Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor sat down with Dave Lapham of “Dave Lapham In The Trenches,” presented by First Star Logistics, just before the Brian Callahan news broke on January 22.
In fact, the interview took place so close to the Tennessee Titans hire that Lapham only released the pre-recorded footage on the morning of January 23, and yet he had the wherewithal to ask Taylor what the Bengals might do if Callahan skipped town to Tennessee specifically.
“I think it’s my responsibility to this organization to make sure that we access all options, internally and externally, [and] kind of weigh what the best decisions are,” Taylor voiced, regarding the idea of replacing Callahan and any other staff members that he might bring with him upon his departure.
“There’s great people out there that I know, there’s some I’m interested to know,” the Bengals HC continued. Adding: “And I also have a lot of confidence in the guys that we have in the building.”
One such candidate is Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher, who just received a second interview for the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator position according to SI’s ‘The MMQB’ insider Albert Breer.
Breer went on to note that “Pitcher interviews with the [New England Patriots] [on January 23]; with the [Las Vegas] Raiders in Vegas Wednesday [Jan. 24],” and that “he could also get a promotion to OC in Cincy.”
Despite all that, Taylor made it very clear to Lapham that there will be a “necessary” interview process if Callahan leaves — which has since occurred. The head coach reiterated that an in-house promotion would not be the guaranteed course of action.
Will Ex-OC Brian Callahan Target Bengals Coaches With Titans?
Give Lapham a ton of credit, because he practically predicted this entire turn of events while speaking with Taylor. During the discussion, the host even pondered if Callahan might try and bring a few of the Bengals’ staff members with him to Tennessee, and how that process generally shakes out.
“Sure,” Taylor said, admitting he and Callahan will chat about other coaches if he lands an HC gig. “I think [it’s important] just to have a picture of what he’s thinking and how it affects me and our staff. We have those conversations.”
“But again, you have to prepare,” he reiterated. “There’s candidates outside this building that you have to look at, talk to. That’ll be interesting for us if it does go that direction. So, I feel like we’ve got a great staff here in place, and then you get an opportunity to look and see what else is out there to see if you can always improve things.”
Taylor also acknowledged that “those are some things that will take place if Brian [Callahan] were to get a head coaching job.” Here on January 23, they likely already are.
NFL Insider Says Titans ‘Did Not Let’ Brian Callahan out of the Building
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero provided a recap of the Callahan hire on January 23, relaying that the Titans “did not let him out of the building” after their second interview on Monday.
“As much as the NFL — in recent years — has tried to slow down the process, encourage teams to do additional interviews, this felt like what the hiring process was 10, 15, 20 years ago,” he explained, pointing out that Callahan dropped second interviews with the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons to finalize the deal.
Pelissero highlighted Callahan as a coaching candidate that could “revive” Tennessee’s struggling offense and help develop second-year quarterback Will Levis — who showed some flashes in year one.
The former Bengals OC is the son of long-time NFL coach Bill Callahan. He’s spent the past five seasons in Cincinnati and has worked with pro quarterbacks like Joe Burrow, Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr throughout his career.
Lastly, Pelissero informed that his “understanding is [that Callahan] will call the plays in Tennessee.” Something he didn’t do in Cincy.
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Bengals HC Zac Taylor Addresses Replacing Former OC Brian Callahan