Titans coach Brian Callahan goes on explicit rant about team's critics: 'You can shove that up your a**'
In a season where very little has gone right for the Tennessee Titans, first-year head coach Brian Callahan is still fiercely defending his team from outside criticism.
The 3-11 Titans lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday - having only won one of their last five games.
While there weren't lofty expectations for the Titans this season, their play has led some people to criticize the competitiveness of the team.
When this was brought up in a press conference on Wednesday, Callahan went off viewing the accusations that the team was 'soft' as 'bulls**t'.
'You really want to get me going today?,' Callahan began before getting into it. 'Yeah, I think, to be honest with you, I think it's complete and total bulls**t, if you want my honest opinion. These guys are tough f***ers, man. They go after it every day. They play hard as hell.
'At no point have we ever 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.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
The Tennessee Titans' tough season has led to some questioning how tough the team is
Titans coach Brian Callahan said accusations his team was 'soft' were 'bulls**t'
'Just because we don't win games doesn't mean we're soft. These guys, they play their a** off. They play hard. They play physical.
'You can ask any team that plays against us that when they come off the field, they know they played us. Yeah, that makes me relatively angry that that would be some presumption. That means you just don't watch the s**t. You don't do anything about it that you don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're looking at.
'I'm not going to stand for anybody calling this football team soft. I think that's bulls**t. If there's opinions out there that feel that way, then they don't know anything about NFL football.
He continued: 'I'd like you to walk in there call one of these guys soft and see what happens. This is not a soft football team at all, mentally or physically. I think one of the things mentally that's really been impressive about the team is that 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. They come out every day and work. You're going to really get me going now. These guys come out here and they do everything possible to win games.
'If there's any assumption anywhere that's outside of this building, again, we don't focus on all those things, but there's no possible explanation to say that this team is soft in any way, shape, or form, mentally or physically. The way that they go about their work, it's insulting to me, to them, to everyone that works here.
'I'm not... no chance ever in hell would I ever admit that to be the case, and neither would anybody in this locker room. You can shove that one right up your a**, to be honest.'
It's been a tough campaign for the Titans - made all the tougher when Callahan benched starting quarterback Will Levis on Sunday.
The Titans even benched quarterback Will Levis after tossing three interceptions on Sunday
Levis got sat after tossing three interceptions against Cincinnati - leading to Mason Rudolph taking over.
Adding insult to injury, Levis was struggling while his ex-girlfriend, Gia Duddy, watched on from a luxury suite.
Furthermore, Levis was officially benched for the season in favor of Rudolph in a decision announced by Callahan on Wednesday.
The Titans have already been eliminated from the playoffs. They close their season against their three division rivals: at the Indianapolis Colts, at the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then closing their season out at home against the Houston Texans.
