Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sharing a moment with new Tennessee Titans HC Brian Callahan is literal proof of the exact type of aura & mutual respect from different walks of life that you want your coach to command… can't wait for a Ten Hag video 🙄pic.twitter.com/2q3OygQirA
— Maher 🇵🇸 (@pabloikonyero) April 7, 2024
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp took time out of the Premier League title race to offer a few pearls of wisdom to Titans coach Brian Callahan as he prepares for life in the NFL.
Callahan is in his first head coach role and he quoted the Reds manager in his opening press conference back in January.
‘There’s quote from Jurgen Klopp – I didn’t want to just rip it off and present it as my own,’ he told reporters. ‘But he said it at one point: ‘When you agree on a common idea and work towards it together, you can create something very special”
Klopp was recently shown the clip and then asked whether he had any advice for the new Tennessee coach. In a heartwarming clip, posted on social media on Sunday, Sky Sports captured both his answers and Callahan’s reaction.
‘It’s a drain!’ was Klopp’s initial verdict, to which the Titans HC replied: ‘He’s right about that.’
Klopp continued: ‘The next world class coaches in American football or in football, they’re already out there. And he might be one of them. Why not?
‘He seems to be a nice guy, which I think is a really important part of it as well because you lead a team of people, and if they hate you every day, that can work in the short term. It will never work in the long term.’
The Liverpool manager then gave Callahan an insight into the ups and downs that come with coaching in elite sport.
‘It’s all about results. It’s all immediate results,’ he explained. ‘One year you’re the best manager in the world. Next year, everybody thinks somebody sucked your football brain off and it’s like: ‘Oh he’s not that good anymore’… stuff like this.
‘The more together you are with the group of players, with the staff and the supporters, the more likely you will get through these periods without any scars.’
Callahan struggled to hide his emotions as Klopp finished his advice with a motivational message for the Titans boss.
‘Be yourself, work extremely hard, be ready for knocks and don’t lose confidence,’ he said.
‘Now I will follow his way. Now I will have time in the summer so maybe I can watch an American football game as well!’
Klopp is leaving Liverpool at the end of this season after nine years in charge. Callahan, meanwhile, is preparing for his first NFL campaign as a head coach. And the 39-year-old’s eyes glazed over as he asked for a copy of Klopp’s message.
‘That’s awesome, that’s a really cool thing to hear him echo all the things that I took from him, from just reading a book about him, reading some articles and watching some interviews,’ Callahan said. ‘That’s pretty cool. He’s a legend.’
