Call it Field of Dreams: Football Edition.

Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan built a coaching staff. Along came his dad. So, as fathers and sons do in these situations, they played catch.

"He’s got this 16-inch clincher, those 16-inch softballs. He has one in his office," Callahan says. "He came in the office the other day. It was probably about 9 o’clock. We were finishing some things up. And I’m sitting there throwing a softball back and forth as we’re talking about some different ideas for something. Just to have that experience has been really cool."

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Bill Callahan, Brian's father, is one of the most experienced and well-regarded coaches in the NFL. Even after accepting the Titans job, the younger Callahan didn't think he'd be able to bring his father along with him. Bill Callahan was employed as the Cleveland Browns' offensive line coach, and NFL rules make it difficult for coaches under contract to make lateral moves. But the older Callahan wanted to come work with his son.

No interview process. Nothing like that. Just a nice gesture from a rival franchise.

"It was a process that we had to work through with the Browns organization," Brian Callahan said. "‘Kind’ isn’t the right word; this isn’t a kind business. But they were aware enough to know the uniqueness of the situation and allow it to continue to go down that road. Appreciative of that perspective from them in allowing it to happen."

Now the father and son, who've never worked together, get to drive to work in the same car every morning. They're not living together, but they might as well be with the hours they're keeping at the Titans' facility. The son is tasked with revitalizing a team that went 6-11 last season and making sure his staff jells properly. The father inherits one of the NFL's worst offensive lines from 2023 with a significant rebuild ahead.

Brian Callahan said he understands how big of an asset it is having his father around. His dad, after all, has experience from his days in charge of the Oakland Raiders and the University of Nebraska program, as well as knowledge gleaned as a play-caller, an offensive coordinator and line coach. For a team with a first-time coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, Bill Callahan's knowledge is particularly valuable.

As Brian Callahan puts it, he thinks his dad has forgotten more about coaching football than he's ever learned.

"Being able to have that knowledge, perspective and wisdom on all the things that go on from top to bottom in the football process, not just the coaching, to have that available to us is huge," Brian Callahan said. "And trust me, he’ll have quite a bit of input and ability to help us along the process."

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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.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Brian Callahan was able to hire dad Bill to Tennessee Titans staff