NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Brian Daboll comes to Music City as the Titans' offensive coordinator with a strong resume at the position and high hopes. He will be officially introduced on Wednesday.
As we look ahead to what he can do, I thought a look back at the 12 offensive coordinators of the Titans era is appropriate. Here are my rankings of those dozen coaches, with thoughts on my rationale.
This weighs production, impact and overall influence on the franchise
1) Arthur Smith (2019-2020): Blended the best of Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill and fielded the highest-scoring offense of the Tennessee era and the second-highest-scoring offense in franchise history in 2020 with 28.9 points a game. That team ranked second in yards in the NFL. No other Titans team has ranked better than eighth. Got a head coaching job after two years. He’s now the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.
2) Mike Heimerdinger (2000-2004; 2008-2010): Worked with the original foundation: Eddie George, Steve McNair and a great O-line. The 2003 Titans were fifth in points in the NFL and were the second-best scoring Titans team in history with 27.1 points a game. Heimerdinger helped guide McNair to co-MVP with league and career-best 8 yards per attempt and 100.4 passer rating. He threw a career-high 24 touchdowns. His second tour didn't get as much done with Vince Young and Kerry Collins.
3) Les Steckel (1997-1999): Guided the franchise’s lone Super Bowl offense with an Eddie George-heavy framework, a solid offensive line and room for McNair to sprinkle in magic. Left somewhat controversially when he interviewed with Tampa Bay as his contract was running out and Jeff Fisher moved on to Heimerdinger.
4) Matt LaFleur (2018): Became Mike Vrabel’s first coordinator after losing out to him for the head coaching gig. The Titans only averaged 19.4 points a game under the first-year play-caller. Derrick Henry had his first 1,000-yard season, but Dion Lewis still got a good share of carries. Marcus Mariota managed 35 yards fewer than the previous year. But LaFleur was on the upswing and got the head coach seat with the Packers after just one season.
5) Terry Robiskie (2016-2017): Unrelenting in his old-school ways. But he got steady play out of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry while Mariota had his two best passing yardage years during two 9-7 seasons, the second of which featured the Titans’ first playoff win in nine seasons.
6) Todd Downing (2021-2022): In 2021, the Titans went 12-5 and had the third-best scoring offense of the Titans’ era with 25.1 points a game. Downing had Henry and AJ Brown, with Ryan Tannehill engineering the offense, and things were pretty good in Year One after Smith went to coach the Falcons. Now, 2022 featured a serious drop off with over a touchdown less per game. Downing now coaches receivers in New England.
7) Dowell Loggains (part of 2012, 2013): Promoted in-season in 2012 after Chris Palmer was fired. The 2013 offense was the seventh-best of the Titans era with 22.6 points per game (which was just 19th in the NFL). He sought to limit mistakes, manage Jake Locker and lean on Chris Johnson (1,077 yards). Loggains is now the head coach at Appalachian State.
8) Norm Chow (2005-07): Fisher took a stab at hiring a highly successful college coordinator, and if the 2026 Titans drafted Matt Leinart, who Chow coached at USC, rather than Vince Young, it would have made sense. He helped Young to Offensive Rookie of the Year, but it didn't go well from there. Ultimately, he proved to be very much a college coach.
9)Tim Kelly (2023): Changed to an Erhardt-Perkins system in what was the final year of the Mike Vrabel regime, when the Titans won just six games. His was the last year of Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill, who missed seven games. They played with a with a miserable offensive line. They were 27th in points (17.9) and 28th in yards. He now coaches tight ends for the Giants.
10) Chris Palmer (2011-12): Was brought back into the NFL by Mike Munchak. Palmer had a conservative and limited offense that didn’t feel in sync with the times. He had limits with Matt Hasselbeck and then Jake Locker, but didn’t get enough out of his biggest playmaker, Chris Johnson, and was removed during his second season in favor of Dowell Loggains, who was supposed to bring a different energy to the job.
11) Jason Michael (2014-15): Not a play-caller until Ken Whisenhunt was fired and Mike Mularkey took over in Year Two. Whisenhunt/ Mularkey’s team had a .156 winning percentage during Michael’s tenure, and in 2014, it scored 15.9 points a game, the fewest of the Titans era. He currently coaches tight ends for the Eagles.
12) Nick Holz (2024-2025): Like Michael, a non-play caller for a play-calling head coach, Brian Callahan. Callahan then handed the reins to quarterback coach Bo Hardegree early in his second year before he was fired and replaced by interim Mike McCoy. This offense scored 17.5 points a game over two seasons.
***
Eddie George, Chris Johnson and Derrick Henry have been the spine of the Titans' offense, but this list reminds us of how often it's been a struggle for the team to find a real offensive identity. Daboll is next in line to try to establish long-term offensive consistency.