close
close

Titans coach doesn’t regret “feelings” after viral criticism of QB Levis


Titans coach doesn’t regret “feelings” after viral criticism of QB Levis

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A day after his team’s 24-17 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, Titans coach Brian Callahan was clearly still upset that quarterback Will Levis had made yet another glaring mistake that contributed to the loss.

Callahan was caught on television yelling at Levis, “What the hell are you doing?!” as he came off the field after a costly fumble deep in Jets territory. Callahan went on to say he regretted the moment being captured on television because he didn’t want it to be about a player and not the team. But Callahan didn’t regret the postgame emotion.

“I don’t regret my feelings or how I felt in that moment,” Callahan said Monday. “I’m usually pretty calm. This just threw me for a loop and I’m human like everyone else. I have moments where I lose my mind.”

The fumble occurred a week after Levis threw a bad pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, leading to the Titans’ 24-17 loss to the Chicago Bears last week.

Levis vowed to learn from the season-opening mistake, but he still made an unnecessary error that cost the Titans points and momentum against New York.

“He’s an adult and knows better,” Callahan said after the game on Sunday. “So I was really upset that he cost us three points in a game where we probably needed them.”

Careless mistakes that give the ball away to the other team are made even worse when the defense is unable to force turnovers. In two weeks, the Titans’ defense has not forced a single turnover, despite it being a focus since the arrival of defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.

“Take care of the ball and get turnovers,” Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said. “We didn’t get turnovers on defense. The things we always talk about, taking care of the ball and getting turnovers, aren’t happening.”

The few turnovers and carelessness with the football were not the only negative aspects that came to the fore. Once again, a Titans punt was blocked, but this time it resulted in a field goal instead of being returned for a touchdown.

According to ESPN Research, Tennessee became the first team since the 2002 Chargers to have a blocked punt, an interception and a lost fumble in back-to-back games. Another loss similar to the opening loss to the Bears dropped the Titans to 0-2 on the season.

If the Titans are to earn their first win on Sunday when they face the Green Bay Packers at Nissan Stadium, Levis will first have to make better decisions.

“It has to become something that’s second nature to me,” Levis said. “I’m going to do everything I can to reprogram my brain so that I don’t make those decisions in those situations.”

Callahan added: “I would like to see what a game would look like if we didn’t lose the ball.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *