Titans, Adams Strunk, Holz, Carthon, Brinker, Quinn

The Titans made the first major coaching change of the 2025 season this week by firing the head coach. Brian Callahan.

President of Football Operations Chad Brinker said (via Terry McCormick of Main Street Media) that the team wanted to give the new head coach some time to grow into his role, but the current power structure hasn’t seen enough progress with just four wins in their first 23 games.

In fact, the Titans seemed to regress in Callahan’s second season at the helm. They went 3-14 in 2024 with Will Levis under center, and despite the addition of pick #1 Cam Room this offseason, they were 1-5 to start this year. This victory was also the result of several late Cardinals fumbles.

Desperate to make a difference, Callahan abandoned his playing duties before Week 4 and turned them over to the quarterbacks coach. Bo Hardegre. In doing so, Callahan ignored the offensive coordinator Nick Holza longtime friend dating back to his high school playing days thought he wasn’t ready, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Hardegree will continue as Game Director under Interim HC Mike McCoy.

By then, the “writing was on the wall” at Tennessee, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, with other coaches bracing for what seemed like an inevitable firing. In fact, Callahan appeared to be on the hot seat when the Titans fired the general manager. Ron Carthon during the offseason. Callahan himself “never felt like he was on solid ground after that,” according to Jones.

Callahan’s rapid removal less than two years into his tenure begs the question: Why did the Titans hire him in the first place? He began his NFL coaching career in 2010 for the Broncos, and after stints as quarterbacks coach for Detroit and Oakland, he was hired to be Zac TaylorCincinnati’s first offensive coordinator.

The Bengals became one of the league’s best passing attacks after adding Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr ChaseAnd Higgins T-shirt in 2020 and 2021 with a Super Bowl appearance last year. The unit continued to produce in 2022 before stagnating in 2023, largely due to Burrow’s injury.

The Titans, meanwhile, appeared to be looking for an offensive coach after parting ways with the defensive coach. Mike Vrabel. Then-Ravens defensive coordinator Mike McDonald offered a strong interview, but the Titans wanted to go in another direction.

Former head coach of the Falcons then the DC Cowboys Dan Quinn also interviewed, but owner Amy Adams banged has been discouraged by past defensive collapses in the postseason, including the 28-3 Super Bowl loss to the Patriots and, more recently, a 48-point performance by the Packers offense in Dallas, Jones adds. Quinn’s lack of vision for his offensive coaching staff – who, at the time, didn’t understand Kingsbury Cliff – further pushed him out of consideration.

So, thanks in large part to the Bengals’ offensive success, the Titans added Callahan to their short list, and his resume and experience impressed the team’s decision-makers enough for him to win the job. It’s not hard to imagine Tennessee looking for a young, offensive-minded disciple of a successful head coach to help it find the long-term quarterback stability that has eluded the club over the past decade.

It’s worth noting, however, that Taylor called the offensive plays throughout Callahan’s tenure in Cincinnati, an early sign that the five-year OC may not be ready for the big job. At Tennessee, he was learning how to call plays as he took on the complex and all-encompassing duties of head coaching, and it showed.

The influence of Adams Strunk cannot be underestimated either. She hasn’t been in the team facility this week and rarely presents herself as the face of the franchise, according to Jones, but her fingerprints are on their recent decisions. Adams Strunk restructured the front office last year, moving Brinker from assistant general manager under Carthon to his current role at its helm. Hired by Carthon in 2023, Brinker now controls the Titans’ 53-player roster.

This offseason, Adams Strunk fired Carthon and replaced him with Mike Borgonziwho brought in his own team of staff. Brinker and Borgonzi said they would lead the search for the next head coach, with Callahan’s firing described as the “final cleanup” before the duo can establish their own era of Titans football, according to Fowler.

However, Adams Strunk and his desire to avoid negative media coverage will still play a role. The Titans just signed a new franchise quarterback with the No. 1 pick and are opening a new stadium in 2027, but their on-field woes have drained the enthusiasm from Nashville, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. Their new coach will be expected to get the most out of Ward and start winning games quickly, but potential recruits may not want to operate under such expectations, especially given the Titans’ short leash for leadership.

Additionally, McCoy doesn’t seem like the kind of high-profile, high-energy hire Tennessee is looking for, but the franchise’s last three interims (Mike Mularkey, Jeff Fisher, Jerry Glanville) have returned to work full time, according to veteran Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky. However, teams have moved away from temp status to full-time status. This only happened once (Antonio Pierce) over the last eight offseasons.

The Titans have months to organize and conduct their head coaching search, likely with the intention of a more thorough process than last time and potentially with the desire to have more experience and stability in the top job.