NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans have fired coach Brian Callahan just six games into his second season as the team’s head coach.
Callahan finishes with a 4-19 record as coach of the Titans, including 1-5 this season with 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward as the team’s starting quarterback.
“After extensive conversations with our owner and general manager, we met with Brian Callahan this morning to tell him we are making a change at the head coaching position,” president of football operations Chad Brinker said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy, and they become more difficult when they involve people of great character. We are grateful for Brian’s investment in 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.
“While we are committed to a patient and strategic plan to build a sustainable and winning football program, we have not demonstrated sufficient growth. Our players, our fans and our community deserve a football team that reaches a level that we are not currently reaching, and we are committed to making the difficult decisions necessary to achieve and maintain that level.”
Only Ken Whisenhunt (3-20) had a worse record as a head coach in Titans/Houston Oilers franchise history.
The Titans finished 3-14 in Callahan’s first season, finishing with the first pick and selecting Ward. With Callahan’s firing, the last four quarterbacks were selected first overall and six of the last eight saw their head coaches fired during their rookie seasons, according to ESPN Research.
The Titans offense has scored just 83 points in six games this season, which is the franchise’s fewest points in six games since 1985, according to ESPN Research.
The frustration flared in Week 3 at Nissan Stadium in a 41-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Fans booed the Titans as they entered the locker room at halftime and chanted “Fire Callahan” several times during the game.
Callahan turned over playing duties to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree last month. But his seat got even hotter after a 26-0 loss to the AFC South division rivals Houston Texans in a battle of winless teams in Week 4. The Titans failed to reach the red zone at any point in the game and Ward expressed his frustration after the game, saying “If we keep money right now, we’re assholes.”
Callahan picked up his first win of the season last week with a 22-21 win over the Cardinals in which Arizona blew a 21-3 lead. However, a frustrating 20-10 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday sealed his fate. It was the Titans’ fourth loss by at least 10 points this season, the most of any team.
The team has not yet named an interim coach.
The Titans hired Callahan in 2023 after controlling owner Amy Adams-Strunk fired former coach Mike Vrabel, who led the team to multiple AFC South Division titles. Vrabel returns to Nissan Stadium this Sunday for a showdown between the Titans and the New England Patriots. Vrabel has the Patriots in second place in the AFC East in his first season as coach.
