Skidding Titans on the verge of their highest NFL draft pick since at least 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans are living through a repeat of their worst season since the franchise left Texas in 1997.

Only this is much worse.

The 2014 team went 2-14 in Ken Whisenhunt 's first season as head coach.

If these Titans (3-13) lose Sunday against Houston, they would match the most losses in Tennessee thanks to the NFL’s move to a 17-game regular season.

Controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk fired a general manager in December 2022 as the Titans slumped from two-time defending division champs to a season-ending skid. She fired coach Mike Vrabel in January after a 6-11 season.

Now Brian Callahan goes into the final game of his debut season with five straight losses and seven of the past eight in the franchise's third straight losing season.

The lone win in that stretch? In Houston.

That 2014 season netted the No. 2 pick overall in the 2015 NFL draft, and Tennessee drafted quarterback Marcus Mariota who was benched in 2019 for veteran Ryan Tannehill.

There's plenty of pressure on this franchise. The Titans will be wearing their Houston Oilers' throwbacks on Sunday in hosting the Texans. They're currently selling personal seat licenses and season tickets for the $2.2 billion enclosed stadium being built next door scheduled to open for the 2027 season.

Callahan was asked about an NFL Network report that he and his staff would be back for the 2025 season. He said his conversations with Strunk have been positive and that he has talks with general manager Ran Carthon and Chad Brinker, president of football operations.

“I just come in and try to do my job as best I can and do it as long as they allow me to do it,” Callahan said Monday. “And if for some reason at some point, and hopefully it’s years from now when someone says we don’t need your services anymore, then that’s how it goes.”

The defense. The Titans have held eight opponents to 24 points or fewer this season, including the 20-13 loss to the Jaguars in Jacksonville. In coordinator Dennard Wilson's first season, they go into the finale third in the NFL in yards allowed and second against the pass.

They've held 11 opponents to fewer than 200 yards passing this season. The Titans also have 17 takeaways this season with eight interceptions since Week 12.

The offense. The Titans were shut out in the first half, and they wound up with their sixth loss this season by eight points or fewer. Mason Rudolph's lone interception was a tipped ball, but it was the 33rd turnover of the season for Tennessee — most in the NFL.

That's why Callahan said both Rudolph, who has started and lost the past two games, and second-year quarterback Will Levis will play Sunday. A decision on who starts will come later this week.

The Titans had a chance to try and force overtime or go for the win late. But Rudolph couldn't connect with a wide-open Chig Okonkwo on the left sideline. Then a fourth down pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was broken up at the goal line.

RB Tyjae Spears. The second-year back out of Tulane had the best game of his career and only a 5-yard loss on the play that knocked him out of the game cost him his first 100-yard rushing performance. Spears averaged 4.8 yards per carry.

LT JC Latham. The seventh pick overall out of Alabama has started every game, but he gave up another sack and four pressures against the Jaguars. He has allowed seven sacks this season and 43 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

Callahan said Latham is a run powerful run blocker who will only get better.

Spears (concussion) will have a hard time clearing the concussion protocol in a week. Jaelyn Duncan (shoulder) also is unlikely to play after lasting only 15 snaps in his second start at RT this season.

Callahan said RB Tony Pollard, who missed his first game this season with illness and an injured ankle, and RG Dillon Radunz (shoulder) could be back.

13 — The number of Titans starters in Jacksonville who did not start the season opener in Chicago. That includes seven on offense and six on defense because of injuries.

Callahan also started rookie Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Darrell Baker at cornerback, sitting veteran Chidobe Awuzie who came off the bench for 35 snaps.

Lose one more game and finish with the No. 2 pick overall. If the New England Patriots lose to Buffalo, the Titans could land the top pick overall for the first time since 2016. That pick was traded two weeks before the draft for a handful of picks that netted three starters led by Derrick Henry.

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Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan looks to the field from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Tennessee Titans linebacker Jerome Baker, right, breaks up a pass intended for Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby (4) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph (11) is sacked by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley (0) is tackled by Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown after catch during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan answers questions from reporters after an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)