Though he isn’t happy that the moment was caught on camera, Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan doesn’t regret his emotional outburst at Will Levis on Sunday afternoon.
Callahan was seen on TV screaming, “What the f**k are you doing?!” at Levis after the quarterback fumbled just six yards shy of the end zone in their 24-17 loss to the New York Jets. Callahan was livid when Levis returned to the sidelines.
While he didn’t want to have Levis singled out for the incident, Callahan stands by his reaction.
“I don’t regret my feelings about it and how I felt in the moment,” Callahan said on Monday, via ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “I am generally pretty composed. That one just set me off, and I, I’m human just like everybody else. I have blackout moments where I’ll lose my mind.”
Considering the fumble itself, it’s easy to see why Callahan was so upset. Levis, on a third-and-goal from the 6-yard line with the opportunity to put the Titans up by two scores, tried to toss a backward shovel pass to running back Tyjae Spears in a bit of a panic while trying to move through the pocket. Jets linebacker Quincy Williams landed on the fumble and recovered the ball to complete the turnover.
Even if Levis went down and took the sack, the Titans could have walked away with three points. Instead, after Levis threw an interception on the first play of their very next drive, the Jets scored a touchdown to tie the game. Eventually, the Jets surged ahead to grab the seven-point win and push the Titans to 0-2 on the season.
“He’s a grown-up, and he knows better,” Callahan said Sunday. “So I was really irritated that he cost us three points in a game that we probably needed it.”
Along with those two turnovers, the Titans also had a punt blocked. All three of those things happened in their season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears last week, too, which made the Titans the first team to have that happen in consecutive weeks since 2002.
Levis, whom the Titans took with the No. 33 overall pick out of Kentucky in the 2023 NFL Draft, went 19-of-28 for 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the loss. It was better than his first performance of the season, when he threw two interceptions for just 127 yards against the Bears.
The Titans will host the Green Bay Packers next week, where they’ll attempt to avoid dropping to 0-3.
“[My decision-making has] got to be something that’s more second nature to me,” Levis said, via ESPN. “I’m going to do everything I can to rewire my brain to make sure that when I’m in those situations, I’m not making those [bad] decisions.”
