Titans Fire Coach Brian Callahan And That's Not Really Going To Solve Anything Right Now

The Tennessee Titans are a mess and they're trying to address that by firing head coach Brian Callahan on Monday.

The team announced it had fired Callahan after 23 games but only four wins.

"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," President of Football Operation Chad Brinker said in a statement released by the team. "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, winning football program, we have not demonstrated sufficient growth. Our players, fans, and community deserve a football team that achieves a standard we are not currently meeting, and are we are committed to making the hard decisions necessary to reach and maintain that standard."

And now comes the hard part.

Tennessee Titans Offensive Line Coach Bill Callahan runs drills during the Tennessee Titans second day of training camp at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, July 24, 2025.

Titans Must Name Interim

The Titans must find an interim head coach. That is being worked out at time of publication.

The Titans have to work out what to do with offensive line coach Bill Callahan who is respected as one of the better line coaches in the NFL but is also Brian Callahan's father.

They will eventually begin their search for a permanent head coach but that isn't happening immediately, per a source. The team is expected to "cast a wide net," a source said, for the next head coach.

And what does this do for the 1-5 team now? Not a lot.

Because firing Callahan isn't going to upgrade the roster.

Because firing Callahan means rookie quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 draft, is going to have a hard time getting better this year. And next year, he must learn a whole new offensive system that will no doubt be brought in by the next coaching staff.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1), safety Amani Hooker (37) and safety Mike Brown (44) talk before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025.

Cam Ward Development A Problem

Ward's development, by the way, was one significant reason that led to Callahan's ouster.

The coach, who came to the team as an offensive guru of sorts after working with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, didn't develop Will Levis last year. Indeed, Levis seemed to regress.

And Ward didn't show consistent improvement in his six games under Callahan even while Jaxson Dart, who was drafted much later than Ward, has been very good his first three games.

The fact Callahan didn't develop the prized quarterback was bad, but it could be argued he didn't get a long time to make it work. Well, Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer only got 13 games together. Matt Eberflus and Caleb Williams got 12 games together. 

Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images and Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Ward And Callahan Shortlived Combo

So stuff like this happens. 

But there were other problems, too.

And those included Callahan getting called out for mistakes by the team's own website.

That led to a game with the Houston Texans in which the Titans crossed the 50-yard line into Houston territory exactly three times. Pathetic.

The coup de grâce might have come after Sunday's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Jeffery Simmons Admitted Practice Was Bad

After that game, veteran defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons complained the team had a terrible week of practice.

"In this league, you have to learn how to stack wins," Simmons said. "To be able to carry that momentum over — it started at practice. If I’m being honest, this was one of our worst weeks of practice. Came out flat Thursday and things like that — sometimes things carry over. 

"In this league, you have to prove it every week and reprove it."

Brian Callahan proved he wasn't up to the job in Tennessee.