Brian Callahan fired as Titans head coach just six games into season

The Tennessee Titans parted ways with head coach Brian Callahan, firing him on Monday just six games into his second season. Callahan leaves with a 4-19 overall record this year, including a 1-5 start, despite drafting 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward as his starting quarterback.

The Titans announced that senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy has been named interim head coach. McCoy brings with him previous head coaching experience, having managed the San Diego Chargers from 2013 to 2016, posting a 27-37 record and guiding the team to the playoffs in his first season.

“After long discussions with our owner and general manager, we met with Brian Callahan this morning and told him we were making a coaching change,” president of football operations Chad Brinker said in a team statement. “These decisions are never easy, and they become even more difficult when they involve people of great character. We are grateful for the investment Brian has made in the Titans and the Tennessee community during his tenure as head coach. We thank him and his family for being exemplary ambassadors for the Tennessee Titans.”

Callahan was the offensive coordinator at the time. Cincinnati BengalsBrinker said the Titans were 3-14 last season under the 41-year-old Callahan and “didn’t show enough growth.”

“Our players, fans and community deserve a football team that meets a standard that we do not currently meet and we are determined to make the difficult decisions necessary to achieve and maintain that standard,” he said.
The Titans went 3-14 in Callahan’s first season and earned the No. 1 overall pick, which they used to select quarterback Ward. According to ESPN Research, Callahan’s dismissal continues a recent trend; The last four quarterbacks drafted first overall and six of the last eight quarterbacks had their head coaches fired during their rookie seasons. Only Ken Whisenhunt (3-20) has had a worse record as a head coach in Titans/Houston Oilers history.
Callahan earned his first win of the season last week when the Titans rallied from a 21-3 lead by Arizona to outscore the Cardinals 22-21. But a 20-10 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday was the final straw. This was Tennessee’s fourth defeat by double digits this season; suffered the most defeats of all teams in the league.