NASHVILLE, Tenn. — New Titans offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said Thursday that other assistant coaches will share input opportunities and everyone's goal will be to maximize output in Tennessee's final five games this season.
Loggains was promoted from quarterbacks coach to replace Chris Palmer as offensive coordinator on Monday. He held his first press conference since the promotion on Thursday and said his most important goal is "putting our guys in position to succeed."
"I think that's our job as coaches, and we've got good playmakers and we need to make sure we get them the ball," Loggains said. "Our job as coaches is to create as many one-on-ones as possible, and they've got to win them."
Tennessee (4-7) hosts Houston (10-1) Sunday at LP Field, and the Titans will try to prevent the Texans from clinching a playoff berth by delivering a strong performance against a defense that ranks near the top of several categories.
Loggains joined Tennessee in 2006 as a coaching administrative assistant and served as offensive quality control coach from 2008-09. He spent most of the past three seasons as the Titans' quarterbacks/passing game coach. Loggains undertook significant game plan preparation duties in the final four weeks of the 2010 season when former offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger was undergoing cancer treatments.
"Mike being the man he was, he wasn't going to miss a Sunday," Loggains said. "I have gone through this process before. I was very involved in that last game (of 2010). I've been through this.
"As a quarterbacks coach, you are so involved in the passing game, red zone, third down, you're always game planning, and it's not one guy," Loggains continued. "It's the offensive staff picking their ideas, putting their ideas up and you choose the best one. At the end of the day, it's like what I tell the offensive staff: 'We're all in this together. I just have 51 percent of the say.' "
Loggains said he is drawing from the experiences he gained from working under Heimerdinger, who passed away in September 2011.
"There are probably not three days that go by that I don't think about Coach 'Dinger," Loggains said. "We were extremely close. Like I said, I considered him my mentor, I looked up to him. He took me under his wing when I was a quality control guy."
While Loggains is unable to call on Heimerdinger for advice, he said he's received a lot of help this week from fellow assistants.
"The thing I want to give a lot of credit to is the offensive staff," the 32-year-old Loggains said. "We're a man down, so everyone chipped in. It has been an interesting week to say the least, but those guys have done a great job."
The Titans enlisted additional help this week by bringing in former Steelers, Lions and Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore, who has 38 years of NFL experience, in a consultant-type capacity. Moore was on the field working with Titans offensive players Thursday.
Titans coach Mike Munchak said Moore doesn't have an official title but will be able to share a considerable amount of knowledge and experiences across the offense. He will also help to make sure Loggains isn't overextended by the additional responsibilities.
"He is the quarterbacks coach and he is picking up a lot of extra responsibility, not just on Sundays, but the workload in the building and coordinating each room, the running back room, the tight end room, running back and forth," Munchak said. "What happens when you do that is you're kind of a man short. You want someone to be with the quarterbacks when he can't be, kind of be where he can't be."
Moore, 74, worked with Titans quarterbacks in pre-practice drills while Loggains was doing his press conference.
"I think that's the thinking there of how Tom can be a help to him and a resource for him and a resource for the staff, in general," Munchak said. "For a guy that's been part of 38 years in the NFL, part of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he's been part of every type of offense — two-back, with Barry Sanders in Detroit, when there were three wides with a running game like that, and obviously the last so-many years in Indianapolis with their type of offense. A lot of resources for a lot of our coaches, and we just thought that because we did need an extra hand right now because of the adjustment we made, he was a great fit for that."
Wide receiver Nate Washington said the offense hasn't met its own expectations this season, but is optimistic about the opportunity to change that.
"I think they're doing a good job of putting some things in that are going to get some guys involved differently," Washington said. "We just have to make sure on Sunday that we're doing everything we possibly can to do our job."
Washington said he already respected Moore's accomplishments and enjoyed the opportunity to gain familiarity with him on Thursday and see how he might be able to help Loggains and the Titans with the transition.
"He's implemented some things for me that can help me out a little more," Washington said. "I think he's one of those wise guys right now that we needed. It's a situation where he has so much experience that he can kind of fill-in everywhere, so we're grateful that he's here. We'll move forward."
