The Tennessee Titans made several changes to their coaching staff recently, with the hire of new offensive coordinator Tim Kelly leading the way as the most notable.
Tennessee not only hired a handful of new coaches, the team also re-assigned others to new positions. Here’s a full rundown of the newest additions:
-Tim Kelly hired as offensive coordinator.
-Charles London hired as QBs coach/offensive pass-game coordinator
-Chris Harris hired as CBs coach/defensive pass-game coordinator
-Lori Locust, Justin Hamilton hired as defensive quality control coaches
Now, a look at which coaches changed spots:
-Pat O’Hara from QBs coach to pass-game analyst
-Tony Dews from RBs coach to TEs coach
-Luke Steckel from TEs coach to run-game analyst
-Jason Houghtaling from assistant OL coach to OL coach
In all that shuffling, the Titans did not name a new running backs coach, but that position should be filled in due time.
Since we’re mostly familiar with the latter four, let’s turn our attention to the newbies coming to Nashville in 2023, with the exception of Kelly, who we already did a bit deeper of a dive on here.
I’d also highly suggest checking out this article on Kelly from Broadway Sports Media’s Zach Lyons. It’s one of the most comprehensive deep dives you’ll find on Kelly on the internet.
Now, more information on the newest coaches.
Charles London
London has already made one trip through Nashville during his coaching career, serving as an offensive assistant for the Titans in 2011.
He also crossed paths with Vrabel in Houston from 2014-17 while he was the Texans’ running backs coach, and he was on the offensive staff of Arthur Smith in Atlanta the past two years.
Connections, connections, connections.
London has become a rising star in NFL circles and has received looks from multiple teams for offensive coordinator jobs over the last few cycles, with Tennessee being among those teams.
To get him in these two roles is an absolutely great hire for the Titans.
London was involved in this year’s Senior Bowl, serving as the offensive coordinator for the American Team. In fact, Vrabel said London’s great work there played a role in convincing him he wanted London on his staff.
That experience is a valuable one for the Titans, as London’s hands-on work with the offensive players down in Mobile gives Tennessee at least a small leg up on scouting those players for the 2023 NFL draft.
London will primarily serve as the quarterbacks coach, which means he’ll have a hand in bringing along Malik Willis, who did not have a positive rookie campaign.
Vrabel revealed London will also help with terminology, and how the team goes about teaching and coaching things. I’d also expect him to have some input — albeit minor — in offensive game-planning, something Kelly was involved in when he was pass-game coordinator in 2022.
#Titans Mike Vrabel on Charles London:
I appreciate Charles London and what he brings from Chicago and then Atlanta w/QBs. His primary role will be working w/the QB. He’ll help with some of the things how we use the terminology, how weee teaching things and coaching things.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) February 7, 2023
Chris Harris
Like London, Harris is considered one of those rising star coaches who figures to land a bigger role at some point down the road.
And chances are that will happen sooner rather than later, as Harris agreed to join the Titans with the stipulation he’d do so if he didn’t land a defensive coordinator role.
Harris drew interest from two teams this cycle (Texans and 49ers), but didn’t land a job. Rest assured, he’ll be back in the mix in 2024, so his stay might be short. If defensive coordinator Shane Bowen gets poached next year, Harris would likely be next in line, so he’s an insurance policy of sorts as well.
Harris spent eight years in the NFL as a player, appearing in contests for the Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars. He started in 88 of 101 career games.
Harris spent the last three seasons as the defensive backs coach for the Washington Commanders (2022-22).
The Commanders saw some success with Harris at the helm, with the team’s pass defense ranking second and fourth in 2020 and 2022, respectively. He also no doubt had a hand in helping bring along safety Kamren Curl, a seventh-round pick who has developed into a very good player.
Harris will be tasked with working with a very young secondary that could be very, very good if it can clean up the mistakes and improve on fundamentals. Of course, staying healthy is vital, also.
“We were excited to be able to add Chris — you see he’s had a lot of interest from other places,” Vrabel said of his new DBs coach. “I loved his demeanor, and I loved his ability to teach.”
Lori Locust
The Titans made history with the hiring of Locust, who is the team’s first full-time female coach. She comes over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who hired her as an assistant defensive line coach in 2019.
Locust played defensive line for the Central PA Vipers of the Independent Women’s Football League but retired after five seasons due to a knee injury.
It was while Locust was recovering from said injury that she dipped her toe in the coaching water, and she instantly fell in love with it, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud.
After graduating from Temple, she decided to join a women’s team in Harrisburg even though she was turning 40. She played four seasons before an injury found her on the sidelines coaching her teammates, and the fire was lit.
From there, Locust held several different roles in different leagues, serving as an assistant coach, defensive line coach, linebackers coach, and co-special teams coordinator.
In Tennessee, Locust will serve as a defensive quality control coach, but one of her main focuses will be working with the outside linebackers and coach Ryan Crow, as Vrabel revealed recently.
“I thought her knowledge was excellent,” Vrabel said of Locust. “I enjoyed the meetings we were able to have at the Senior Bowl… She’ll primarily start out working with the outside linebackers. Her and Ryan Crow will make a great team and he’ll help her as she transitions to working with the outside linebackers.”
While Locust’s past coaching experience has come primarily with the defensive line, there is some overlap in Tennessee, as the Titans have deployed some of their defensive lineman at the position in recent years.
Locust is an experienced, knowledgeable coach who will be a valuable helping hand during her time in Nashville.
Justin Hamilton
A former seventh-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, Hamilton spent a few seasons in the NFL before moving on to coaching. His first gig was as defensive coordinator at Virginia-Wise, a Division 2 school.
After three seasons there, Hamilton took the job as outside linebackers coach and co-special teams coordinator at VMI, and then switched to inside linebackers coach in 2017.
Hamilton moved on to Virginia Tech in 2018, where he first served as director of player development for defense, and was then promoted to safeties coach in 2019.
The following season, 40-year-old coach added defensive coordinator to his list of jobs, a position he held in tandem with safeties coach through 2021.
While we got more specifics on what Locust’s focus will be, we’re still a bit in the dark about what Hamilton’s will be. That said, his resume is pretty solid for the position he’ll be taking.
