Pola's departure has Titans coaches working harder

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Promotions usually mean celebrations, at the least dinner with the family or friends.

Craig Johnson and Dowell Loggains simply haven't had time.

Coach Jeff Fisher promoted both two days before the Titans reported for training camp after Lane Kiffin lured away Kennedy Pola to Southern California.

One week into the new jobs, Johnson has spent hours switching from coaching quarterbacks to assistant head coach-running backs. Loggains has gone from a quality control assistant for offense to working closely with Vince Young.

The moves happened so fast none of the new titles are in the team's media guide.

"My friends keep telling me, 'You don't seem very excited,"' Loggains said. "Well, I have a big challenge ahead of me."

Fisher lost Pola, his running backs coach, exactly one week before the Titans' first practice of training camp. Kiffin insists he explained the timeline on how he hired Pola, but the Titans sued Southern California and Kiffin for breaching the assistant's NFL contract that required written permission to talk to someone else about a new job.

Needing to fill the job, Fisher looked at his own staff.

Johnson has been with him since 2000 and coached quarterbacks since 2002. He also helped coach running backs at Army in 1985 and was running backs coach at Rutgers between 1986 and 1988. Johnson helped the late Steve McNair share the MVP award in 2003 and coached Young to Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2006.

"I was elated when he elected to accept the challenge," Fisher said of switching jobs. "He's going to do a great job. I had players come to me hoping that would be the route that we take. And so I'm not concerned about the transition."

Among those lobbying for Johnson? Fullback Ahmard Hall, who called Fisher's decision a great move.

"Craig's one of the first coaches I got to know when I got here five years ago. He's got a great hold of the offense. Coaching quarterbacks, the quarterback has to know everything about the offense," Hall said.

Johnson has spent "a lot of hours" in the past week dealing with his new responsibilities.

"The assignments are not as big. I have a very good understanding of the assignments, the techniques and how you accomplish your goals as a runner is a little different than obviously how you accomplish that as a quarterback. Even though I've been in this offense forever, I kind of know what to do to get them right and their assignments right," Johnson said.

The biggest challenge for him? Getting that shorthand between assistant and players down since each coach does it in their own way.

"There's a lot of little details ... You've really got to stay on top of that," Johnson said.

With this move, Johnson went from coaching Young, who's 26-13 in his first four NFL seasons, to coaching Chris Johnson, the running back who has rushed for 3,234 yards in his first two seasons. The running back already has set busting Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards among his goals for 2010.

Johnson the coach said the great ones are never satisfied and can always get better.

Johnson the running back? Well, he only met Pola once since he stayed away from the Titans' offseason program and likes his new position coach except for one thing.

"I got to talk to Craig and get it through his head, like let him know he's coaching running backs and not quarterbacks. With quarterbacks, you've got to be so detailed and tell where receivers are going and every single person. In the running backs room, you don't have to tell so much. I've got to get that through to him," Chris Johnson said with a laugh.

Loggains has it a bit easier.

A quarterback in college at Arkansas, he was a scouting assistant in 2005 with the Cowboys and joined the Titans in 2006. He worked his way up to offensive quality control coach in 2008 and now to quarterbacks coach. His biggest challenge? Making sure the quarterbacks, all 6-foot-4 or taller, hear the assistant whose head comes to the top of their shoulder pads.

But Loggains has been around offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger long enough to make sure the techniques, fundamentals and drills are run the right way.

"Dowell, he's a very smart guy," Young said. "He knows the offense. ... Just seeing him as a quarterbacks coach today getting his notes in and making sure we're up to date with what coach Heimerdinger wanted, uptempo, work on the snap count, things like that. It's funny though seeing him in there. We're happy for him."

NOTES: Richie Wessman was moved up to Loggains' old job. ... Fisher already had scheduled a night practice for Wednesday. His timing couldn't have been better with the temperature hitting 101 and feeling like 110 in Nashville for the hottest day of training camp at the time the Titans have been on the field in the afternoon.