DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ANTHONY CAMPANILE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2025
(On how Titans QB Cam Ward has progressed from Week 1 to now) “Yeah, very positively is
probably the way I would explain it. He’s very decisive. He’s done a great job with his feet
the last few weeks too, but he’s a tremendously accurate thrower and a very mature
decision maker in my opinion at this point for a young guy. But he’s definitely progressed
and he’s getting the ball where it’s supposed to go just about all the time. He’s keeping a lot
of plays alive with his feet, so he makes you work, just like all the other great players at that
position. He makes you work, obviously with the plan in the pocket to defend him and then
trying to mix and change your coverages because he sees it really well.”
(On Ward’s game) “Yeah, he’s a big strong kid too, but he keeps plays alive. He’s one of
those guys who keeps plays alive in the pocket and he can really do damage down the field
throwing the ball because he keeps the plays alive. It’s one thing to get out of there and
scramble and get through which he does do a good job of that, but it’s some of those plays
that you look over the course of the season where he’s kept it alive and gotten big chunk
plays down the field because he keeps his eyes down the field. So, he’s an aggressive
player at that position and you’ve got to have a good plan for him.”
(On what has clicked for S Antonio Johnson recently) “I think that’s more just an
accumulation of all the work that he’s put in. Watching him every day from the spring till
now, it’s little by little. And I think what you’re seeing is a lot of that stuff is manifesting and
he’s got I think a lot of confidence in what he’s doing. Because it’s like anything else, if you
do some of the same things over and over and over again, you can become a master at it.
And I think he’s trending in a way where he not only knows what he’s supposed to do, he
knows what everybody around him is supposed to do. And he’s got some position flexibility
too because he’s a big guy and a physical guy. He can play down closer to the line of
scrimmage, do some nickel type of roles and linebacker type of roles, those type of things,
you’ve seen him do that. And has the ability to play back on the hash with some man
coverage skills too down low. So, he’s really got a great skillset in my opinion, and he’s
progressed very well, and I think he’s doing a really good job for us.”
(On how the pass rush has responded after the last two weeks) “Yeah, I think some of the
rushes the last two weeks, the guys have done a very good job. There’s some where we had
them in the grasp too that didn’t show up as sacks, but definitely affected the quarterback
and affected the outcome of the play. And we’re going to need that down the stretch. I think
we’ve gotten a little bit better there. We’ve got to continue to progress there. The guys are
working their off to get that right. I think our D-line coaches have done a really good job with
that. [Defensive Line Coach] Matt Edwards and [Assistant Defensive Line Coach] Derek
LeBlanc have done a really good job with the plans and staying vigilant with the guys about
how we rush. Really I think when you’re doing a good job in the rush, it’s usually because
there’s a team rush mentality and there’s certainly a bunch of selfless guys in there who are
trying to – whether we’re running inside stunts or outside stunts, whatever it is – trying to
make sure that they execute the plan and get guys home even if it’s not themselves.”
(On the importance of rushing as a team) “Yeah, it’s tremendously important. There was a
rush the other day early in the game, where we set up a little bit of a spy deal based on the
coverage that we were playing and they really executed it really well. I think it was the first
or second third-down of the game and Dennis [LB Dennis Gardeck] came around and did a
good job staying patient. But that’s a collective, that’s all four guys executing the call,
getting the rush, getting it moved to where we wanted to go and getting the guy on the
ground because we did it correctly. So, they had a bunch of those over the last two weeks.
And to be honest with you, we’ve had a bunch of those throughout the season. I think
they’re starting to see the fruits of their labor and some of that stuff is paying dividends
now.”
(On if confusing rookie quarterbacks is the best way to affect them) “Yeah, I think on the
back end, even to speak to what you were just asking about the pass rush, the coverage
being tight and the coverage being able to do a good job disguising can often force the
quarterback to hold the ball. So, those two things working together. I would say that’s
usually the case, but this guy is also, in my opinion, he’s a sharp kid. He’s very mature. I
don’t see him making a lot of bad decisions back there, which to me is the most impressive
thing about him. He’s an impressive athlete, but he’s impressive as a decision maker and
knowing where to go with the ball. So, we’ve got to do a good job of that, certainly against
anybody, but definitely against him as well.”
(On his message to that team that you cannot take sacks for granted) “Yeah, I don’t think
you ever can. I think if you look at their games over the course of the year, they’ve been
playing a lot of tight games. They got the Seattle game down to one-score game the other
day. You look at them play Houston the other day, two weeks ago or whatever it was 10 days
ago. They’ve done a really good job and they’re fighting. They’ve got their players playing
hard. So, we’ve got to do a great job in the rush and nobody’s looking at this like that type of
game. Everybody’s looking at it like, we’ve got to get our best effort and put our best foot
forward to execute against these guys.”
(On how CB Christian Braswell played last week) “He did a good job. I thought overall he did
a good job. I thought both guys did. And I thought Buster [CB Montaric “Buster” Brown]
overall did a pretty good job too. So having those guys in there and playing a bunch, I think it
gives you a shot in the arm going down a stretch because real football starts at
Thanksgiving in this league. That’s kind of an age old saying in the NFL, but you’re getting
down to the nitty gritty here and we got to be at our best. And you want to have guys who’ve
played and they’ve been seasoned; they’ve been battle tested and I feel like we have a
bunch of guys who’ve done that because we’ve played pretty much everybody on the back
end. [DB] Rayuan Lane [III], I’d say the same thing. In the back end, he’s done a good job
from where he started out in the year. I think he’s had tremendous progress. And I would
say the same thing about Christian.”
(On what he needs to see from CB Greg Newsome II] “I think Greg’s just got to keep going
the way he’s going. I don’t really need to see anything else. I got total confidence in Greg,
love him as a player. I think he’s got a ton of skills certainly when it comes to man-to-man
and playing his zone. So yeah, I’m confident as I possibly could be in any of those guys and
especially Greg.”
(On the importance of playing the run well) “Yeah, I think if you’re stopping the run, you’re
making people one dimensional and that’s important. I think there’s an emotional high that
comes from big plays in the pass game, but there’s a physical high that comes from being
able to run the ball on somebody. I don’t think there’s a more helpless feeling in football
than somebody being able to run the ball and kick your ass down the field. So, that’s
something that is very important to us. We kind of hold sacred in our room, making sure
that we’re doing a good job of that and when we’re not, it’s not good enough, it’s not
acceptable. And I think the guys have taken to that to not stay blocked and do your job, do
your 1/11th but then go do some more. Go find a way to get to the football. I think that’s a
really important part of run defense. And I think our defensive backs and defensive backs
coaches have done a very good job of that, of spreading that culture around the room
because in this league they’re going to make the corners tackle because they don’t think
corners can tackle. And you’ve got to have guys at that position that are physical enough to
do it, that want to do it and culturally, there’s buy-in to that on our end. So that’s another
thing, asking about those guys, I think they’ve both done a really good job. I thought even in
the run game, Greg had some physical reps the other day taking on pulls and all kinds of
stuff. So yeah, to your point before, I think both of those guys done a good job.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR GRANT UDINSKI
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2025
(On if the resilience shown by QB Trevor Lawrence vs. the Cardinals gives him confidence)
“Absolutely, and I think you see, especially when you have success on the other side of it,
the resilience to go from one drive to the next drive, but additionally to know we can make
mistakes and still overcome that. Not that we would ever want to do that, but there is an
element of doubt sometimes for certain players when they go out there and make mistakes
and say, even if I play well, can I play well enough to overcome that? So, to be able to go out
there and do your job and do it at a high level and know that is enough to overcome a
mistake in a game, that’s freeing moving forward to say, I can go play fast and I don’t want to
make mistakes, we’ve got to be better about protecting the ball, but if I do, we can play well
enough to overcome those things, which is huge.”
(On how comforting it is for the QB to have belief from the coaching staff regardless of
mistakes) “It’s a huge deal. And I think Liam’s [Head Coach Liam Coen] confidence in the
quarterback, the offensive line, the coaching staff, everybody is one of those things that’s
contagious and it affects all the players, all the coaches, the whole organization. Because
especially at the quarterback position, you’re going out there and the ball’s in your hand
every single play and it’s not like it’s in your hand and you’re just like passing it off—even on
plays where you’re handing it off, you’re going up there and you’re making a decision that
affects the outcome of the play, affects the outcome of the drive, and then affects the
outcome of the game when you extrapolate it all the way out. So, a lot of guys can get in
their heads and take that and turn it into the weight of the world every single time they’ve
got to go out there and make a play, which turns into a mistake becoming, oh that’s costing
the team the game, and it becomes this kind of this series of events where guys end up
falling into bad patterns of habit and mental spaces. But to go out there and know I can
make a mistake and they still have confidence in me, and I can go out there and play fast is
huge for a quarterback to be able to go out and play at his highest level. Because if you’re
going out there and then whether it’s retroactively or preemptively, you’re thinking I can’t
make a mistake, I can’t do this and all the things I can’t do, you’re by default not thinking
about all the things you do want to do and that you are trying to do. So, it’s huge for him and
he’s done a great job of handling that because it’s one of those things that’s easier said
than done. So, you say it all the time and you preach it all the time, but for him to go out
there and do it is really what’s so impressive.”
(On the consistency of the passing game improving) “I think there’s a lot of things that go
into it. Hopefully, regardless of who’s out there at receiver, more time on task and more
time together is going to produce a better product in the pass game. It’s going to produce
more chemistry between those guys, just pitching and catching or understanding the space
I’ve got to get to, the timing I’ve got to get there, the way I’m releasing on a certain route, the
way this release pattern distributes, versus this coverage, it plays out like this, versus that
coverage, it plays out like that. But there is an element of guys having a certain chemistry
and finding what guys are good at certain routes and certain concepts. What routes are
good for the quarterback, what routes are good for Jakobi [WR Jakobi Meyers], Parker [WR
Parker Washington], B.T. [WR Brian Thomas Jr.], Dyami [WR Dyami Brown], all of our guys.
So, as we get better as a unit, it should naturally improve. But finding those guys and finding
what they do well together, what they do well with the quarterback does make a difference
for those guys when it’s playing on time and playing in rhythm. All those things we talk
about.”
(On the progression of RB Bhayshul Tuten) “He’s progressed really all year. Even since the
spring coming in where there was a ton of stuff for him to learn that was very different from
what he had done in college and he’s embraced that and him and really the entire running
back room have attacked that in a really, really impressive way. The amount of extra work
he puts in with extra walkthroughs, extra film study with Coach Morton [Running Backs
Coach Chad Morton]. He’s up here on his off days getting extra lifts, working on technique
and fundamentals, trying to refine his craft on his tracks, being disciplined with his cuts, his
reads in the run game, his understanding of the protection schemes. Really all areas of his
game, I could point to different facets and say that he’s made improvements. Now some of
it you don’t always see because he hasn’t gotten a ton of, for example, targets in the pass
game. But when we’re out there in the practice field, I can see him continue to improve
where I feel confident that he has the ability to do certain things in that area of the game.
Same thing in the protection. He hasn’t had a ton of snaps and opportunities to go up there
and fit up complicated protection, pressure pickups and things like that. But I know from
what I see in walkthroughs in practice that he does on the field that he’s capable of that. So,
it’s one thing to improve in the run game, which he has done a ton of. He’s always had the
talent. You saw the balance, the strength, the speed, the burst, all those things from day
one. But all the nuances and details of the game have improved. But it’s really exciting to
see a guy who hasn’t had a lot of opportunities in some areas of the game still works so
hard to improve those areas. And the way that whole room and Coach Morton gets those
guys ready to go, the way they attack it, the way they practice is awesome for me, it’s
awesome for the whole team, it’s awesome for the unit.”
(On OL Cole Van Lanen) “Great. He’s been great. We talked about it last week. He was
going center, guard, tackle, left tackle, right tackle. There are certainly plays in the game
from last week that he probably wants back, that we all want back. Every guy’s got those.
But for him to go out there and do what he did and be able to play different positions,
communicate, communicate with different guys, different schemes, different blocks, it’s
totally a different fit of some of those blocks, even from left to right. Like yeah, combination
between a guard and a tackle might be the same combination on paper, but the actual
mechanics of fitting up with my left shoulder as opposed to my right shoulder is a totally
different feel for those guys. So, for him to do that week in and week out is another area, I
know I’ve said impressive with those backs, he would fall into that same category.”
(On getting TE Brenton Strange back) “Huge. Like we mentioned before we got him back, he
adds a ton of value in attacking defenses in the pass game and the run game. He can do so
much from a route standpoint. You saw that’s a deeper route. He has a bunch of
underneath catches where he is catching and running so he can really run a pretty full route
tree from a tight end perspective. He can be flexed out and running routes that receivers
run. And then in the run game he’s in line, he’s off the ball, he’s going back and forth in the
backfield, he’s motioning, doing a bunch of things. So, he adds an element of variety that
lets us play in a bunch of different sets and different personnels and still do similar things
out of those personnels or vastly different things out of those personnels because he is so
capable.”
(On if he realized how valuable Strange would be when he first came in as offensive
coordinator) “That’s a great question. I probably did not. I wish I did. But the more and more
you’re around him and the more you see the physicality and the explosive ability in the run
game or with the ball in his hands, the more you realize how special the player is and how
much he adds to our offense from an attacking standpoint.”
