After nearly a month of searching following the firing of Todd Downing, the Tennessee Titans have their new offensive coordinator.
He is none other than Tim Kelly, who served as the team’s passing-game coordinator in 2022. It wasn’t the out-of-house hire most Titans fans (myself included) were clamoring for, but here we are.
Kelly will now be tasked with taking over a broken offense that struggled mightily over two years with Downing at the helm. But the first order of business will be for the Titans to give Kelly some talent on offense, something Downing was admittedly short on, especially in 2022.
In order to get more information on Tennessee’s new play-caller, here’s a look at three things to know.
Former Texans offensive coordinator
This is Kelly’s second offensive coordinator job after serving as the Houston Texans’ from 2019-21. Kelly crossed paths with head coach Mike Vrabel in Houston, with the pair serving as coaches together on Bill O’Brien’s staff from 2014-17.
The highlight of Kelly’s time in Houston was the emergence of quarterback Deshaun Watson, who had success in Kelly’s system. However, how much credit Kelly gets for that is debatable.
Here’s a look at Houston’s offensive rankings during the two years Kelly was offensive coordinator and Watson was under center:
2019
Total yards: 13th
Passing yards: 15th
Rushing yards: 9th
Points: 14th
2020
Total yards: 13th
Passing yards: 4th
Rushing yards: 31st
Points: T-18th
It’s important to note, however, that Kelly was only the play-caller for one of those two seasons, as O’Brien called plays in 2019.
Kelly was fired 2021, but even that year was impressive, as he got more out of that awful group than anyone could’ve expected, even with a rookie in Davis Mills under center.
The biggest takeaway from Kelly’s stint in Houston was the fact that two young signal-callers had some success under him. Kelly might be tasked with helping to develop yet another young quarterback during his time in Nashville.
The Todd Downing stain
Whether fair or not, the biggest stain on the candidacy of Kelly was the fact that he was part of a coaching staff that oversaw one of the worst offenses in the NFL last season. Taking it a step further, he was the passing-game coordinator for an offense that struggled most in that area.
Granted, Todd Downing ran the show and we don’t know exactly how much Kelly had to do with the offense, but the struggles of 2022 screamed for a fresh start with an outside hire.
Instead, Vrabel stuck with what he knows, which is not surprising at all.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing is the Titans had Kelly on staff in 2022 and could have given him an audition with Downing clearly cooked, but Tennessee went the other route.
What to expect
When looking at Kelly’s time in Houston (and specifically in 2020), we can get a decent idea of what he’ll bring to the offense. Of course, it’s hard to say if he will run the same exact system, as coaches can tweak things depending on how their personnel fits.
Kelly was more open to passing on early downs in 2020 than Downing was in 2022. That alone is a reason to be optimistic for Kelly, although that may change depending on who is under center for Tennessee in 2023.
His offense was good at taking shots down the field, also, with Watson leading the NFL in average yards per pass attempt (8.9) and yards per pass completion (12.6) that season.
I don’t think the Titans will completely move away from being a run-first team as long as Derrick Henry is back there, but Kelly’s projected approach should put more of an emphasis on throwing the football.
I expect Kelly to be less predictable and to throw more on early downs, and to take more deep shots, including off of play-action. Hopefully the Titans have the offensive line to block for such an approach.
