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Turron Davenport, ESPN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One thing became clear as new Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson began speaking during his introductory press conference: Wilson is a man on a mission.
Wilson quickly revealed how much he wants to attack and get after opposing offenses. His crafty reference of a decorated war general’s quote drove the point home.
“General George Patton said this, ‘Nobody ever defended anything successful. You’re going to attack and attack some more,'” Wilson said. “We’re going to be an attacking defense.”
Wilson pledged to attack offenses by blitzing but doing so without being reckless. Given his background, it’s no surprise that Wilson wants to bring the fight on defense.
Wilson’s first NFL coaching experience came with the Rams (while they were still in St. Louis) when Gregg Williams was the defensive coordinator. Williams is notorious for orchestrating aggressive, punishing 4-3 schemes that put intense pressure on quarterbacks.
Neither Wilson nor Titans coach Brian Callahan committed to running a 4-3 or 3-4 in Tennessee. But Callahan expressed a fondness for the places Wilson has been and the way the schemes he’s been a part of were able to adapt to whatever challenges opposing offenses presented.
“There has to be a willingness to be multiple, to play multiple fronts and coverages, to be able to blitz when it’s required to blitz,” Callahan said. “If you lock yourself into one thing, you tend to get found out pretty quickly.”
Wilson was hired as a defensive quality control coach in 2012 when Williams was the defensive coordinator at the time and served in that role until he was elevated to defensive backs coach in 2015. Williams left the Rams to be the Titans’ senior assistant defensive coach before returning in 2014.
Wilson’s blitzing philosophies evolved when he was the defensive backs coach for the New York Jets from 2017 to 2018. That’s when he crossed paths with current Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles, who previously served the same role for the Jets.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Buccaneers blitzed on 39.9% of their defensive snaps last season under Bowles, the third most. The Titans finished 20th at 22.3%.
“I’ve been around a lot of great coordinators,” Wilson said. “A lot of the philosophies they’ve had, I believe in. So, we’re going to blitz, but when we blitz, it’s going to be at the right times.”
It’s imperative for any blitzing defense to have well-executed coverage behind it.
The secondary is a glaring area for improvement. Tennessee’s pass defense allowed 227.4 passing yards per game last season (18th most).
Wilson’s secondary with the Baltimore Ravens was sixth best at 193.1 yards per game last season. The Philadelphia Eagles had the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense (171.6 yards per game) in 2022 with Wilson as the defensive backs coach.
Many of the defensive backs that Wilson has worked with are quick to praise him for how he’s helped them.
“[Wilson] is a super smart dude,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton told Titans team reporter Jim Wyatt at the Pro Bowl. “We wouldn’t be where we are without him.”
Turnovers are another area where the Titans can stand to improve from last year. Tennessee’s .8 takeaways per game was tied with the Rams for the second least. Meanwhile, the Ravens were tied with the Chicago Bears for third most at 1.6.
“We have to attack the ball with violence,” Wilson explained. “The way you get takeaways in this game is population and technique and the manner in which you play. The same philosophies, in terms of the Ravens defense, is going to be the same philosophy I carry.”
The key to making it all work is marrying the front end of the defense to the back end. Wilson said he looks at it as a puzzle that needs pieces to fit together.
One of his goals is to have what he called “obnoxious communication” — citing he wants everyone on the same page talking to one another because “a team that fails to communicate and connect is a team that fails to win.”
Callahan vowed to have the same approach offensively in terms of controlling the game.
“We’ll do everything we can to dictate terms, tempo, style of play,” Callahan said on Wednesday.
But as Callahan cautioned that there’s a time and place for it. For example, Callahan pointed to taking a deep shot on a play-action pass. The goal is to make a deep completion, but sometimes the defense takes that away. In that case, a check down for a first down will suffice. As the saying goes, “You can’t go broke making a profit.”
Callahan will rely on new offensive coordinator Nick Holz, whom he introduced to the media as well Wednesday, to help put together the game plan.
“Effort, toughness, we’re going to stand for all those things.” Holz said of his philosophies. “But we really want to see guys playing with great speed, detail and execution.”
Holz started from the bottom as an offensive assistant with the Raiders organization in 2012 and held various roles until 2021, including offensive quality control and assistant wide receivers coach. He was the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ passing game coordinator last year.
Although Holz never served on the same coaching staff as Callahan, the two have a like-minded approach on offense.
“There’s a lot of similarities,” Holz said. “I’ve been in a lot of systems, and I’ve worked for a lot of coaches — even though I was in one place for a long time. So, the one reason you get to kind of stay in one place the whole time is that you are adaptable.”
They played together at De La Salle High School in California where Holz was a wide receiver with Callahan at quarterback. The two have kept in touch throughout the years by discussing common opponents and sharing notes.
Now they’ll join minds in bigger roles.
Added Holz, “If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have imagined this.”
