Titans head coach Brian Callahan’s explanation on Sunday for not using a challenge flag after an apparent catch by rookie wideout Elic Ayomanor was ruled incomplete didn’t make any sense and he admitted it on Monday.
Ayomanor went up over Broncos corner Riley Moss to snag a Cam Ward pass and his elbow appeared to land in the field of play before the rest of his body landed out of bounds. Callahan wrongly said that Ayomanor also had to get a foot down inbounds, although the NFL rulebook is clear that a catch is good if a player “touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands.”
On Monday, Callahan acknowledged his initial answer was incorrect.
“My interpretation of the rule was wrong,” Callahan said. “I’ll own it. We should have challenged the play and that’s pretty much all I can say about it.”
Callahan said on Sunday that “the call from upstairs was that it wasn’t worth challenging,” so he was asked if those advising him about the play were also unaware of the league’s rules for what constitutes a catch. Callahan declined to say anything about the “process” and said it fell on him as the head coach.
It was a major blunder for Callahan in a one-score road loss and he can’t afford too many more errors if he wants to assure himself of a long stay in Tennessee.
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