The new year is a time of reflection.
This year is no different as we embark on a reflection upon Tennessee Sports, specifically the Titans, Predators, and Nashville SC.
Admittedly, 2024 has been a rough year for Tennessee sports all around.
While it did feature a somewhat unlikely Predators playoff berth, the team now sits well below .500. Meanwhile, Nashville SC missed the playoffs for the first time in club history and the Titans have strung together their 3rd losing season in a row in truly shocking fashion.
To best understand where each team has been and where they may be headed, lets take a year-in-review, focusing on results, leadership, and front office moves.
Tennessee Titans
2024 Grade: D
2025 Outlook: C+
2023-24 record: 6-11
2024-25 record: 3-13 (current)
2024 began with transition as is a theme for the Titans of late.
On January 9th, the team moved on from Head Coach Mike Vrabel after 6 seasons and a .545 win percentage. Two weeks later, on January 22nd, the team hired Brian Callahan as head coach. In an aligned move, the team also promoted Ran Carthon to executive vice president, effectively increasing his role beyond just General Manger.
The offseason saw a flurry of moves which clearly indicated the team's intentions.
Beginning in free agency, the team made a splash, adding C LLoyd Cushenberry III, CB Chidobe Awuzie, LB Kenneth Murray Jr, WR Calvin Ridley, and acquiring CB L'Jarius Sneed through trade. In handing out 143m in guaranteed money, Callahan and Carthon showed unwavering belief that they could win now.
Through the draft, they added a number of key pieces, namely JC Latham and T'Vondre Sweat, who met the team's, allegedly, newly high standard.
Much of 2024 was defined by one move, however: the choice to proceed with Will Levis at Quarterback. Callahan expressed his confidence in the 2nd year QB and clearly, the team's moves suggested belief that he'd lead to wins on a short time frame.
The Titans started 2024-25 with mixed but not overly concerning results. After narrow one possession losses to the Bears and Jets, it seemed as though if Levis cleaned up some decision making, the team would be in a prime spot.
This was far from the reality, however. The defense played much of the season at an elite level, still remaining the 3rd best defense in the league by yards per game allowed. But on the other side of the ball, the team struggled to string many cohesive drives together, much less cohesive quarters or games.
After the October 24th trade of DeAndre Hopkins, the team's direction was once again clear. The front office had accepted their fate and began planning for the future.
In the weeks prior to the move, QB Mason Rudolph was under center for Tennessee. Initially due to Levis' shoulder injury suffered against Miami, Rudolph now has the starting job but for different reasons: Callahan suggests he gives the team the best chance to win.
For a team that clearly indicated a focus on the future, benching the 2nd year QB is headscratching. It does, however, clearly point toward a future in which Levis is not Tennessee's starting QB.
With a plethora of largely positive moves last offseason, this is shaping up to be another of great change.
If the team has a strong defense with a top-tier coordinator in Dennard Wilson and seemingly competent skill position players, where does the problem lie? Probably Quarterback. While the offensive line and playcalling contribute greatly to a successful QB, the Quarterback is likely to shoulder much of the blame.
As a result, for the first time since 2014, Tennessee is exiting the season with little idea who will be under center come September.
Nashville Predators
2024 Grade: B
2025 Outlook: C
2023-24 record: 47-30-5
2024-25 record: 11-19-7 (current)
There have been more signs of life with the Predators.
2023-24 saw the first season in charge for head coach, Andrew Brunette, and General Manager, Barry Trotz.
Brunette took over in May of 2023 after one highly successful season in charge of the Panthers. Trotz, the Predators' head coach from 1998 to 2014, transitioned to GM and took over for the retiring David Poile who manned the front office since the team's founding.
Upon taking the job, Trotz wasted little time, moving on from Nino Niederreiter, Tanner Jeannot, Mattias Ekohlm, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Johansen, and Matt Duchene through trade.
Their first season at the helm surprised many. With severed expectations going into 2023-24, the Predators made a lot out of a little.
While the team saw a slow start with Brunette's new system, their late season heroics involved an 8 game win streak from mid-February to early March which was defining of the team's playoff push. Filip Forsberg set a new single-season Predators' goal record with 48 and the team had a newly offensive groove.
While they were ultimately bounced by the Canucks in 6 games, Nashville was highly competitive in what was an unexpectedly heated series.
The 2024 offseason is when the Predators really began to garner attention. With promise the season prior and an elite cap position, the offseason was shaping up to be loud.
Most notably, the team added one of the generation's most prolific forwards in Steven Stamkos, a proven scorer in Jonathan Marchessault, and a high-profile defensemen in Brady Skjei in what was widely deemed the "biggest offseason in Preds history."
Unfortunately, though, the theme of spending big in free agency and getting disappointing results was not unique to the Titans.
Heading into the new year, the team sits 2nd to last in the Western conference, 9 points behind the next closest team. Meanwhile, the Brunette-out crowd is growing.
Significantly, the team has battelled a degree of injury. Roman Josi, Ryan O'Reilly, Tommy Novak, and Alexandre Carrier have all missed time. The team has also made a number of moves away from underperformers as is defining of Barry Trotz' management approach. The team traded Philip Tomasino, Yaroslav Askarov, Cody Glass, and Juuso Parissnen.
Worth noting, there are still 45 games remaining and the team has a somewhat intriguing 4 wins and 2 overtime losses in their last 8 games.
"Its not a rebuild," Trotz said about the recent stretch of results and ensuing moves. Rather than starting fresh, he acknowledges the core of the team and understands that a "retool" may suffice. Still, a consistent stretch of results is necessary to avoid meaningful changes for Nashville.
Nashville Soccer Club
2024 Grade: D
2025 Outlook: C+
2023 record: 13-10-11
2024 record: 9-9-16
A theme of Tennessee sports, Nashville SC saw a great degree of change in 2024.
The team began the 2024 season in February with a renewed tactical focus. They entered the season with largely the same lineup as the season prior and 5th year manager, Gary Smith, who began with the team before they entered MLS.
Nashville began the season with 5 draws and a loss. After their first win over Charlotte, they were thrashed 0-5 by LAFC, the biggest loss in team history by 2 goals.
By May, Nashville had fired Smith amid a 6-game losing streak. The team had struggled profoundly offensively, something that had plagued the team at their lowest moments of the prior 4 seasons.
The team looked to former interim U.S. Men's National Team coach, B.J. Callaghan to be their next manager. Callaghan ignited some promise, particularly in the attack. While he opted for the same 4-2-3-1 formation, squad rotation a renewed vibe appeared to be in the cards.
Where Gary Smith liked to sit on leads and accept draws in an array of scenarios, Callaghan would take more initiative and coach a more fun and watchable brand of soccer.
While the team was quickly eliminated from Leagues Cup following the hire, the 9 games in MLS were likely more indicative. The team had a 3-1-5 record with a goal differential of -3. Ultimately, they are not terribly conclusive results. Its tough to expect much from a midseason coaching change and while the on-field product was mixed at best, we should reserve judgment.
Following the end of the season in October, Nashville made a flurry of moves, especially exits. The roster that defined the team's first 4 seasons in MLS is set to look a lot different.
Most notably, the team moved on from Anibal Godoy, Brian Anunga, Sean Davis, Shaq Moore, Lukas McNaughton, Brett Kallman, and Dru Yearwood. Combined, the list started 100 games for NSC in 2024. Needless to say, there are considerable holes to fill.
Nashville has signed 23 year old Midfielder Edvard Tagseth from Rosenberg in Norway and the more experienced 32 year old Midfielder Gaston Burgman from LA Galaxy. During the 2024 season, the team signed Midfielder Patrick Yazbek from New Zealend suggesting a full overhaul of the midfield group.
While the midfield saw a great degree of rotation and was clearly an issue, more moves are needed. The team is thin on the wing, has limited depth at outside back, and could still benefit from another center back.
On the whole, Tennessee sports have seen considerable change in management and an alarming amount of squad overhaul.
The Titans are set to make a huge decision at Quarterback and look to bounce back from their worst season since 2014, the Predators are similarly working out the kinks of their new regime and determining how to proceed based on currently mixed results, and Nashville SC will see great changes after their worst season yet.
While it is true that the only constant is change, 2024 seems particularly notable. When it comes to results, it feels like a filler year where each team has taken necessary risks to see what their next stage of success may look like.
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