Titans head coach defends players amid ‘soft’ allegations

Call the Tennessee Titans ‘soft’ at your own risk.

Amid Tennessee’s 3-11 start to its first season under head coach Brian Callahan, some Titans fans and members of the media have taken to criticizing the team’s toughness. After all, the Titans are allowing the fourth-most points per game this season while also ranking among the league’s worst scoring offenses ahead of Week 16.

In a Wednesday press conference, one reporter asked Callahan what he thought of the idea that his team was mentally and physically ‘soft.’

Content warning: The following video contains language that is not safe for work.

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‘That is complete and total (expletive), if you want my honest opinion,’ Callahan said. ‘These guys are tough (expletive), man, and they go after it every day. They play hard as hell, and at no point have we put on tape at any point this season that this is a soft football team. I can’t even wrap my mind around how that would even be a conversation. I mean, just because we don’t win games doesn’t mean we’re soft.’

Callahan went on to highlight his team’s physicality in games despite their tough record while also calling out any naysayers that he believes ‘don’t know what [they’re] talking about.’

‘This is not a soft football team at all, mentally or physically,’ he continued. ‘And I think one of the things mentally that’s really been impressive about the team is the way that they keep fighting through the way this season has gone. They’ve not shown at any point that they’re not up to the task.

‘There’s no possible explanation to say that this team is soft in any way, shape or form, mentally or physically. And the way that they go about their work, it’s insulting to me, to them, to everyone that works here. No chance ever in hell would I ever admit that to be the case, and neither would anybody in this locker room. So you can kind of shove that one right up your ass, to be honest.’

The Titans play three more divisional games to close out their season, starting with a matchup with the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 16. That game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET.

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