The Tennessee Titans recently fired former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as their head coach, and his tenure in Nashville was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster.
Unlike his time in Cincinnati, Callahan was counted on to be a play-caller and a leader of an organization without much in the way of internal support. Haters can say what they will about the Bengals, but at least as far as the coaching staff, they've cultivated a fine culture under Zac Taylor's leadership.
Sure, having Joe Burrow at quarterback is a big help to any franchise. A stud like Burrow makes the coaching staff look better, never mind the front office when they whiff on building the roster.
But a prominent Bengals assistant is proving this season that he can perform at an elite level without Burrow's help — and he appears to be in line to succeed Callahan in Tennessee.
Former Bengals DC Lou Anarumo among top candidates for Titans' head coaching vacancy
While the Titans roll along with Mike McCoy as interim head coach, they're likely already scouting for Callahan's long-term replacement. Dianna Russini of The Athletic provided some insight as to who could be in the running. One of big names just so happens to be Lou Anarumo.
Along with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, and ex-Titans OC Arthur Smith, Anarumo is a main contender on Russini's "early list of candidates."
The Bengals parted ways with Anarumo this offseason and hired Al Golden to call the shots on defense. They've proceeded to rank 31st in total defense and 30th in points allowed per game. Meanwhile, Anarumo is working his magic in Indianapolis for the 5-1 Colts.
Russini is the caliber of reputable NFL insider who wouldn't flippantly toss out a list of names if there wasn't substance behind their candidacy based on what she's heard from sources. It'd just be hilarious if the Titans went back to Zac Taylor's coaching tree to get their next guy after Callahan.
Back when the Arizona Cardinals hired Jonathan Gannon as their head coach, Anarumo was the runner-up for that gig. He'd just overseen a Bengals defense that went to Super Bowl LVI and the AFC Championship Game the year after.
Even when Cincinnati let Anarumo walk after last season's relative debacle, I didn't believe it was as much on him as it was the personnel department supplying him with inadequate talent.
Anarumo has a great blend of calm demeanor and occasional competitive fire. He's well-spoken, plenty experienced, and definitely the type of leader who deserves a head coaching opportunity. The issue is what his plan for the offense would be, as the Titans look to develop reigning No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward as their franchise QB.
Having a defensive mastermind as head coach worked wonders for Tom Brady under Bill Belichick. That's an extreme case of course, but more recently, Baker Mayfield has flourished in Tampa Bay despite a revolving door of OCs under head coach Todd Bowles.
Considering the Dolphins are a tire fire and field a bad defense, Weaver's candidacy would be a tough sell amongst Tennessee fans. Arthur Smith would be an interesting hire since he was with the team before, and his failure as the Falcons' head honcho was more due to bad quarterbacks than anything else.
Matt Nagy's flame-out as Bears head coach is well behind him, though again, that's still a tough sell for the Titans fan base.
The issue is that Tennessee isn't a very attractive job. We're talking about a multi-year rebuild. Given the choice of those four candidates from Russini, however, Anarumo just might be the man for the job.