I'm going to do something that I was taught long ago to never do... even at the risk of making a, um, donkey out of 'u' and 'me,' I'm going to assume that I know what the general mindset of the Houston Texans fanbase is on this Monday afternoon in the immediate aftermath of the breaking news that the Tennessee Titans have made Brian Callahan the first coach fired in the NFL this season.
It certainly wouldn't surprise me if the immediate reaction of Texans fans would be to laugh at how quickly Brian Callahan's tenure with the Tennessee Titans ended. Callahan, the son of former NFL head coach and well-respected offensive line coach Bill Callahan, was relieved of his duties on Monday afternoon after a Week 6 loss at the hands of the Las Vegas Raiders. In his brief tenure, Callahan went 4-19 as the Titans head coach.
Now you may have clicked on the headline and expected to read some kind of holier than thou piece about how we shouldn't be celebrating the loss of job for any man or woman because it affects the livelihood of not just themselves but their friends and family members and blah blah blah. Sure, all of that is inherently true, but in the interest of Texans fans, this has nothing to do with turning the other cheek or being the bigger man or anything of the sort.
Texans fans should be not just upset, but devastated that Brian Callahan is no longer the head coach of the Tennessee Titans because he proved, over just 23 games, that he's a lousy head coach who could've been good for two wins each season moving forward for as long as he was situated in Nashville.
Sure, one of Callahan's four wins as a head coach came at the expense of the Texans, but the proof is in the pudding... this was one of, if not the worst coach in the NFL, and there were much smarter people than me who have been pointing that out for weeks.
But frankly, it doesn't take a scout's eye or a seasoned writer's vantage point to see that Callahan was in over his head. Anyone who spends 10 hours every Sunday watching football could've arrived at this conclusion.
The Titans point differential over their last 23 games has been a staggeringly bad -227, which means Tennessee is being outscored by nearly 10 points per game in that time. Tennessee's offense has ranked in the bottom six in both points and yards in each of the last two seasons, and the defense has only been marginally better. This year, the Titans ranked dead last in yards per play, 3rd down conversions and net penalty yardage.
Brian Callahan's presence was a gift from the football gods after Tennessee made the bewildering decision to move on from Mike Vrabel after the 2023 season. It all but ensured that the Titans would be one team that the Texans wouldn't need to worry about in the AFC South. But even with a league-average coach, that won't be the case anymore.
Pour one out for Brian Callahan tonight, friends. He was taken from you too soon.