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 the Titans’ coach, including 1-5 this season with 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward as the team’s starting quarterback.
“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 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, 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 we are committed to making the hard decisions necessary to reach and maintain that standard.”
YearQBCoach Fired?2025Cam Ward (TEN)Yes2024Caleb Williams (CHI)Yes2023Bryce Young (CAR)Yes2021Trevor Lawrence (JAX)Yes2020Joe Burrow (CIN)No2019Kyler Murray (ARI)No2018Baker Mayfield (CLE)Yes2016Jared Goff (LAR)Yes– ESPN Research
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 No. 1 pick and selecting Ward. With Callahan’s firing, the last four quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall and six of the last eight have had seen their head coaches fired during their rookie seasons, according to ESPN Research.
The Titans’ offense has only scored 83 points through six games this season, which is the franchise’s fewest through six games since 1985, according to ESPN Research.
The frustration boiled over in Week 3 at Nissan Stadium during a 41-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Fans booed the Titans as they went into the locker room at halftime and chanted, “Fire Callahan” various times during the game.
Callahan turned playcalling duties over to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree last month. But his seat got even hotter after a 26-0 loss to the AFC South division-rival Houston Texans in a battle of winless teams in Week 4. The Titans failed to reach the red zone at any point during the game and Ward vented his frustration after the game, saying “If we keeping it a buck right now, we’re ass.”
Callahan notched 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 by any team.
The team hasn’t named an interim coach yet.
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.
