. He makes this defense better and I’m excited to watch him work. But maybe I should cool it and find like a different a different person to be excited about. Get ready on Sunday when you’re listening to Titans Radio. There are going to be about a dozen times where I say tackled by Barton. Tackled by Barton. Yep. He will number 50 will be everywhere near the football. Amy, I love your enthusiasm. I know you’re pumped about this Sunday as the Titans Radio Network gets ready for the first regular season call at 3 Central time. Pregame show will start at two. We have you on this show. We have you all the time. And then, of course, you’ll be with us on the sidelines for the first home game against the Rams. Cannot wait for that, my friend. I’m so looking forward to it. Let’s go. It’s week one, TZ. Yes, ma’am. Brian Callahan, the head coach of the Titans, joins us next. When you bring Helman’s creamy buffalo chicken dip to the watch party, you can cheer too loud or block the TV or be a couch coach and no one will eject you from the game. That’s a hail Mayo. Helman’s the official mayo of the Tennessee Titan. This summer, SeatGeek has your ticket to the best live concerts in Nashville at Nissan Stadium. SeatGeek makes it easy to catch worldconquering tours and highwiders performances from your favorite artists all summer long. SeatGeek has the best seat, your seat for an unforgettable summer. From rock royalty to rap superstars, R&B to country, find it all on SeatGeek, the official ticketing partner of Nissan Stadium. It’s your summer. Make it count. SeatGeek. Hey Titans fans, with a Kroger Boost membership, you’ll score big with double fuel points, free delivery, and lots more. Go to kroger.com/boost for details. Kroger, the official ger of the Tennessee Titans. Tighten up. Now, back to the OTP. It’s September, coach. Finally, it’s time for football, my friend. Yeah, looking forward to it. I know you that you are. Before we talk about the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, look, making a football team every single day of the year is as important as game day is. So, did the Titans win the first eight months of 2025? Well, I feel like we’re in a much better position and I like where our team is at and I’m very uh confident in the preparation that we’ve put in and so I’m excited to see what it looks like uh when it comes to playing real football here. So, feel very good about our process and and where we’re at and and how we’re going to approach this this opening part of the season. What was most important to you this off season? Well, we got to play better football first and foremost. I mean, that’s the that’s the number one thing. That was the number one goal uh all the way through the process was um how do we find ways to eliminate the things that lost us games? Um I thought we did, you know, you look at our preseason stats and again I’m I’m not uh they’re not predictive. Let’s just throw it out there. Um but the things that we emphasized, I think we got, you know, we we I think we finished in the were the top 10 in penalties and I think offensively we were the least penalized team. We had no fumbles offensively and we had a couple interceptions, but the things that we emphasized, uh, I feel like even when it came to games that we got and that was encouraging. You know, we had a couple turnovers defensively. I think we’re about middle of the pack in the preseason. Um, so everything that we’re we’re working towards and we’re emphasizing showed up on on tape on in the game. So that was really encouraging to see, but that was the most important part of the process. Um, and I think the secondary uh, accomplishment of the offseason was the the connection to the football team. Um, those things were intentional. We spent a lot of time working at it. And I think with the connection comes the the leadership component. Um, as guys know each other better and understand each other better. That that connection was was forged a little bit more int uh, intently and intensely I think over the course of the of the offseason. So really feel good about where our team is at. Yeah, that’s something that I really noticed in the last couple of months is attitude and leadership. How much does that matter when things get real in terms of deciding between a win and a loss? Well, you know, everything’s pretty equal in the NFL. You know, the the talent’s pretty equal. Um the coaching is pretty equal. It’s there’s everyone’s good at their job at this level. And I’ve always felt like that’s the separator uh in the league for teams that win is the teams that uh have that sort of connection. and they have the leadership ability that can that can manage some rough waters. You know, that’s leadership usually comes out when when things aren’t good. Everyone can lead when it’s when it’s good. That’s easy. But the hard times and the adversities uh that you face over the course of a year where you start to see that being something that can help you pull you out of a out of a rut, out of a lull um in a in a game and in a in a month, however that shapes out. But that’s where I feel really good about where our team is because that’s the difference I think is talent being equal. What kind of connection does your team have? How well do they play together? Um how much do they play for each other? How accountable are they to each other? And I think that’s something that we’ve we’ve gotten a lot of work in over the course of the offseason. You had the entire team at the captain’s dinner which was held in Nashville the week before the season started and you announced the captains of the football team and you could really tell how meaningful this was to the players you selected and of the rest of the team too. I think anytime you’re voted a captain of a football team, particularly an NFL team, it is a huge honor. It does mean something. um especially when it’s voted on by by your teammates and and it’s that was purely based on the number of votes their teammates gave them. Uh they selected guys that I think were the right ones. I think we have several others that would have certainly been uh great with if that was the case. I mean there’s there’s plenty of guys that that I think would have would have fit that role, but I felt like they that the team picked their leaders and they picked the right ones. And there is something that there’s just something about that C in your chest that does have some pretty deep meaning to those guys. is and I think they they take a lot of pride in that. Yeah. I mean, you’ve got a bunch of fresh faces. Cody Barton is a new player that was elected a captain. Uh Cam Ward obviously is a rookie. He was selected as a captain. But really, what really struck me was one of your veteran leaders, Calvin Ridley, when you told him, gave him that jersey, it has a C on it. I mean, he had tears in his eyes. I It was so meaningful to see that. Yeah. There’s there’s just something about um the growth that I think for Calvin personally that the journey he’s been on to be able to earn himself uh that opportunity to be a leader and he’s always he was a leader for us last year um in terms of his production and his work ethic, but he’s really grown in the in the communication part of it and I think that’s to be able to see that for him and I know it was a goal of his to be a captain of our football team and to see him realize that and to see his teammates most importantly feel the same way was uh really cool to see. You talked about the buyin. You had over a hundred players that were here in this facility at some point during 2025 and you basically cut that number in half with your active roster. Yet, anyone that wore a Titan uniform bought in to what you’re trying to do in year two. So, I know it was hard to say goodbye to some of those guys because of how much they bought into what you’re doing. Yeah. And what was my message to the team, you know, before we ended up going through the cut down process was that uh although some of these guys might not be here to to see the fruition uh over the course of the season, u they were still integral parts of helping us build our football team. And that’s the way the NFL works. You know, you need you got a you got 90 guys on your roster. Uh you need all of them to get through the offseason and the training camp process. They’re they’re huge parts of your developmental process. They’re huge parts of building your team. Um they all play a very significant role. So to tell those guys that they aren’t going to be here for uh for the regular season, you know, is not something that I enjoy. Um and you can tell, you know, they’ve invested a lot, too. That that also hurts for them. So, not my not the most fun set of days, but um you know, it’s part of life in the NFL. But I appreciate the way those guys worked and helped made our team better. And now it’s time to prepare for the regular season. The Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans in Denver, Colorado, 300 p.m. Central kick on Sunday. that you can hear here on Titans Radio. Pregame show starts at 2:00. Home is at the forefront of all we do. It’s why we’re so committed to caring for the places and spaces in which we work and live. Ashley, the official furniture provider of the Tennessee Titans. Genesis is the first and only official jeweler of the Titans, having earned that title since 2006. Titans players, coaches, and fans trust Genesis for the absolute best in selection, quality, customer service, and of course, value. For diamonds, engagement rings, designer fashion jewelry, and the largest selection of luxury pre-owned Rolexes in Tennessee, Genesis is the handsdown winner. Genesis Diamonds in Green Hills and Cool Springs, the official jeweler of the Tennessee Titans. Little Caesars is the official pizza partner of your Tennessee Titans. Download the Little Caesars app and get your favorites delivered today. Delivery fees do apply. Now, back to the OTP. Coach, the Denver Broncos were a playoff team in 2024. Tell us about Shawn Peyton and the Broncos in 2025. Yeah, really good football team. Um, it’s going to be a excellent environment to go play in. Uh, I’ve spent a lot of years there in Denver with some good teams, so I’m very familiar with the environment. Um, their fans are excited. They think they have a really good football team and they’re right. They do. Uh, so the the environment is going to be outstanding. It’s gonna be loud. It’s going to be adverse. Um, and then they have a good collection of players on top of it. I think it first and foremost for them, it starts up front on both sides. U their their defensive front uh is incredibly productive rushing the passer. Um, they were still one of the best teams against the run last year. They play really well together. It’s a very wellcoordinated scheme uh by Vance Joseph. They got a unique pressure package uh that they like to bring. They got good players which is headlined obviously by defensive player of the year passain on on the perimeter. He’ll follow usually the best receivers um that they play against. Uh he’s a true you know shutdown style corner. Uh really really good player, very technically sound, very patient player. Um but then the front’s really what makes it go. makes their life easy on the back end for him. Uh with Nick Bonito, uh and and Allen on the interior, they they all they got three guys with double digit sacks. They led the league in sacks last year. So, a real big test for us out the gate um up front on offense. And then on their offensive side, their offensive line, I think, is is one of the better units in the league. Um they’re they’re good at running the football. Shawn Peyton has been doing this for a really long time at a at a really high level. So, his team’s going to be ready schematically. Uh they do whatever they need to do to win. Uh, I think Bo Nicks is shown to be one of the the young stars of the league at the position. Um, really did a good job for them, especially as the year went along, you saw him get better and better. They got a good collection of skilled players. Their their young running back’s a really good player. Um, they do a good job, you know, and I think that and then you add in, you know, Darren Rzzy and his special teams units have always been some of the best in football and um, you can see why they they feel good about their football team and and they should. It’s um they’re going to be they’re really good. It’s a tough test for us. Um but I think we’re up to the challenge. Yeah. You referenced Bo Knicks and you’ve been coaching quarterbacks for a long time. They’re in Denver for a little while and there seems to be some comparisons that you could make from Nicks to Ward in terms of how wise beyond their years they are. Yeah. I I don’t know Bo personally. I just from what I’ve seen, it certainly seems like he’s one of those types of players. Um you don’t step into the NFL as a rookie and start that many games without having that maturity to you. It’s hard to do. Uh the things that he did were really impressive. Uh he’s a really good athlete on top of it. He makes he makes a lot of plays with his feet which which at this level at the quarterback position gets you out of some trouble. Um but he’s got the wherewithal to to manage that offense which is you know Sean’s a very demanding coach. He does a really good job and they seem to fit well together and I think you see the their relationship growing. I’m sure Bo will be even better here to start year two with a full offseason under his belt. Uh but they’re they’re a good football team and and the offensive side uh with the maturity of the quarterback position, you can tell uh you feel that when you watch them play. You’ve been uh all off season working on the Denver Broncos and your team didn’t even know it at at times. Now that they know they’re working on the Denver Broncos, what’s the most important in practice this week, coach? Um really it’s going to be week one in the NFL can can be pretty wild. Um but it’s going to be still about the same things we preached all offseason, taking care of the football. You look at Denver, I think they were seven and one when they were they won the turnover margin. Um, and they they weren’t quite as good when they didn’t. So, protecting the football in week one is always paramount. Um, making sure that you stay out of long down and distances offensively against their defense. That’s where they want you. They want you in third and long and second and long so they can they can rush. That’s what that group wants to do is rush the quarterback. So, those are the things that that you just do this thing the little things right that put you in pretty good position. That’s the key. Uh, the scheme is going to be the scheme. you know, we’re we’re we’re going to do things that we know well and and put our guys in position to have success and let them play fast. Uh because week one is there’s a lot of nerves and we got some young players and so uh there’s going to be things that we got a lot of reps invested on that we’re going to use again. And that’s just how that’s just how good football teams operate, I think. Yeah. And you will on Monday, I know that you’ll have practice uh on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, get ready and and then head to Denver on Saturday. So there’s a lot of work that’s going to be done throughout the entirety of this week. Maybe even a little bit more than is ne than is usual, right? That’s just the the week one. Yeah. You know, where you you get an extra week before and you get the bonus Monday. So there’s a little bit extra work and you try not to get too far down the road because you got to still maintain you don’t get all these extra days for the next 17 weeks. It’s just sort of a week one bonus. Um, we’ll use all that time certainly uh to our advantage, but uh you try to keep it consistent for the players because you you only have usually Wednesday to Wednesday to Sunday to get ready anyway. So, um we try to stay within that framework. I would love to uh call a game in prime time at some point in the future on a Thursday or a Sunday night or a Monday night, but to your point, there’s some good news in playing 17 Sunday games. Y uh almost all of your games are at 1:00. You do have some West Coast games. You have one game in Indianapolis. It starts after three o’clock, but a lot of 12 o’clock local kicks this year, all games on Sunday, that can help your team get in a rhythm, I would think. I believe so. Um, you try to look at the the positive part of it. Yeah, certainly we’d love to earn the right to to be on prime time and and play on national television, all those things, and and we’ll get there. But yeah, um, right now for where our team is at, I think there’s some benefit to to playing 17 17 Sundays in a row at the same time. and there is a a rhythm that you can acquire and and you don’t have to worry about adapting to a short week or a long week or anything like that. We can just we know what we’re we’re facing and we can go focus on that. Yeah. And finally, coach, I I know that year two everything gets more and more comfortable the longer you go in it. Just how proud are you to represent the Tennessee Titans here in Nashville? It’s it’s a it’s a dream come true for me to to be able to to lead this franchise. Um, and I’m excited about where we’re at and where we’re headed. And I think that’s the most important part is I believe in our team. I believe in our players and our coaching staff and and I believe in our front office. Um, and and our ownership for that matter that that we’re doing things the right way and putting ourselves in position to succeed. And um, I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s a privilege to get to call it, my friend. Look forward to it. 3:00 locally in Nashville, 2:00 in Denver on Sunday here on Titans Radio. Thank you, coach. Good to be here. Can’t wait for next week. For Brian Callahan, I’m Taylor Zarszer. This has been the OTP. [Music]

Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan sits down to discuss team captains, finalizing the roster and preparing for the Denver Broncos in week 1

00:22 – Labor Day Weekend
02:35 – Building a Roster
06:45 – Buzz around Cam Ward
10:40 – New Titan We should be Excited About
13:33 – Brian Callahan 1on1
20:15 – Denver Broncos Preview
27:10 – Wrap up

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