If we were to approach this coldly and callously, like one of those atomic scientists who adjust the Doomsday Clock, it would seem Brian Callahan is edging ever closer to midnight. After a 26–0 blowout loss at the hands of the previously winless and offensively impotent Texans (the first time the Texans have shut out an opponent in 15 years, by the way), the facts have turned against Callahan in a manner that would make it seem as though the Titans’ coach is almost certainly not going to make it to Halloween in his current role. Even next week’s game would seem in doubt.
Before editorializing, let’s first acknowledge that Callahan was hired by a different general manager than the one who currently occupies the seat. That is a check against him. Let’s acknowledge that one quarterback, Will Levis, already regressed under Callahan, necessitating the selection of another. Check. Now, a rookie first-round pick—already tinder for seat-warming flames—has taken the postgame podium with all the wary, defeated energy of a parent at the Wednesday 6:30 a.m. bus stop, declaring the state of the team as “ass.” This, after calling the offense “mid” in training camp. Check. Cam Ward, by the way, is the most consistently pressured regular starter in the NFL after ownership wrote a massive check for a new left tackle in the offseason. (I’m not saying it was the right decision, or that this is Callahan’s fault, but … check.)
