The OTP | Titans Return to Nissan Stadium

The OTP | Titans Return to Nissan Stadium

This is the OTP. I’m Amy Wells joined by Jim Wyatt. Jim, this was a big week of news, so we had to bring in the heavy hitter in the news department, that would be you. Are you Are you happy you have that title? Yeah, I guess so. It has been a busy week. I will say that. Yeah, there’s uh for those of you who might not know, if this is your first time engaging with the Tennessee Titans, they have moved on from Brian Callahan as their head coach. Mike McCoy is the interim head coach here for the Tennessee Titans. He will finish out the season leading the team. We know that things like this happen in the NFL. It happens every year there. It’s happened to the Titans before. This is not the first time it’s happened in this organization. However, it really feels like it shakes the ground for the entire organization. What have you noticed now that we have gotten through the initial news, some media availabilities, a first day of practice? What have you kind of observed? Yeah, I mean that just kind of the way the NFL is is as life goes on and it keeps on moving and and it never stops. Yeah, you have a coaching change in the middle of the season. A lot of the times these most of the time these happen at the end of the year and uh we’ve still got 11 football games to go and which is crazy that we’re just here in early October with everything that’s happened. But um you make a change, you put someone else in place. Is it Mike McCoy? Uh you had a couple of departures certainly around him, but uh as far as the football team goes, they’ve got to get ready to play the Patriots who are going to come in here and try to embarrass the Titans on Sunday. Uh you know, watching practice on Wednesday and heading out again today. Energy is good. Players ready to play. Everybody like Brian Callahan. from from us, from the you know, fellow coaches, obviously, people in management, players, but um the team just was not getting it done. And offensively, it’s been a struggle. It kind of felt like it was going to happen at some point. It was just a matter of when and uh and now it’s happened. and you try to make the most of this season and uh and obviously this team’s trying to do better in the years to come throughout this organization or any organization. Sometimes you can see this moves like this creating a spark or kind of maybe catching everybody’s attention or providing a wakeup call or rejuvenating something. Is that something that you’ve noticed that maybe it feels like everybody is a little sharper because this is something that has happened? Yeah, we’ll see. I mean, I hate to say that and then turn out on, you know, show up on Sunday, get beat 40 to6. I mean, I’d be silly to say that. So, yeah, I guess we’ll get our answer on Sunday when they kick it off against the Patriots. I mean, I think practice has been good. Uh, I think Cam has got the youthful exuberance about him that he always has had since he’s been here. Uh, I think players in the locker room have acknowledged that things have not been going good and and something needed to change. I don’t know they necessarily felt like the head coach needed to change, but you got to do something. And uh, uh, so I do think that um, you know, just like the Jarvis Brownley trade a couple of weeks ago, you know, these things are being done to help the football team whether it’s in the present or in the future. and uh and if you don’t perform at your job then there are going to be consequences and uh and I think everything that’s been done I know there have been a lot of changes around here you know since I’ve been on board certainly in this is year 11 you’ve been here what 15 years uh so you know when I first started covering this team Jeff Fischer was the head coach Floyd Reese was a general manager just kind of felt like that’s the way it always is in the in the league. And then I found out after Jeff Fiser and Floyd left that that’s not the way it is. And uh it’s not the way it’s supposed to be. You’re not supposed to have this many changes. But you know, going from since I’ve been here from Wizen Hunt to Malarkey to Vrabel to Brian Callahan and now Mike McCoy as the as the interim head coach and then I could go down the same list of GMs. All these things have been done to try to help this team be better and uh people are not satisfied and now you just got to get it right. One of the things that I think is intriguing about Mike McCoy is that not only does he have head coaching experience, but he also has interim head coaching experience. So, he’s been in this exact situation before. You have to ex you have to assume that that experience and that uh knowledge of what to do in this situation was one of the key contributors to him getting this position. Yeah, no question. And and make no mistake that then when this move was made, Mike McCoy was the plan as the interim coach. I know there’s been some chatter out there about uh you know, the Titans didn’t have a plan when when they parted ways of Brian Callahan. That’s 100% false. Said that before. I know there’s some other uh speculation out there that people inside the building didn’t know there was a plan. Do I think that maybe some people around uh Brian Callahan were not aware of of the plan of the plan? Yes. And it’s a little sloppy when you’re throwing them out there as your source. If they don’t know the plan, that doesn’t mean there’s not a plan. There was a plan. Uh, I think we knew from the moment that Brian Callahan uh was let go who the interim coach was going to be. You’ve got to get you’ve got to have conversations. You’ve got to get a contract worked out. He just doesn’t slide into that job, you know, on the same contract that he had as an assistant coach. So, uh, his responsibilities change. Some things have to be done before you can make that announcement. But he was always going to be the interim coach 100%. No question about it. And um and because of what you said, uh he has experience doing it. He had a relationship with Cam Ward. Uh they feel like he’s somebody who can help come in and and steer this ship where it needs to be. What does that mean moving forward? I guess we’ll start to get some answers on Sunday. But uh I think he’s handled this week very well. I was very impressed with him with his press conference that he had on Tuesday. His media abilities this week have been of a confident guy who knows he has a job to to do. He hated to see what happened to Brian Callahan. That’s why he came here, but uh now they’ve entrusted him to try to make the best of what’s, let’s face it, is a bad situation. And um and I think his experience will help. 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 Titans. 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And it feels like Mike McCoy has been able to stop the shaking and kind of get everything back on level ground and you feel like this team can now go forward with preparing for the New England Patriots. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, I agree. and uh you know and and what you’re talking about as far as focus and locking in and I I do think you know players understand that this is a job and they have a job to do and if you don’t do it well and you don’t lock in and you don’t uh you don’t prepare then you’re going to get embarrassed and nobody wants that to happen. It’s been a tough enough year as it is at one and five and been some pretty lopsided games but um schedule doesn’t lighten up. You got the Patriots this week, got the Colts coming up after that, you know, you look at what’s on the horizon and uh this these players want to win. I mean, and the fans want to see this team win. And uh I give credit for the fans for showing up and supporting this team even during some tough times because there were a lot of fans in Vegas. There were a lot of fans in Arizona. Um hopefully there will be some fans show up on Sunday uh in Titans gear and uh uh it’s easy to cheer for a team when it things are going great. It’s not as easy when they’re going like they are right now. And I know this team has some loyal fans that supporting them to the good and the bad. How important is leadership within the locker room going to be? And I’m even going to go a step further and say leadership from people not named Jeffrey Simmons because we know what Jeff is going to do. He’s been great. I mean, I I’ve I’ve watched him since he’s been here and just to see how the impact he has on people around him, you know, especially people on the defensive side of the ball, but offensively, too. I mean, he he tired of losing and tired of of being stuck in in the situation the team’s in right now. He’s played on good teams, AFC championship teams and playoff teams. So, he wants to get back to that and he’s trying to do his part to push people around him. But, yeah, I think you have to have others step up. I I do think this team has some some good veteran leaders. Obviously, it’s a it’s a a locker room made up of a lot of young guys, too, who are going through some of this for the first time, including the starting quarterback. But, um, these guys have were have been leaders. you know, you don’t you don’t get here to the NFL if you haven’t had a presence about you and accountability about you and willingness to work hard. So, I think all these guys have what it takes to to step up and do better and be better as a unit and and they have to have their captains and and voices speak up and help things in that regard. Well, and this team is now made up of so many people who were captains at the last place they were, whether it be in the NFL or in college. I mean, this is a team full of leaders. So, if if this group can’t find a way to to come together and really work together to get this thing right, and that’s what Mike McCoy’s been saying from his introductory press conference all the way on, togetherness. That’s the only way we can do this. Yeah. Because if if you don’t have that, then things could really get ugly. I mean, let’s face it, you know, this team’s made a coaching change in season. Um, you know, there are a lot of question marks about what’s going to happen when this season ends. Uh, but I can tell you, you know, if you’re a player and you want to be here long term, then this is you’re you’re kind of this is time for you to show it and uh and to improve. And I think you’re going to see um I think you’re going to see guys respond well. And I think as this season goes on, I think you could potentially see some players play that that haven’t played to this point and that provides even more maybe excitement. Oh, absolutely. Um there’s definitely some excitement around some of the people who could be returning to the field, especially one rather large gentleman by the name of Tavandre Sweat. Yeah. And I thought, you know, thought he looked good at practice. Um you know, it’s been a tough road for him this He did so much to get ready for the season and then he had stuff with his tonsils in camp and and missed a lot of conditioning and then he came back and got geared up for the season. Got hurt, missed the game, thought he was coming back against the Colts, reinjured the ankle and now he’s been put on the shelf for for you know four weeks now. So, uh, it’s still unfortunately going to take him a while to get back into a rhythm and get back into good conditioning, but his presence out there should help the defense and definitely going to help Jeffrey Simmons and and you know, you watch Jeff and see the attention that he gets and um, you would think that would benefit to Vandre Sweat. I mean, he’s with simp you can’t double team everybody. So, uh, so somebody’s going to have a little bit more freedom to go and I think Sweat probably going to be that guy and he’s going to have to prove he can he can handle it. Well, shoot. With even all the attention that Jeffrey Simmons has been getting, he still has four and a half sacks on the season, which is tied for the most amongst defensive tackles in the entire NFL. He has three straight games with a sack. I mean, the guy’s playing remarkable football despite the fact that he’s he’s the guy that everybody is game planning for. It’s incredible. Yeah, it is. And u you know, he’s he does it in practice, too. That’s the thing is he’s uh he’s just relentless with his approach and his attitude and uh and trying to again inspire people around him. Um I’m sure it’s frustrating for him and it’s got to be frustrating for the defense. you know, this this defense has played well enough for the team to win several more games this year, but the offense just hasn’t held up its end of the bargain. And these guys are playing a lot of weeks, you know, when they’re not getting a lot of help on the other side of the football. And to keep your edge and to keep playing hard in those circumstances is not easy, but should never question his effort. Let’s talk about the CAM word of it all because as you mentioned earlier, Mike McCoyy’s been working with Cam all season. So, there’s a familiarity there. there’s a consistency there. Cam has been very honest about his frustrations with the way he has been playing with the his frustrations about how this team has been playing. And we saw Jason McCordi talking about how that can actually help a team. Guys respect hearing that from a rookie quarterback. Do you think that part of Cam Ward’s leadership skills is that he is going to be honest and so you’re always going to know where you stand with the guy? Yeah, I mean you can say the team is blank uh if you’re if you’re throwing yourself into that equation and uh he’s been critical of himself while also trying to hold other guys accountable and um and you know coaches have kind of told it like it is to him too about he needs to to be better and he knows it and uh I think Cam certainly has the talent. He no question has the desire. um they need to be better around him from a protection standpoint to players making plays for him and Cam needs to settle down and be better himself. I mean he the tip ball that resulted in interception on Sunday wasn’t his fault necessarily, but I think he’s probably got to have a little bit more awareness in that situation into the half needing a field goal. don’t do anything that’s gonna take away your chance to score points and that’s what happened. And then he lost a bowl on a couple other plays. So, uh, technique probably got a little bit sloppy. Um, but it’s all part of being an NFL rookie quarterback and he’s just played six games. No one thought he was going to step in and just immediately look like Patrick Mahomes. I mean, he was going to go through some ups and downs and that’s kind of what we’re seeing. and he didn’t again step into um a great football team. I mean, this is a team that’s that’s that’s that is uh rebuilding and not there yet and um has some talent to win more games and one after six, but um uh I think he’ll be a part of making this team better moving forward. 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. Would you like a cookie? I would like a cookie. Yeah, I kind of felt like maybe you could use a cookie break. Brought to us by our friends over at Christy Cookie, who sent us this new tin. If you’re watching on YouTube or on tzytitans.com, you can see it. If you’re listening in your car, you can’t see it. But it says peace loving cookies. And we’re already into Christmas. I know. It has a very holiday festive feel to it, which I’m personally here for. I’m not big on the Halloween thing, so like just just shoot me right across over to the holiday season. Like ho ho ho, you know? I love me some Halloween, I have to say. Oh, I just I don’t like Here’s the thing, Jim. I don’t like costumes. I do not like being scared. I don’t really like candy that much. So, like, it’s it’s all three of the Halloween things. But, I will say my children are super into it. So, I’m having to to lean into the spooky season, even if I don’t really What are the costumes going to be this year? Well, I don’t know. So, my littlest one is going to be Moana, and that’s pretty pretty set in stone. She’s pretty excited about that. um oldest was going to be hall uh was going to be a Spider-Man until she realized that the costume was a a a commitment like it’s a full bodysuit thing. She wasn’t really down with that. So, we might be pivoting to a to Tiana from Princess and the Frog. Okay, that’s good. That might be our pivot here. So, I I mean stay tuned. There’s still a lot of time left and with toddlers, nothing is final until it’s final. Not till not till love. Sun’s starting to go down on the 31st. Uh-huh. Exactly. Um, these are chocolate chunk cookies, by the way. And I’m talking with my mouthful because they’re really that good. Super chocolatey. So, if you would like to add chocolate chunk to your Christy Cookies holiday tin for Christmas, if you too want to jettison past Halloween and just get right into the Christmas spirit, christypycookie.com is a place to go for that. You can get yourself a tin, fill it with all kinds of cookies. Highly recommend the chocolate chunk. It is quite nice. Very satisfying. And just kind of uh pulling me out of whatever little rut I was in this morning. This is nice. I’ll pick this. So ChristyCookie.com, thanks for the cookies, Christy Cookie. Jimmy, the Patriots are coming to town. And we know that is intriguing to people for a lot of reasons, mainly because of a certain head coach. But I kind of want to talk about the matchup specifically because the Patriots are really kind of finding their groove and it feels like they are going to be a tough competitor. What do you expect to see out of this team on Sunday? You’re talking about the Patriots team or the Patriots? Nope. The Patriots team. We’re moving on. Yeah. you know, knowing their uh head coach and and the way he wants his teams to play and the way they’ve played this season, I expect them to come in here feeling really good about themselves. They’ve been good. The other win against Buffalo, very impressive. They’ve got a great young quarterback and Drake May who u who I’ve been very impressed with. and then just the way they play, they play hard and um they believe uh that they can win and um so we’ll get to see some familiar faces on Sunday, but uh we’re certainly familiar with the style that Mike Vable coaches, Mike Vrabel coach teams play with. Do you think that they are doing anything to adjust their game plan given the news within the Tennessee Titans organization this week? I don’t I mean I I they don’t really know what to expect and and the reality is I mean how much can you change in a week like uh because if you try to change too much is going to make things too difficult for Cam Ward and for the offense. I mean I think it would be a process. Could you see some alterations and uh different approach and play calling and how aggressive you are? Yeah, but but it’s not going to be like this team’s gonna come in and switch to a completely different style offense and um to try to catch the Patriots off guard. I I think they probably have a pretty good idea of what Titans are about based on what they’ve seen on film for the first six weeks of the season. And and uh and based on what they’ve seen, they probably think they’re going to come in here and win this game pretty handily. And uh so the Titans have got to figure out a way to change the results and to kind of change the perception that people have of them across the league. And uh based on what we’ve seen so far is the Titans are the lowest scoring team in the NFL, you know, last in yards, last in I think third downs. I was looking at some of these stats the other day. I mean, it hasn’t been pretty and and uh so Titans have to be a lot more productive offensively to win some games down the stretch. I think the defense has played hard and and giving this team a chance again, but um it’s got to be more a complete effort and Mike McCoy’s talked all about complimentary football and not making mistakes and I think that’s the key for the Titans is they’ve got to they’ve got to play more complete games. Absolutely. And that leads us to the Little Caesar’s real deal matchup of the game with our very own Keith Bulock. Here’s the deal. Coming at it a little different this week because this week has been a little different. The matchup I’m looking forward to see is the Tennessee Titans verse everybody. Yes, the New England Patriots are coming to town. Former coach Mike Frabel, they have some momentum going, but that’s not what it’s about. I think this week it’s about the Titans turning a page, starting new, and rallying together as a team against the New England Patriots to get a win this week at home. Titans fans, get 15% off your Little Caesar’s order of $15 or more at participating stores using code Titans 15 at checkout. That excludes taxes and other fees, of course. Pizza. Jim Wyatt. Titans verse everybody is what Keith Bulock said. Um do you agree that that is the matchup of the week or is there something a little bit more specific that really catches your eye? Yeah. Uh as far as um as far as Sunday, I mean I think um again I I don’t know that I’m looking for a specific matchup. the biggest challenge is is getting some pressure on May and um and getting them in longer down and distance situations. But I think if you’re the Titans, I think the key what you’re looking for is just to see this team come out and play some inspired football. I mean, I I think uh that game on Sunday was a massive disappointment for everybody because you were coming off a win in Arizona the week before and uh expect to see the team build on that momentum and then you go three and out with three straight running plays to start the game. You don’t score a point uh until the game’s kind of out of out of u control. Yeah. and uh and never felt like the Titans were in it. So, I mean, I think what Titans fans want to see on Sunday is a team that shows up ready to play, you know, aggressive, scoring points, playing with some energy, and making this a a football game instead of a a yawner. And uh so, I think that’s what you’re looking for. You know, Patriots are are uh talented and they’ve been better than a lot of people thought they would be at this stage of the season, but I think this is all about the Titans and how the Titans show up and play and whether they’re capable of um of playing some inspired football with a new head coach. The Titans take on the New England Patriots this Sunday. Kickoff for that game is at noon. It’s at Nissan Stadium. The Titans haven’t been home in what feels like an eternity. Jim, how excited are you that your commute to Nissan Stadium is substantially shorter than your commute to say Las Vegas? I know it has been quite a haul. You’re right. Houston, Arizona, Vegas, back to back to back. Last time was September the 21st against the Colts. It seemed like forever ago. We were whole different people back then, Jim. Yes, I know. We really were. We were eating macadamia nut cookies back then, I guess. Probably not these chocolate chunks. So, uh, we weren’t talking about Halloween back then either. So, so yeah, it’s it’s it’ll be good to be back home, go on the road again next weekend, but then we’ll be home for the next three home games with the buy sandwiched in between. So, four of the next five at home, a chance to kind of try to get a little bit of momentum, win some games, but it all starts on on Sunday uh with the Patriots coming to town. Absolutely. If you’re heading out to Nissan Stadium, one thing you should know, it is the Titans Crucial Catch game. So, Crucial Catch is a campaign that you see every year. The league really leans into it. It’s supports everything from cancer survivors to people who are actively going through treatment and recovery. Um, to those people who support people who have cancer and are dealing with whatever form of cancer that may be. Um the Titans are doing all kinds of things this week um in honor of Crucial Catch Week. They are serving everybody from kids who are struggling with pediatric cancer to nurses to doctors to I mean they are all over the place. So that will definitely be something that you will see this week um in the form of merchandise and insignia and different activations. Um, Crucial Catch every year it feels like it just gets bigger and bigger, but the amount of awareness that it raises and its promotion especially for like screening and things huge. Yes. Yes. And you see people walk around the buildings with kind of the I play four shirts and which is great. You know, bringing awareness to their loved ones who are dealing with cancer, who have dealt with cancer, who have they’ve lost a cancer and uh certainly is uh a moment of reflection for those people. I think about Terrell Williams, you know, former Titans assistant who with the Patriots who had to step away because of his own battle with cancer, you know, think about him, you know, during a week like this, too, because he’s such a great guy. So affects that affects so many people and uh and it’s nice to to bring awareness and and spread message me messaging to help other people down the road. 100%. So anyway, that is something that you will notice no doubt when you come out to Nissan Stadium this Sunday. Again, kickoff for that game is at noon. Titans radio will be on the air at 11 with uh what is it called? Titans Countdown, kickoff countdown with the pregame show. You don’t want to miss it. We’ll all be there getting ready for the Titans taking on the New England Patriots. Jim Wyatt, thanks for coming to hang out with me for a little bit. I appreciate you having me in. I appreciate the cookie. I’m telling you, big news weeks. We got to bring in our heavy hitters. And that is Jim Wyatt, the man with all the news. Uh, make sure that you are reading all of his articles on Tennesseeitans.com. He will keep you in the loop. All of those things are there and following him on the social medias at Jay Wyatt Sports. He’s got everything you need and some entertainment. You’re very entertaining. I hope so. Try to be. He’s very punny, guys. He’s great with the dad jokes for Jim Wyatt. I am Amy Wells. Thank you for listening or watching this edition of the

Amie Wells is joined by Titans team writer Jim Wyatt to breakdown Interim Head Coach Mike McCoy’s impact heading into Sunday’s matchup against the New England Patriots.

00:00 – 7:00 Breaking down McCoy impact leading the Titans
8:02 – 16:31 Playing through Change
17:17 – 22:49 Cookie Break presented by Christie Cookies
22:50 – 23:35 Keith Bulluck’s Matchup of the Game
23:36 – 29:21 Previewing New England

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