Former Tennesee Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing was placed in jail after turning himself in Tuesday to the Williamson County Jail, according to ESPN. He serving his sentence stemming from his arrest on Nov. 18 for driving under the influence and speeding. Downing is set to be released from jail on Thursday morning.
The Nov. 18 arrest occurred shortly after the Titans defeated the Green Bay Packers 27-17 in Green Bay on Thursday Night Football. The Titans didn’t punish him at the time, but when the season ended, Downing and three other assistant coaches were fired. The move was made largely because the team only scored 17.5 points per game during the 2022 season.
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“I want to thank Todd, Keith (Carter), Anthony (Midget) and Erik (Frazier) for their service and commitment to our team over their time here in Tennessee,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said in a statement. “Each of them made an impact on our organization, were dedicated to the process and loyal members of our coaching staff.”
Downing, 42, began his NFL coaching career in 2001 when he was an intern with the Minnesota Vikings. In 2005, Downing became the team’s offensive quality control coach before joining the St. Louis Rams (now Los Angeles Rams) in 2006 to be the team’s defensive assistant and special teams assistant. In 2009, Downing joined the Detroit Lions and spent time as an offensive quality control coach and quarterbacks coach. He had the same position with the Buffalo Bills in 2014 and with the Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders) from 2015-2016. In 2017, Downing was promoted to the Raiders’ offensive coordinator but was fired after the 2017 season. He became the tight ends coach for the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 before joining the Titans in 2019 in the same role. Downing was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021.
Last year, Titans general manager Jon Robinson responded to the criticism Downing took as offensive coordinator. “There’s zero patience in today’s society,” Robinson said, per The Tennesseean. “(People) don’t understand everything that goes into game planning and what’s built into plays. … There’s a lot of stuff that goes into it. But when it doesn’t go the way somebody wants it, the knee-jerk reaction is ‘we have to fire this (person). We have to do this.’ They are good people, got great families. “They’re smart football men, everybody on that offensive side of the football. I’m proud to work with them.”
