It was just one victory, and an odd one at that Sunday in Arizona. But for beleaguered Titans coach Brian Callahan, it probably felt more like a stay of execution.
With all that has gone wrong for the Titans over his tenure, with now just four wins in 22 games, the victory over the Cardinals provided at least a brief respite from all that has gone wrong in that time, and at best a boost of confidence that maybe sometimes the ball does bounce the right way – quite literally on a couple of game-changing fumbles Sunday.
For Callahan, who has had in-game foul-ups with clock management and rule interpretations on top of an offense that was so far out of sync that it had scored three total touchdowns before Sunday’s win, perhaps it is a bit of validation to both players and coaches that what they are preaching can work when everything goes right.
To his credit, Callahan didn’t dwell on the negatives of 10 straight losses spanning back to last season. He’s just happy to have tasted victory again and now hopes to find ways to get the Titans back to the win column a little more often than they have been during his time on the sidelines.
“I don’t think about those things. (It’s the) same thing we preach to the team. Our goal this entire week … It’s cliché and coach-speak and all that, but it’s how you have to work when you’re in these situations,” Callahan says. “You’re just trying to go 1-0. That’s all we’re worried about. You go 1-0 each week and you keep trying to fight and find your way into it. You don’t worry about all that stuff.”
Plenty of work to be done
As for the 10-game skid that finally ended, Callahan is over it.
“Half of these guys weren’t even here last year so that doesn’t count on them. You just narrow your focus,” he says. “You don’t listen to the outside stuff and you don’t worry about what’s happened previously; you just push forward. Our guys do a great job, they just keep swinging. It certainly isn’t the end of the season by any stretch. We have a lot of football left to play and we’re going to keep doing that.”
Still, for a coaching staff that probably felt like it was in the crosshairs of owner Amy Adams Strunk’s impulsive whims, just getting a win is as relieving as it is satisfying – even if it might only be a short celebration.
“For us, just to be able to see our team come through and play that way, with that kind of resilience, that kind of effort, and make the plays needed to win the game … It’s huge for us. Again, just like every loss, it’s still one game,” Callahan says. “We have a lot of games left to play. I’m very proud of our staff and very proud of the way they’ve responded in the face of some adversity over the course of the early part of the season. (I’m) excited for what’s to come. We just keep trying to stack and keep moving forward. Again, one win is one win, one loss is one loss, and we try to go out and win next week.”
Team effort appreciated
True – and cliché – but don’t think for a minute that Sunday’s positive result isn’t lost on the players. The locker room afterward had chanting and celebrating to the level of sounding somewhat akin to a presidential election victory.
It certainly wasn’t lost on Jeffery Simmons, the team’s best player and spokesman, who is one of the few players remaining who remembers when winning games was more the norm.
“Winning takes care of everything, and when you can have a staff who can come in, make adjustments, make sure they (are) calling the right plays and putting guys in position to be able to make the plays … I’m sure (head coach Brian) Callahan probably had something to do with that two-minute drive as well,” Simmons says. “He’s the head coach, and of course, we all know he was calling the plays. I’m sure that that was a team effort from (the) top-down. Hopefully that could help build confidence not just (with) the players, but the coaches as well.”
That much will be put to the test again Sunday when the Titans conclude this three-game road swing against the struggling Las Vegas Raiders.
But for one day and one game, it restored a bit of normalcy to a situation that had been spinning out of control with the mounting losses and poor performances.
“I’m really proud of the team, really proud of the fight. It’s good to get a win. Now it’s just one and we’re going to try to keep rolling and keep stacking but I’m proud of what we showed,” Callahan says.