NFL Rumors: Titans Hiring Ravens DB Coach Dennard Wilson as DC Under Brian Callahan

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVFebruary 1, 2024

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The Tennessee Titans have their new defensive coordinator, reportedly hiring Baltimore Ravens defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson at the position, according to NFL reporter Jordan Schultz and ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Turron Davenport.

The Titans already hired former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to replace Mike Vrabel at head coach and have interviewed Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis and Jacksonville Jaguars passing-game coordinator Nick Holz for their vacancy at offensive coordinator.

They also reportedly have requested to interview Miami Dolphins associate head coach and running backs coach Eric Studesville for the OC position.

The Ravens, meanwhile, have seen their coaching staff get raided this offseason, with defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald becoming the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Further changes could be coming in Baltimore, where the team’s success this past season has teams around the league intrigued by its staff.

Jeff Zrebiec @jeffzrebiecMike Macdonald is the headliner and rightly so. But there probably will be other Ravens staff departures as well. There usually is at least a couple every offseason.
Another potential departure is assistant OL coach Mike Devlin heading to Chargers to be Jim Harbaugh’s OL coach.

As for Wilson, the 41-year-old had a brief NFL career before transitioning to coaching.

He’s since served as the defensive quality control coach (2012-14) and defensive backs coach (2015-16) for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, the defensive backs coach (2017-18) and both D-backs coach and passing-game coordinator (2019-20) for the New York Jets, the defensive backs coach (2021) and both D-backs coach and passing-game coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles (2022) and the defensive backs coach for the Ravens this past season.

Art Stapleton @art_stapletonSense I get: we all overlooked and maybe underestimated the Ran Carthon connection with Dennard Wilson from their time together with Rams.

Rich Cimini @RichCiminiDennard Wilson was a highly-regarded DB coach during his time with the Jets. Todd Bowles once predicted that Wilson would be a HC one day. He’s on the right track. https://t.co/FYpDDAk1Qe

Zach Kruse @zachkruse2Dennard Wilson helped turn Kyle Hamilton into an All-Pro, Geno Stone had 7 picks…and the Ravens finished first in opposing passer rating, first in takeaways, first in yards/attempt, third in passes defensed. Pretty good!

There was some surprise in Philadelphia ahead of the 2023 campaign when Nick Sirianni chose an outside option for defensive coordinator (Sean Desai) to replace Jonathan Gannon rather than promote Wilson from within. Desai ultimately lost his play-calling duties to the beleaguered Matt Patricia, and this offseason the Eagles hired Vic Fangio as DC.

Zach Berman @ZBermDennard Wilson did an impressive job with the Eagles’ defensive backs for two seasons and was a popular choice among players to earn a promotion to defensive coordinator last season.

The Eagles didn’t choose Wilson, and now they’re on to their third defensive play-caller since… https://t.co/eIZwQ42ofx

But Wilson has gotten his chance to run a defense in Tennessee, taking over a unit that finished 16th in points allowed (21.6 PPG) and 18th in yardage (335.1 YPG).

The Titans are banking on the potential of Callahan and Wilson, who have never served as a head coach or defensive coordinator, respectively. It’s a new era in Tennessee as the team builds around young quarterback Will Levis, and Wilson is now tasked with improving the defensive side of the ball.