CLEVELAND (AP) — There may soon by two Callahans with the Titans.The Cleveland Browns have granted Tennessee permission to speak with offensive line coach Bill Callahan about joining his son Brian’s staff with the Titans, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday night.Bill Callahan is expected to leave the Browns, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams are not commenting during the interview process. The elder Callahan is still under contract in Cleveland. Brian Callahan was recently hired by the Titans, who fired Mike Vrabel on Jan. 9 following consecutive losing seasons. The younger Callahan, 39, had been Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator since 2019. Bill Callahan has a reputation as one of the NFL’s best offensive line coaches. The 67-year-old was previously a head coach in Oakland and Washington. He did some of his best work this season with the Browns, who were ravaged by injuries on their offensive line.After the team lost starting right tackle Jack Conklin to a season-ending knee injury in the opener, Callahan helped rookie Dawand Jones develop quickly, and the fourth-round draft pick from Ohio State played well in 11 games before suffering a knee injury.Left tackle Jedrcik Wills Jr. also went down with a knee injury, and the Browns played down the stretch — and in the playoffs — with backups at both tackle spots. Last week, Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio praised Callahan, who has been with the Browns since 2020, while knowing it was probably inevitable he wouldn’t be back.“Coach Callahan has been instrumental for us,” Bitonio said. “He’s helped develop a bunch of us on the line. We’re thankful for that. He’s one of the hardest workers I know. He puts in the time with us and he’s a big part of the run game and the scheme and protections.“But when your son gets hired as the head coach and if your son calls, you might need to take that phone call as well. That’s pretty special stuff.”Callahan’s expected departure is a major loss for the Browns and coach Kevin Stefanski, who shook up his staff following an 11-6 regular season and a 45-14 loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.Stefanski fired offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, running backs coach Stump Mitchell and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney. He’s hired Ken Dorsey, Duce Staley and Tommy Rees for those respective positions, but the Browns have not yet announced the additions. Stefanski also hired former Houston assistant Jacques Cesaire as his defensive line coach.
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