No matter the coach, elite NFL quarterback play comes down to one thing

As Cam Ward was getting peppered with questions during the University of Miami’s Pro Day about the idea of starting his NFL career with the Titans, he was able to rattle off the names of all the team’s top executives. He spoke positively about Tennessee’s practice facility and revealed that the Nashville hot chicken he ate during his visit was a bit too hot for his liking.

Ward also talked some football, as he has several times with Titans head coach Brian Callahan during the runway-long lead up to the NFL draft. Ward said he already has an idea what he would be asked to do in the Titans’ offense.

“I think Coach Callahan’s one of the best head coaches out there,’’ Ward said Monday after his workout on the Miami campus in Coral Gables, Fla. “The things he did with Joe Burrow when he first got into the league made him be real successful.’’

Is this actually the case? Did Callahan, as a young and fairly inexperienced offensive coordinator with the Bengals, really have a great impact on Burrow’s development into one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks? Are any of these offensive masterminds or quarterback gurus — two overused terms, by the way — actually invaluable when it comes to turning college prospects into bona fide NFL stars?