Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward is thankful for his time under former Titans coach Brian Callahan, even though it didn’t last long.
Callahan was fired as the Titans coach six games into Ward’s rookie season last year amid a 1-5 start, just months after Tennessee took Ward with the No. 1 overall draft pick.
The Titans (0-2) will see Callahan, now the New York Giants' passing game coordinator, when they travel to play the Giants (1-1) on Sept. 27 (noon, CBS) at MetLife Stadium.
“He taught me everything I had to get better at, and he helped me get better at a lot of things when I first came in,” Ward said before practice Sept. 23. “The offense we had last year was very challenging in terms of a rookie to come in and learn. But it’s also a great
offense to be part of … With him, he’s helped elevate my game as far as my last year, my rookie level.”
Ward has said new Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s system is a better fit for him. Ward’s passer rating is slightly up this season (80.2 to 85.7) and after throwing seven interceptions as a rookie, he’s turnover free through two games.
Ward regularly rotated offensive coordinators in college. Callahan's firing was just an extension of that.
Titans offensive guard Peter Skoronski and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons told The Tennessean the coaching transition from Callahan felt relatively smooth to them at the time. But they were more experienced players. It’s different for rookies, Titans backup QB Mitchell Trubisky told The Tennessean.
Trubisky identifies with Ward’s path after his NFL journey with former Chicago Bears coach John Fox lasted shorter than expected. Fox was fired at the end of Trubisky’s 2017 rookie season.
“Continuity is the No. 1 thing, I would say, for a young quarterback,” Trubisky said. “When you have coaching turnover, then you learn a new offense, it just takes some time … It’s definitely not ideal. It’s something I went through as a rookie, learning an offense, having a tough year as a rookie, then going into a second year you have a new head coach, a new offensive system, you’re really studying a lot and putting a lot of time in, and at the end of the day you want to win games.
“(Ward’s) done a great job with this offense. I feel like he knows this system really well. He’s finding completions early on and protecting the football. I think we just need to keep playing better as a team around him.”
Tyler Palmateer covers the Tennessee Titans for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Cam Ward said about facing former Titans coach Brian Callahan, who's now with Giants
