FAYETTEVILLE — Dowell Loggains was born in the 1980s, and he has yet to celebrate his 10-year college reunion.
So, earning the respect of NFL veterans — including some who are nearly a decade older than the former Arkansas quarterback and holder — took time.
That hasn’t been as much of an issue since Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak decided in November to name Loggains his offensive coordinator. At 32, Loggains is the NFL’s youngest OC.
“I don’t know that I’m surprised,” Loggains said of his quick rise up the NFL ranks. “Ever since I was 5 years old, I’ve never hidden the fact that my goals were in coaching and my expectations were always to be successful in coaching.
“But I’ve been preparing myself, and I’ve been very fortunate to be around a lot of good coaches.”
Nine years after his final season with the Razorbacks, Loggains was back in Fayetteville to help his close friend Alex Mortensen, another former Arkansas quarterback.
Loggains moved around the Woodland Junior High gymnasium on Saturday morning and showed quarterbacks much younger than Matt Hasselbeck how to throw a pass under pressure.
Loggains and Mortensen have been friends since 2003. At the time, Loggains was a junior at Arkansas, and Mortensen was a high school quarterback who had committed to play
for the Razorbacks.
Later, Loggains encouraged the Titans to sign Mortensen as an undrafted free agent in 2009.
Considering their history together, Loggains said he didn’t mind returning to Fayetteville this week to serve as an instructor at Mortensen’s NW Arkansas Passing Academy.
After all, Loggains calls Mortensen for advice on how to teach NFL quarterbacks.
“We’re really good friends,” said Loggains, who was born in Newport. “He’s still a guy that I actually call and bounce ideas off of, especially about quarterback fundamentals and stuff.
“His football knowledge I really trust.”
Loggains has quickly made a name for himself since his senior season at Arkansas in 2004. He served as the Titans’ offensive quality control coach from 2008-09, then took over as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2010.
When problems with the Titans became apparent last year, Munchak made the decision to fire offensive coordinator Chris Palmer and move Loggains into the role for the final five games of the season.
“The one thing about NFL teams and other coaches is they’re always looking for who is the bright, up-and-coming guys,” said ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen, who is also Alex Mortensen’s father.
“And Dowell’s name has been on the tip of their tongues here for really a few years. He’s a got a group of executives and head coaches who have been eyeballing him for a while.”
Chris Mortensen said Loggains has earned a reputation in the NFL for being a smart coach who soaks up information like a “sponge.” As a result, Mortensen said about four or five teams have looked into hiring Loggains in the past few years.
Now Loggains is one step away from being an NFL head coach.
“He’s constantly reaching out to the best in the NFL and just always trying to improve himself,” Chris Mortensen said. “And I think when that happens, sometimes you get engaged in conversations with a guy.
“I think people in this league that have gotten engaged with Dowell say, ‘Wow, this guy is sharp. He asks great questions.’”