The primary head coaching change of the 2025 season has been made. Brian Callahan is out because the Titans’ coach, the team announced on Monday.
“After prolonged conversations with our owner and general manager, we met with Brian Callahan this morning to inform him we’re making a change at head coach,” a statement from president of football operations Chad Brinker reads partly. “We’re grateful for Brian’s investment within the Titans and Tennessee community during his tenure as head coach. We thank him and his family for being exemplary ambassadors of the Tennessee Titans.”
Hired in 2024 after a highly-regarded run because the Bengals’ offensive coordinator, Callahan was tasked with overseeing an offensive turnaround in Tennessee. That didn’t happen during his first season on the helm, but the choice to pick out Cam Ward gave the Titans a brand new signal-caller to construct around. Six games in to the No. 1 pick’s profession, a change is now going down on the sidelines.
Today’s announcement comes after discuss a Callahan dismissal increased over the early portion of the campaign. The 41-year-old handled offensive play-calling duties through his first season on the helm and the opening three games of the 2025 slate. Following a winless start, though, Callahan handed the reins to QBs coach Bo Hardegree. Moves akin to those are sometimes made in an try and increase a head coach’s job security.
Indeed, it was reported earlier this month Callahan and the coaching staff felt the front office was quickly losing patience. After Sunday’s game – a 20-10 loss against the Raiders – Callahan’s record fell to 1-5 on the yr and 4-19 overall. Tennessee ranks thirty first within the NFL in scoring and twenty sixth in points allowed. After struggling in each of those capacities last season, Callahan won’t receive any further opportunities to enhance.
Generally, this dismissal adds further to the long list of organizational changes made in recent times by the Titans. Owner Amy Adams Strunk has overseen a slew of hirings and firings in brief order dating back to the closing stages of Mike Vrabel‘s head coaching tenure. Not long before Vrabel was fired, general manager Jon Robinson had been dismissed. Robinson was replaced throughout the 2023 hiring cycle but Ran Carthon, but he too was let go this past offseason.
Tennessee hired Mike Borgonzi as Carthon’s alternative in January at a time when Brinker took on an elevated role within the organization. He and Borgonzi will look to supply stability with the Titans on target for his or her fourth consecutive losing season. It’s unclear at this point who will take over on an interim basis, but senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy has head coaching experience. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and special teams coordinator John Fassel are other internal candidates.
No matter what happens within the near term, the Titans’ seek for a brand new full-time head coach shall be critical. A top priority for Callahan’s alternative will in fact be maximizing Ward’s potential and helping the offense take needed steps forward. The search on that front will begin early, and it should be interesting to see which candidates the team looks to talk with first.
Working closely alongside Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, Callahan spent five years in Cincinnati because the team’s offensive coordinator (albeit without calling plays). One other coordinator opportunity could await him in the longer term, but given the character of his first head coaching spell a second probability in that capability will not be coming any time soon. Within the meantime, the Titans will prepare for his or her Week 7 game at home against Vrabel’s Patriots.
More to return…