5 hours ago 8

Report: Brian Callahan fired as Titans coach

There were simply no signs of progress for the Tennessee Titans since they hired Brian Callahan to be their head coach.

The Titans were bad in Callahan's first season, but he could blame the poor play of Will Levis at quarterback. Then things looked similarly sloppy with Cam Ward, the first overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. And it was clear that the coach might be the problem.

Callahan was fired by the Titans. He went 3-14 in his first season, and the Titans gave him a second chance. The second season started with the same disjointed look and plenty of losses, and Tennessee decided it was time for a change.

That means Ward's rookie season was mostly a waste, just like Caleb Williams with the 2024 Chicago Bears.

Brian Callahan made egregious mistakes

In Williams' first season, the Bears retained Matt Eberflus as coach, and he and his staff were quickly shown to be overwhelmed and of little help to the rookie first overall pick.

There were plenty of those vibes with the 2025 Titans. It wasn't the worst decision for the Titans to give Callahan a second season and find out if the 2024 disaster was due to Levis' poor play. But even though Ward showed some individual promise, there wasn't much progress on the team level.

In Week 1, Callahan didn't challenge a Titans catch, and then after the game stated that the team didn't challenge because the receiver needed to get a foot down in bounds in addition to an elbow. That was an incorrect interpretation of the rule and not a good look for an NFL coach. In Week 3, there was an inexcusable managerial error. The Titans trailed the Indianapolis Colts 17-6 late in the first half, and they lined up for a 57-yard field goal. But there was a delay of game penalty due to indecision, then a 62-yard field goal was missed.

There were uncompetitive losses early in the season too, which didn't reflect well on Callahan. Neither did Ward's frustrated remarks after Tennessee lost 26-0 to the Houston Texans in Week 4.

Nothing about the Titans looked good enough, and the coaching errors didn't make anything better.

Cam Ward makes Titans job more enticing

The Titans' job will be inviting because of Ward. Despite being saddled with a head coach who wasn't up for the task, Ward showed why he was the first pick. He has a lot of talent and, like Williams and Chicago, plenty of head coaching candidates will be eager for the chance to work with him.

The Titans still have a lot of holes to fill, but the quarterback is a good start. The franchise is also expected to move into a new stadium for the 2027 season, which brings another jolt of excitement. Tennessee hasn't made good management decisions in recent seasons, but the right hire to replace Callahan could lead to a quick turnaround.

It just became clear that Callahan wouldn't be the answer. Ward and the Titans will move on with a new coach and a new vision to get the most out of their young quarterback.