The team’s philosophy will always change with a new coaching staff, which is usually to the team’s advantage. The Tennessee Titans want to attack the ball from the first snap, something they haven’t done before.
Dennard Wilson was hired by new head coach Brian Callahan to serve as the defensive coordinator, marking his first coordinator position. Wilson made it clear to the media on Monday that this defense will not be the backup group from the previous season.
Wilson served as the defensive backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens for one season. He also served as the defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons in the past.
The necessity to strengthen a secondary that finished the season with a league-low six interceptions led to the change in strategy. Wilson is searching for corners who will initiate a route with aggression and get in the face of the wide receivers.
One of the league’s worst pass defenses in the past has been Tennessee’s secondary. The team’s pass defense ranking from the previous season was 18th, which was the highest in the previous five years.
The Titans’ corners should benefit from this change to play more press, and the safeties will be under more pressure to be ready to cover if receivers get past the corners off the line. Wilson has never used this scheme before, even though he managed one of the best secondaries in the NFL despite not doing it frequently in Philadelphia or Baltimore.
In terms of pass defense last season, the Ravens were ranked sixth in the league. With Wilson in charge of the secondary, Philadelphia ranked first against the pass in 2022, allowing an average of 171.6 passing yards per contest.
The Titans signed former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and traded for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs in an offseason effort to strengthen the secondary. Awuzie has only had six interceptions in his career compared to Sneed’s ten.
Along with top returning Titans cornerback Roger McCreary, they will hopefully help the secondary’s stats. Since 2018, when they finished sixth in the NFL, the secondary has not been in the top half of the pass defense rankings.
Wilson faces a challenging group, but the most recent additions should improve this secondary. The Titans will be in a far better position in 2024 than they have been in the previous five years if they concentrate on pressing with cornerbacks who are accustomed to it.
