NASHVILLE – Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees is retiring from the NFL.

Pees made the announcement on Monday at Saint Thomas Sports Park, one day after the team's season ended with a loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

"It is for real," Pees said of his retirement. "If I wanted to continue coaching it would be here. We've got a great staff, really enjoyed the guys, great working for Mike, I love our players. I'm done coaching.

"In talking with my wife, we've decided it was time for me to hang up the cleats, so to speak. It's been 47 years, and I told the team today 722 games – that's a lot of games to coach. It's time."

Pees just finished his second season with the Titans as defensive coordinator, and his 47th year in coaching in 2019.

Pees fought back tears when he talked about the start of his coaching career.

"The honest truth is I wanted to be a high school football coach," Pees said. "Because those were the guys, along with my father, that I admired the most. My dad never got to see me coach. He died the first year I became a head high school coach, he passed away at 56 years old of a heart attack. He never saw me coach. So, I coached a lot of years for him. That's all I really wanted to be. I don't want to say I didn't have any desire – I was happy. I was a high school coach and (thought), 'This is great.'