NASHVILLE – As a youngster, Brian Callahan was living a dream.
The son of a coach, Callahan grew up on practice fields, college and pro.
The new Titans head coach has plenty of stories to tell.
“My whole life,” Callahan said from his new office at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park, “has been in buildings just like this. If you’re a kid that enjoys sports, is there anything better? You get to be around football. It was an unbelievable way to grow up.”
Callahan’s dad, of course, is Bill Callahan, a former head coach with the Raiders in the NFL, and Nebraska in college, who has made 11 different coaching stops in all. The elder Callahan’s profession took the family, and Brian, all over the country. Callahan, now offensive line coach with the Browns, just completed his 43rd year as a coach.
As a 10-year-old, Callahan remembers hanging out with then-Wisconsin quarterback Darrell Bevell, who is now pass game coordinator with the Dolphins.
As a teenager, Callahan actually threw passes in minicamp to the Raiders receivers. Callahan was a high school quarterback at the time, and his presence meant the team wouldn’t have to sign a fourth QB for offseason work.
“I would throw to Jerry Rice and Tim Brown,” Callahan said of the NFL greats.
Callahan, after playing quarterback at UCLA, got the coaching bug after serving as a gradate assistant at the school following his playing days.
It was then, when he realized more than ever, he wanted to be like his dad.
“I finished (my second year as a GA) being like: I think this is for me,” Callahan said with a smile. “I called my mom and said: ‘I think I want to coach.’ And she was furious. … She was like: You have two degrees from UCLA, and you can do whatever you want, and you are going to choose to do this? She was not very happy. She told me to talk to my dad.
“My dad was like, ‘Son, you know what you are getting in to.’ If you want to do it, there’s…
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