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

The Tennessee Titans have parted ways with head coach Brian Callahan, dismissing him on Monday just six games into his second season in charge. Callahan departs with a 4–19 overall record, including a 1–5 start this year despite having 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward as his starting quarterback.

Senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy has been named the interim head coach, the Titans announced. McCoy brings prior head coaching experience, having led the San Diego Chargers from 2013 to 2016, where he compiled a 27–37 record and guided the team to the playoffs in his first season.

“After extended conversations with our owner and general manager, we met with Brian Callahan this morning to tell him we are making a change at head coach,” said Chad Brinker, president of football operations, in a team 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.”

Callahan, then the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengalswas hired in January 2024. The Titans were 3-14 last season under Callahan, 41, and had “not demonstrated sufficient growth,” Brinker said.

“Our players, fans, and community deserve a football team that achieves a standard we are not currently meeting, and we are committed to making the hard decisions necessary to reach and maintain that standard,” he said.
The Titans went 3–14 in Callahan’s first season, earning the No. 1 overall pick that they used to draft quarterback Ward. According to ESPN Research, Callahan’s dismissal continues a recent trend – the past four quarterbacks selected first overall, and six of the last eight, have had their head coaches fired during their rookie seasons. Only Ken Whisenhunt (3–20) has posted a worse record as a head coach in the Titans/Houston Oilers franchise history.
Callahan earned his first win of the season last week when the Titans edged the Cardinals 22–21, rallying after Arizona squandered a 21–3 lead. However, a 20–10 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday proved to be the final straw. It marked Tennessee’s fourth defeat by double digits this season – the most of any team in the league.