Titans promote Tim Kelly to OC, announce several staff hires
Titans Wire
2/7/2023
© George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Tennessee Titans have decided who their next offensive coordinator will be, and it is none other than passing-game coordinator, Tim Kelly.
The team announced the move on Tuesday, ending what was nearly a month-long search for the man to replace former offensive coordinator, Todd Downing.
Along with Kelly’s promotion, the Titans announced that Charles London has been hired as the pass-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and Chris Harris as the defensive pass-game coordinator and cornerbacks coach.
London was reportedly in the running for the offensive coordinator gig. Harris’ hire was reported in January, but it wasn’t clear if he would stick around, as he was a candidate for defensive coordinator roles.
In addition, Tennessee made the hires of Lori Locust and Justin Hamilton as defensive quality control coaches official. Locust is the first full-time female coach in Titans history and is expected to work with the outside linebackers.
There are also coaches who are staying on staff but taking new roles. That includes Pat O’Hara (pass-game analyst), Tony Dews (tight ends coach), Luke Steckel (run-game analyst) and Jason Houghtaling (offensive line coach).
While I hoped the Titans would go with an out-of-house candidate, this move certainly isn’t shocking, as head coach Mike Vrabel tends to stick with what who he’s familiar with.
This move won’t be well-received by the fan base in general, as Kelly’s mere connection to last year’s offense put a stain on his candidacy from the jump, whether fair or not.
The Titans were originally reported to have interest in Kelly, London, and Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and senior assistant and quarterbacks coach, Matt Nagy.
After that, the trail went cold, at least publicly. Unless there were more interviews behind the scenes, this doesn’t appear to exactly have been an exhaustive search, which could mean Kelly was the guy from the jump.
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