 Time now! Welcome to the OTP, presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans. Don't get sacked by the high cost of health care. Make Farm Bureau Health Plans your first line of protection. They've been protecting Tennesseans since 1947. I'm Mike Keith and this edition of the OTP is a first for us as we're welcoming three members of the sports performance staff. That used to be known as the strength and conditioning staff. Before that, long ago, they were simply known as the weight coaches. Time, technology, science, and methods have obviously changed and that's a good thing. I'm gonna introduce the three coaches with me today. The Titans director of sports performance is Frank Pirino. He's in his fifth year with the ball club. Prior to that, he was at Boston College for six years. Frank was also at Florida with Urban Meyer and started his career at Walsh Jesuit in Akron, which is also where Mike Vrable played high school football. Brian Bell is the assistant director of sports performance. Brian actually came a year earlier than Frank Pirino as he arrived here in Nashville with Mike Vrable from Houston. Brian was with the Texans for three seasons while Vrable was also there. The newest member of the trio is Tyler Roush who is in his second season after coming over from Colorado State. Before that, Tyler spent four seasons at Boston College on staff and he also played running back for the Eagles. Gentlemen, thank you for welcoming us to the weight room. This is great down here. Thanks for coming down. The three of you, do you divide and conquer in terms of roles, Frank? To some degree, we do. We all have different responsibilities because there's a lot of details to cover, but we really try to share all the responsibilities for a few different reasons so that each of us is familiar with what each player on the team is doing. We don't want a player to be doing one thing that's Brian's area or one that's Tyler's area and the rest of us are not up to speed on it. And also just for all three of our development, we don't want to miss out on anything as a professional that one of us focuses on and another one doesn't and we kind of don't become as well rounded as we should as professionals. Let me start with you on this one, Brian. Do you have a particular area of expertise? Like Frank said, I just try to be well rounded. A lot of times I will end up with the O-line and D-line, the bigger guys, but at the same time still try to work with the skill and the combo, tight end linebackers as well. I think in this field, you want to progress and get better year to year so I think it is important to be able to work with everybody. Tyler, do you have an area of expertise? Same thing, like Brian said, try to communicate with the rest of the staff and I'm trying to learn as much as I can and to give the best that I can. So I really try to work with all the different athletes that come in here, all the players, O-line, D-line, skilled players. I tend to build a good relationship with them, being a former skilled, but again just trying to do the best to work with everyone. All right Frank, so you and Brian and Tyler all have direct ties to Mike Brable from somewhere in your past. You obviously have his trust. When you enter an off season, does he hit you with something every year different that he wants to see? He does and it's not just different from year to year but Coach is so detailed and so thorough and so knowledgeable in this realm of the sport that he'll take it down to each individual position and really each individual player and things they need to work on. Wow, so you saw that in his time with the Texans, Brian? Yes, I think he was a very detailed guy who he liked to be hands on a lot when he was a position coach and ended up being the deco-ordinator. He was always hands on with the guys and I think that he bought that with him here and it's been the same since we've been here. All right, so one of the focuses on the off season in terms of the outside perspective, the sleds. We've all seen the guys doing the sleds inside the bubble. How did that come about and what do you think the team has gotten from pushing those sleds so much? Well, the genesis of the sled was Coach's focus on effort and finish and specifically finishing and we were trying to come up with something that related the finishing on the field through the whistle. That was also safe. So you can push the sled for as long or as fast as you want and wait through the whistle, you're not gonna get injured doing it. It's a little more challenging to say, hey, run, run, run, run, run until the whistle or certain other things. But obviously, there's a lot of carry over to football with that too. You get some conditioning that's pretty similar to the energy system is used for football. There's total body strength involved in it. There's teamwork involved in it. So we split our players out of the sleds by position. We intermingle offensive and defensive guys on the sleds. So it just has, it was really Coach Rable's idea that it's really evolved into something great. Tyler, the sense of competition too. Yeah, I think. The fellas got it right away and suddenly the torture of it became a game. Yeah, exactly. I think the competition aspect of it is one of the biggest things you can pull, just having everyone competing and doing it safely is the biggest thing. And that's great. Brian, was there somebody involved in it that you were most surprised that got into it the most? Or somebodies? No, I think this is a very competitive team within themselves. Obviously, people would maybe say quarterbacks, but I think that's a tough group, just as our O-line, D-line, and every other position. So I think the main thing is just the competition aspect of it and they want to be involved. And all of you going through it together as a team, it's bonding, Frank. They've all bought into it when it becomes Sled Day. As soon as guys start walking into the morning, it's Sled Day and they don't dread it. The guys look forward to it and they're excited about it and they're enthused in it. Were you as surprised as I was that more and more people around the country took notice of it? I mean, it was widely discussed on social media and other places. I'd say, yeah, I just never... Our career, what we're doing here is generally, for decades, been the behind-the-scenes area of the building. We've always expected it and wanted it to be that way. So you weren't maybe as aware that it was being discussed as much? Correct. All right, I want to talk about individual plans. We've got 90 guys who are here and even more than that in some cases. Brian, start this, if you would. How do you start to make an individual plan for each guy for the off-season moving toward the season? I think the most important thing is communication between us three, even more important than that, between the strength staff and the athletic training staff. As you know, it's a very violent sport and things happen. So on a daily basis, just being able to talk with Todd, talk with Matt, talk with Mike, and just create a plan of who can do what. And then from there, come back in here and Frank and me and Tyler just talking through it so that for the next day, we're not scrambling as much. And just making sure that each guy has their individual plan for that day, just making sure that we can work around whatever they might not can do. Tyler, you're the one who played most recently. How has that individual player plan changed from your time as a player to what you're doing now on the Titan staff? I think tremendously, actually. I think that over time, people realize that different people need different things, obviously. So doing our best to give the athlete exactly what they need to get better has changed. I think generally back then, everyone kind of did the same thing in a sense. And over time and technology and different things that we utilize, we are able to give them a more specific script to what they need. Frank, it's a total plan too. It just isn't what you're gonna do conditioning-wise. It's everything. Correct. It really involves what's gonna happen here in the weight room strength training, what's gonna happen in the field, which is conditioning, agility, change of direction, speed development, body composition where we work closely with Lauren Silvio. She's our nutrition coordinator and registered dietitian. But individual planning really is kind of a waterfall or trickle-down effect where we start with body types. Line men are one body type. Mids are one body type. Skills are one body type. Now we can split it up from there. Offensive and defensive line men, linebackers, Titan. So then it becomes positional. And then individual becomes what are things each individual needs to work on, whether it's a physical weakness, whether it's something they feel they're weak at and need to get better at, whether it's something from a previous injury. And really a lot of times just personal preference. Largely a matter of having trust in the players and saying, hey, there's certain things you like to do or don't like to do, you feel you need to do, and letting them have some say in what we do. Yeah, the trust part. Brian, take that if you would, because not only do you have to trust them to tell you, they have to trust you. How long does that take to build that trust? I think each guy is different, but at the same time, it takes time, you know? And like I go back to communication is a big key to that. And just seeing what may be the issue, how can we correct the issue moving forward? And I think that's the same thing as a part in here. It's a part in the athletic training room, but everybody collectively coming together, I think the trust gets built. If you have an individual plan for all 90 players, how do you guys ever leave here? I mean, because you're logging all of this stuff, you're keeping up with everything they do. I mean, it's really, when you stop and think about it for a second, it's amazing. Yeah, I would say one of the best trades to have as a professional in our career is efficiency and creating systems to do all those things quickly, efficiently, accurately and with detail. And Tyler, the players appreciate the efficiency too, because they'd like to have a life outside of this building, but this is their job. And like Frank said, just us being efficient and being accurate and being able to depict and give them a good picture of what they need is good. Titans fans, listen up. Open a Titans checking account from Pentacle with at least $100 and a recurring direct deposit by August the 18th. And you could win two tickets to five Titans home games. Details at titansbanking.com. Titans checking from Pentacle. Play hard, bank easy, member FDIC. I've just been handed breaking news Titans fans. It's official. Seat Geek is now the official ticketing partner of your Tennessee Titans. That's right, the deal is finalized. Seat Geek is the newest member of your Titans family. If you haven't heard the name yet, Seat Geek, you'll be hearing it a lot more this season and for seasons to come. That's Seat Geek. Whether you're buying or selling tickets to Titans games or any live event in Nashville, Seat Geek is the place to do it. Seat Geek, the new official ticketing partner of your Tennessee Titans. So Titans fans can thank you. I couldn't do this OTP without asking about Derek Henry, because we see the videos, we know what he is. We've had the pleasure of watching him since he got here and we understand he puts in the time. So let me start with you, Brian. Derek likes to train like crazy. Does that make it harder or easier to make a plan for him? I will say easier in the sense that he's a very hard worker. He's obviously been doing it for a long time. He trusts us when he's in here to help him, which obviously makes things easier, you know what I mean? But at the end of the day, he works very hard and the old saying hard work pays off. I think you see it. And Frank, it's been said many times around him that one of the reasons he's enjoyed being here is he feels like the staff really takes care of him in terms of what you ask him to do on the field during July and August. And you obviously had him 100% ready to go last year. For somebody like Derek, is it hard to slow him down? Is it hard to say, okay, that's enough for today? Well, we worked through that with Coach Rabel on an individual basis of, you know, alternative practice plans for very high mileage players and how much work do they need on the field and how much pounding do they need on the field, but also how do they continue to get to work in? And, you know, so we all will work on that plan together. You know, Coach Rabel, Todd Dorseli, and SportsMed will have the player involved. I will say one of the most, the things I'm most proud of in my time here is the relationship that Brian and Derek have built. There's a lot of trust there. Brian spends a lot of time with him both on the field and in the way he works. And in the sand pit, you kind of work him over over there, so. It goes back to the grind that he knows that he'll be going through throughout the season and he has a mindset of what he wants to do. And, you know, I'm blessed to be able to, you know, help where I can, you know. But, you know, it's really all him, man. He's a very hard worker. Tyler is a former running back. You see that guy put in the work that he does. And you know about the hits. You know about the touches and all of those things that come into effect. And as you see him, what kind of tone do you think he helps set for the rest of the team by that work ethic, especially at a position where he's going to take a lot of shots? Yeah, I think just lean by example, right? Like putting in the work and doing what is needed of him. It's just, I mean, not much needs to be said by that. You know what I mean? It's just lean by example and people fall, you know? Like little known fact, 2012, there was a back and forth race for the national high school rushing record between Derek Henry and Tyler Rouse. Is that right? Yeah, that's correct. So that was, I'm Max Preps. That was in high school back in the day. I got beat obviously for obvious reasons, but there was a little back and forth and that's my little claim to fame. There you go. Which is not very... Do you bring that up to Derek, buddy? No, I don't. I mean, is he aware of that? Yeah, it was told and we had a brief conversation about it when I actually first met him. But when I first got here last year, brother and I, we go about our business. Frank, I like that. Hey Titans fans, hard to decide what's the best part of a Duncan run. Is it the coffee or the classic $1 donut? The $2 stuffed bagel minis or the $3 sausage, egg and cheese that you can add to that coffee or of course you just get to leave the office. The answer of course is yes. Time for a Duncan run. Great deals on food for one, two or $3. With a medium or larger coffee. America runs on Duncan. How valuable is it to you, Frank? Some of the better players on this team are some of your hardest workers in here. It's one of the most important things and Coach Rabel mentions at all time that the best players be held the most accountable and we are very fortunate that our best players are not only accountable but they're very hardworking in here. They believe in this, they understand the value in this which that usually goes hand in hand but it really helps us with young players, new players coming in from other teams when they see the efforts of Derek and Ryan Tannehill and Jeff Simmons and all of our best players. All right, so I want Tyler to take this one first but I want you all to discuss it. So you've got a season that starts in late July and ends in January, you hope February. With the demands of the season, how long it is and the demands of a game week and the preparation that the players put in on the field and in meetings and everything. How do you keep their level of conditioning high and how do you keep their level of strength and power as high as it can possibly be knowing they don't have as much time to train? Yeah, so I think the biggest thing as far as out on the field is making sure that we track their yardage through a GPS system catapult. So we track their yardage and we make sure that they accumulate the same or near the same amount of yardages that they experience in a game, right? So whatever their game yardage is, for example, we're trying to imitate that, whether it be during the off season or during practice to make sure that they're building that capacity to withstand a game. Let me stop you for a second. So what you're saying is the number of steps that they will register playing say 60 something plays. Catapult measures that and then at a practice you want them and conditioning wise you want them to mirror that number of steps. Yes, and it's not just the number of steps, right? Because there's different speeds in the game. So we try to make sure that they hit the different speeds and the yardage is at those speeds to make sure that they're able to tolerate that workload. So that's on the field. That's kind of how we track and make sure that they have the capacity for the work. Ryan, what do they try to do in here to keep strength? I think one of the big things is, first, I keep saying the communication, but just tracking progressive overload each week. We try to go like three to four weeks where we progressively get less reps, heavier weight. That can change week to week. It's an on season. Guys go through different elements each week. So we got to make change and we make changes, but I think we do give them a lot of variation of what they can do, whether it's squat bench, whatever the case may be, all the auxiliary lifts that we do. And I think that helps, especially late in the season as well, we try our best to take good care of them. Frank, you and Brian and Tyler, you're like engineers and scientists in what you do now. I mean, it's very different. It does require a lot of adaptability. Knowing what each player needs, but also that can change each week when they come in and based on how they're feeling, just on how they tell you they feel or something that may have happened in the game. You need to adapt to different weeks. Something like when the Thursday game comes up or Monday night game comes up, because our players are great. They're great professionals at creating their own routines during the week that work best for them. What days do they want to work out? What workouts do they want to do on those days? And sometimes the routine gets disrupted for whatever reason. So we've really got to be adaptable. Like, say, Jeffrey Simmons last year who gets hurt at mid-year and really can't practice for the majority of the season in November, December and into January. How do you keep a guy like that who's battling injury but is going to make himself play? He was not going to miss a game. How do you keep him in shape? Well, there's a lot of alternative conditioning methods we use. It could be the sandpit like you've seen out there. Sometimes just to take hits off, people don't continue to run. Sometimes we use cardio machines, bikes and versus climber. Sometimes we box hit a heavy bag or hit mitts. We have the underwater treadmill in the training room. And we always involve sports medicine, have their sand with this injury. How can we work around it? But again, we're still looking at what are ways to elevate the heart rate and train the same body parts that they'll use in the game and see what we can make come of it. And it's impossible to duplicate practice of the game without doing it. But we do our best our can to keep them where they need to be. All right, I wanna take advantage of your expertise. What are the best exercises that prove true levels of strength? I guess what I'm saying is, what should they be using at the combine instead of the bench press? I would do something relative to their body weight. Something that shows you their ability to produce force at their body weight, whether it be some kind of jump or obviously they do the vertical jump, but measuring the force output involved in that. Obviously the combine's been around forever. So I mean, it is what it is. And I think that maybe with time, things will change. But I mean, it's worked, why change, you know what I mean? So, but I do think that something relative to body weight pound for pound would be the best. All right, Brian, what do you got? It has been around for a long time, and they've been doing it for a while, but something that is relative to maybe their position, whether it's a D-Lime and O-Lime and running back wide receiver, but relative to position and body weight, maybe down the road. I'll go a different direction with this and say it may not be an exercise that's really the best way to measure or gain an understanding of strength, you know, especially a single one measuring a single muscle group, but sometimes you just, and Coach Rabel talks about this a lot too, but sometimes you just grab onto somebody or lock up with them and they have a different level of strength than what you see in the weight room. That's whether that's using leverage or whatever it is or just genetics, but, you know, total body strength, you can be fooled in the weight room and there's, you know, whether it's a jet component or how they use their body or leverage in biomechanics and all those things, but it's really hard to measure true strength of one weight room exercise. We used to call that country straw. Country straw, country straw. Steve McBear was country straw, and he didn't spend much time in here. He did everything he could. As many hours as Eddie George spent in here, he tried to spend as few, and yet, my goodness. I mean, it was incredible, and some people just have that. And I mean, Jeffrey Simmons has that, right? He does. He does. But that carries over on the weight room, too. Yeah, he's a work. All right, so here's something really interesting that I think is a great development. The three of you are very much part of the coaching staff. You are listed as members of the coaching staff. When I started in this business, the strength staff was basically separate. And now you have a direct role. Frank, why is that so beneficial now to be so ingrained with the coaching staff? So we all understand what's going on in all facets of the program. So our staff, we understand what's going on on the practice field and the coaches understand what's going on here and in the off-season. And we do so much now, position-specific, both on the field and the weight room, and we always include the coaches on, what is it you feel like you need your position group to work on? What are some drills you'd like us to do? And again, like Tyler talked about, some of the tracking with the yardages by position and by individual and speeds that happen in the game, that we try to carry over to practice. We communicate with the coaches, hey, this is what would be great for us to see at practice today. And here's what we can do to get there. It's gotta be a big help to you, right? It is, it's a great help. Yep, thank you so much, Brian. Thank you. Frank, Tyler, we appreciate you joining us on the OTP. Thanks for having us, Mike. Thank you. A fantastic conversation with Titans Director of Sports Performance, Frank Pirino, Brian Bell, the Assistant Director of Sports Performance and Sports Performance Assistant, Tyler Roush. Thanks for joining us for the OTP, presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans. We would love it if you would subscribe to the OTP and rate and review us. And also follow me on Instagram at 10Voyds. That's at TENNVoyds. I'm Mike Keith, thanking you for listening to the official Titans podcast, better known as the OTP. Welcome to the big show where the legends go. Everybody knows it's our house.