Titans' DC Dean Pees Announces Retirement After 47-Year Career

The Tennessee Titans announced Monday that defensive coordinator Dean Pees is retiring after a 47-year coaching career.

Pees spent the past two seasons as Tennessee's defensive coordinator. 

Under Pees, the Titans finished this past season 21st in yards allowed (359.5) and 12th in points sacrificed (20.7). That defense was excellent down the stretch, however, holding the Houston Texans to 14 points in Week 17, the New England Patriots to 13 points in a 20-13 wild-card win and the explosive Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson to just 12 points in Tennessee's shocking 28-12 divisional-round upset.

The magic ran out against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a 35-24 loss with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. 

His departure leaves two holes in the team's defensive staff:

Pees, 70, has held several prominent coaching roles in his long career, which has included being the defensive coordinator for the Toledo Rockets (1990-93), the Michigan State Spartans (1995-97), the New England Patriots (2006-09) and the Baltimore Ravens (2012-17). During those stints, Pees worked with a number of all-time great coaches, including Nick Saban and Bill Belichick.

He was also the head coach for the Kent State Golden Flashes (1998-03) where he posted a 17-51 record.

His first coaching job came in 1973 as an assistant at Ohio's Elmwood High School. He served as the head coach for Elmwood from 1975-78 before taking over as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Division II's Findlay in 1979.