Cam Ward Never Had A Chance In First Season With Miserable Titans

The Tennessee Titans used the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to select former Miami quarterback Cam Ward. Unfortunately, like many young quarterbacks, Ward never had a chance to have a successful rookie season. 

The Titans are a poorly-run organization. On Monday, they fired head coach Brian Callahan after just 22 games. But it's not just Callahan. Tennessee dismissed Mike Vrabel – who is 4-2 with the New England Patriots this season – after the 2023 season.

Vrabel had a successful tenure despite an undermanned roster quarterbacked by Ryan Tannehill. They reached the AFC Championship Game in 2019, Vrabel won the NFL Coach of the Year Award in 2021 and two years later he was gone.

This isn't just about head coaches, either. Jon Robinson, the team's GM from 2016-22 who helped build the Vrabel teams, was let go one season before Vrabel. They hired Ran Carthon, who then hired Callahan, and fired Carthon prior to this season. 

See, this is what poorly-run franchises do. They cycle through different leadership teams, both on the field and in the front office, in an attempt to fix an issue that runs deeper. They also consistently make bad hires that don't improve the organization. 

The problem is at the top. 

Young QBs Often Take Too Much Heat

It's easy to place blame on young players. They're the ones who are drafted highly and compensated well. Part of what comes with that is responsibility. Unfortunately, that often means taking misplaced blame from fans and the media. 

Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Leki Fotu sacks Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward during Week 6.

(Stephen R. Sylvanie/Imagn Images)

Cam Ward falls squarely in that camp, like many others before him. Look around the NFL right now and name some of the quarterbacks who are playing well: Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones. All three were top-six picks who went to bad franchises. Fans and the media quickly labeled them as busts after unsuccessful starts to their careers. 

However, it's easy to see the talent when surrounded by strong teammates and good coaches. Is Bryce Young a bust, or are the Carolina Panthers just awful? Remember that both Mayfield and Darnold struggled with the Panthers before vaulting themselves into MVP consideration with new teams. 

Speaking of Young, Carolina fired head coach Frank Reich in Young's first season, just as Tennessee did with Callahan. Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, also had his first coach fired in the middle of his rookie season. Credit to Chicago, which seems to have at least partially righted the ship by bringing in Ben Johnson, for making a move that has Williams looking much better in his sophomore campaign. 

But back to Ward, who is only six games into his NFL career but has struggled mightily thus far. Sure, Ward deserves some of the blame. He holds the ball too long and takes too many sacks. For one moment, though, consider that it's not Ward's fault a bad franchise with poor leadership selected him and set him up to fail. 

Not All Talented Players Are Elite

There are the elite players who seem to rise above everything else. Guys like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson don't necessarily depend on everything being perfect to succeed. That being said, all four found themselves in fantastic situations from the jump. 

John Harbaugh has been the Ravens coach since 2008. The Ravens are an organization that values stability. Sean McDermott has been with Buffalo since 2017. The team didn't bail on him after a 6-10 season in 2018 and a tough rookie year from Allen. Obviously, Mahomes benefited greatly from his pairing with Andy Reid in Kansas City. 

And while the Bengals aren't the most… generous… organization regarding their financial decisions, they do at least value stability on the coaching staff. Cincinnati stuck with Marvin Lewis for 16 seasons before hiring Zac Taylor in 2019. 

These decisions don't guarantee success, but they set up players in a better position than the organizations that cycle through coaches and GMs every few seasons. Stability starts at the top with strong ownership. Organizations like the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Las Vegas Raiders haven't shown that in years. 

No matter which quarterbacks they bring in from the top of the NFL Draft, it doesn't matter if the guys at the top of the organization aren't doing their jobs. 

As fans and media, we tend to lay everything at the feet of the players. But it's probably time we looked a little higher for answers.