Tennessee
Titans conduct head coaching interview with Mike Macdonald, Antonio Pierce
The Tennessee Titans have completed an interview with Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald per a team announcement Saturday night, getting the opportunity to talk to one of the NFL’s youngest and brightest defensive minds.
The interview with Macdonald comes after the Titans have also completed interviews with Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce. The Titans have reportedly requested the opportunity to speak to as many as nine candidates to fill the vacancy left after firing former coach Mike Vrabel on Jan. 9.
HOT BOARD: 15 Tennessee Titans coaching candidates after Mike Vrabel fired, from Jim Harbaugh to Jim Schwartz
Get to know Mike Macdonald
At just 36 years old, Macdonald has quickly risen through the coaching ranks thanks in large part to his relationships with famous coaching brothers John and Jim Harbaugh. Macdonald’s first NFL coaching gig came in 2014 when he landed with the Ravens as a coaching intern. Over the next six years he rose through the ranks in Baltimore from defensive assistant to defensive backs coach to linebackers coach.
He gained his first experience as a coordinator when he jumped to the college ranks in 2021 and took over as defensive coordinator at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. Michigan improved from 95th in scoring defense in 2020 to eighth in 2021, with Macdonald’s defense helping lead the Wolverines to a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth.
Macdonald returned to Baltimore the next year as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator and has experienced even more success. In 2022, the Ravens ranked top-five in the NFL in points allowed, third down conversion rate allowed, red zone defense and rushing yards allowed per game and per play. The unit was arguably even better in 2023, allowing the fewest points per game and yards per pass attempt in the NFL while leading the league in takeaways and ranked top-five in sack rate.
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One thing that made the Ravens’ defensive success in 2023 so remarkable was the caliber of opponent it came against. Miami, San Francisco and Detroit all had top-five scoring offenses in the NFL this season; Baltimore went 3-0 against them, holding those teams to 19, 19 and 6 points respectively. The Ravens constricted Detroit’s high-flying offense by holding it to its second-fewest number of yards and first downs on the season and turned the normally efficient Dolphins and 49ers offenses into mistake machines, forcing eight turnovers across two games.
Just like at Michigan, Macdonald reinvigorated a Ravens defense that had struggled prior to his taking over at coordinator. The 2021 Ravens ranked 19th in the NFL in points allowed, 25th in yards allowed per game and last in the league in yards allowed per play.
Get to know Antonio Pierce
The Raiders promoted Pierce to interim head coach with nine games left in the 2023 season and Pierce led the team to a 5-4 record, including a win over the Kansas City Chiefs and a dominant 63-21 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Before his interim stint, Pierce had been the Raiders’ linebackers coach since 2022. Prior to that Pierce worked at Arizona State for four seasons, serving as linebackers coach, recruiting coordinator, defensive coordinator and associate head coach at various times. He began his coaching career at the high school level, working as the head coach at Long Beach Poly in California, the school famous for churning out future NFL stars such as DeSean Jackson, Willie McGinest, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Titans legend Jurrell Casey.
Pierce played linebacker in the NFL from 2001-09, starting his career in Washington before gaining notoriety playing for the New York Giants from 2005 through the end of his career. Pierce helped lead the Giants to a win over the unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2006. Pierce started 94 games in his nine pro seasons, logging 691 tackles, including four years where he surpassed 100.
The Raiders averaged 7.1 more points and 40.1 more yards per game and allowed an average of 7.4 fewer points per game and 7.7 fewer yards per game after Pierce took over as interim than in the first eight games of the season under previous coach Josh McDaniels.
The Titans are the only team other than the Raiders who have reportedly reached out to interview Pierce.
About the Tennessee Titans coaching search
Per NFL rules, the Titans may only conduct virtual interviews with all coaching candidates employed by another organization until the end of the second round of the NFL playoffs. The Titans are free to interview any candidate not currently employed by an NFL organization at any time and have been able to conduct virtual interviews with employees of teams that missed the postseason since three days after the completion of the regular season. The team will be allowed to conduct virtual interviews with coaches on teams that made the playoffs three days after their first playoff game ends.
TIMELINE: 11 dominoes that led to Mike Vrabel being fired as Tennessee Titans coach
This is the Titans’ first coaching search in six years. Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk dismissed Vrabel citing a want for the franchise to improve its collaboration and alignment between ownership, the front office and the coaching staff.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
Tennessee
Former Titans Coach Named Top Candidate for Jets
Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel remains a hot name, and he may have another head-coaching job as soon as next season.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently named a bunch of potential candidates for the New York Jets job in 2025, and Vrabel was at the top of his list.
“Mike Vrabel makes the most sense to me, mostly because he won’t stand down to an owner, and that’s exactly what the New York Jets need,” Breer wrote.
The problem with that is Jets owner Woody Johnson is known to be a meddler, so he a Vrabel-Johnson partnership may never actually come to fruition.
Still, Vrabel could end up being a perfect fit for the Jets from a stylistic perspective given that New York is built upon a strong defense.
It’s not the first time that Vrabel has been linked to Gang Green, either.
Vrabel actually did a very solid job during his time with the Titans, going 54-45 while making three playoff appearances—including a pair of AFC South titles—across five seasons.
Things went south over Vrabel’s final two years in Tennessee, with the Titans going just 13-21 during that span. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the problem was not with Vrabel.
Vrabel is currently serving as an assistant for the Cleveland Browns, but it seems like only a matter of time before he lands a better job elsewhere.
The 49-year-old also had a 14-year NFL playing career from 1997 through 2010, spending time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and also made a Pro Bowl with the squad in 2007.
The Jets have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams this season, as they are just 3-8 in spite of having one of the most star-studded rosters in the sport.
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Tennessee
Tennessee man convicted for Jan. 6 riot found guilty of plotting to kill FBI agents who investigated him
A Jan. 6 rioter who breached the U.S. Capitol was convicted of trying to have law enforcement personnel, including the FBI agents and employees who were investigating him, murdered, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Edward Kelley, 35, of Maryville, Tennessee, who was convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers and other crimes during the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, was found guilty on Wednesday of conspiracy to murder employees of the United States, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and influencing or retaliating against federal officials by threat.
The jury agreed on a verdict after an hour of deliberation following the three-day trial, WBIR-TV reported.
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Federal prosecutors at his trial in Knoxville, Tennessee, said Kelly developed a “kill list” of FBI agents and others who participated in the investigation into his conduct on Jan. 6 while awaiting trial for his involvement in the Capitol riot.
He distributed the list, as well as videos containing images of FBI employees identified on the list, to a co-conspirator as part of his “mission,” authorities said.
SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT PARTICIPANT WHO CHALLENGED OBSTRUCTION CONVICTION
Kelley’s co-defendant Austin Carter, who pleaded guilty in November 2023 to conspiracy to kill FBI agents and is awaiting sentencing, testified that Kelly said he needed to “take out” the FBI. He said that he and Kelley planned attacks on the Knoxville FBI Field Office using car bombs and incendiary devices appended to drones.
He also testified that the conspirators strategized about assassinating FBI employees in their homes and in public places such as movie theaters.
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Recording introduced by prosecutors showed Kelley directing the plan, and giving instructions to “start it,” “attack,” and “take out their office” in the event of his arrest. He was also recorded stating: “Every hit has to hurt. Every hit has to hurt,” authorities said.
Kelley is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7, 2025. He faces up to life in prison.
Tennessee
How Tennessee Makes The College Football Playoff
The Tennessee Volunteers are currently ranked 11th on the latest College Football Playoff rankings. However, because of automatic bids, if the College Football Playoff rankings were finalized today, Tennessee is the first team out, overlooked by the Big 12 champ and Boise State. Now, good news for the (10-2) Tennessee Volunteers, there’s still a way for them to make the CFP. Though, there are going to need some help.
Note: ESPN’s CFP Prediction Machine gives Tennessee an 88% chance to make the CFP if they simply win out.
Any regular season loss by a (2) loss SEC Team
Alabama, Ole Miss, and Georgia all share a two-loss record at this point in the season, and though Tennessee has a head-to-head win over Alabama, their pair of losses (Arkansas and Georgia) is deemed worse by the committee at this point in the rankings. Any loss by any of those three team would likely free Tennessee up for a entrance to the playoff.
Indiana Is Destroyed by Ohio State
Indiana is a threat to Tennessee at this point, and would be even at an (11-1) record with a presumed loss this weekend to Ohio State. However, if Indiana is blown out in the contest, they will more than likely drop behind Tennessee who has just UTEP and Vanderbilt left on the schedule. Indiana has one top-25 opponent all season, this weekend at Ohio State, if they are walked off the field, it will open Tennessee’s door.
Notre Dame Loses to Army or USC
It’s a long shot, Notre Dame is a heavy favorite in both football games… as they were against Northern Illinois — the 8th ranked team in the MAC. If Notre Dame were to drop another football game over the next two weeks, there’s a likelihood that Tennessee gets in the playoff.
Texas A&M Loses to Texas
If Texas A&M wins out, and has a top-3 win over the Texas Longhorns to end the regular season and goes onto the SEC Championship game, the committee has shown they have tremendous amounts of recency bias. A win-out situation for Texas A&M is something that the Vols should hope to avoid.
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