A few weeks ago, on the night before the Titans season opener in Denver, I attended a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field, just to take in a ballgame and cross another ballpark off my list.
While the park was nice, the Rockies are going through their worst season in franchise history and could end up losing somewhere in the neighborhood of 115 games before all is said and done.
In perusing their roster, there are plenty of names that even the most hardcore baseball fan would have difficulty knowing. A look at their lineup revealed exactly two guys – catcher Hunter Goodman and outfielder Mickey Moniak – who are having solid seasons and could call themselves legitimate Major League players with a straight face.
Most were in their first or second season in the big leagues with a few fading veterans sprinkled in here and there. Former UT standout Jordan Beck is one of Colorado’s top prospects.
One of the Rockies beat writers, an old friend in the business, told me that the Rockies, as terrible as they are, have embraced a full and complete rebuild. He said 19 of the players on the roster were in Double-A ball last season. In other words, it’s time to let the kids play, learn on the job and see who can handle the situation.
The Titans aren’t much different. There’s no minor league system like baseball, but the Titans find themselves in a very interesting dilemma off to an 0-3 start and the coaching staff perhaps hanging by a thread.
They have plenty of young players who might or might not be the answer they are seeking at various positions. Quarterback Cam Ward is the most notable of those, of course, but he is far from the only young player that will need to come through if the Titans are going to turn things around over the next couple of years.
The hottest of seats
One of the big issues the Titans need to make crystal clear if they are going to fully embrace a rebuild around Ward is the status of the coaching staff.
Fans and media are – 20 games into his tenure – questioning whether Brian Callahan and his staff are going to survive a terrible start after going 3-14 a year ago.
The coaching staff is in a major bind. They have to play the players they feel give them the best chance to win with a paper-thin roster. But they are also tasked with developing Ward and the other young players to try to right the franchise’s fortunes for the future.
Callahan understandably doesn’t want to follow the likes of Jon Robinson, Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon out the door, and it now feels like he has to show something soon to avoid Amy Adams Strunk’s guillotine. And soon might mean Sunday in Houston.
Bad things have happened to Titans coaches after poor showings against the Texans.
But honestly, while Callahan struggles to show them that he is the guy who can bring out the best in Ward and his staff can coach up other prospects, there needs to be a point of clarity from the organization about exactly where its priorities lie.
The Titans have lost a lot and looked bad doing it. But the goal this year is to improve the win total while unlocking Ward’s talents.
Young players called on early
While fellow rookies like wide receivers Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike are starting to show flashes and contribute, other young players have suddenly been saddled with lesser roles.
Ayomanor already has supplanted Van Jefferson in the starting lineup and is showing strong potential. Could Dike be far behind in prying reps away from veteran Tyler Lockett?
On defense, the reverse was true Sunday in other spots. Against Indianapolis, James Williams, who lost the starting inside linebacker role to Cedric Gray in training camp, was a healthy scratch in favor of veteran Kyzir White, who was signed after cutdowns and made his debut Sunday.
Yes, Williams has had a couple of egregious special teams penalties, and those cannot happen. But no disrespect to White, who has had a solid eight-year journeyman career, he is just there to plug a gap, not show any upside that this team desperately needs to find. Not only did White push Williams to the inactive list, he took over for Gray in the first half and played the remainder of the time at inside linebacker.
The Titans wanted to get a look at cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis with Jarvis Brownlee hurt and Darrell Baker struggling. That lasted about two series, and the Titans went right back to Baker, who finished out the game.
For Callahan, his staff and the organization, clarity is needed. Is trying to win enough games to satisfy an impulsive owner and frustrated fan base the true goal in 2025, or is embracing the Rockies’ model and living with the results in hopes that a payoff will come down the line the focus?
If the latter is true, Callahan and his staff need the assurance that the organization will back him in going forward with that decision.
Terry McCormick also covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com