The Tennessee Titans are entering a new chapter after parting ways with head coach Brian Callahan, and interim coach Mike McCoy now takes over a locker room struggling with both on-field performance and internal cohesion.
Tennessee sits at 1-5 after another frustrating loss, and while leadership insists the timing was about sparking growth, there’s more to the story.
McCoy confirmed that the team will keep nearly all of Callahan’s staff intact, except for one key departure: offensive line coach Bill Callahan, Brian’s father. Bill Callahan, a respected veteran who previously led the Raiders to a Super Bowl and served as Nebraska’s head coach, will not remain with the organization.
“What Mike brings right now is experience, leadership,” said general manager Mike Borgonzi. “He’s been a head coach, he’s a former quarterback, and he’s been around some of the best like Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning.”
Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker added that the move was about progress, not panic. “We were looking for growth in this football team,” Brinker said via ESPN. “We’re not seeing enough growth right now.”
But according to ESPN insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, there’s more at play behind the timing of the firing, namely, former Titans coach Mike Vrabel returning to Nashville this week with the New England Patriots.
Fowler reported that multiple league sources believe Vrabel’s upcoming visit may have been a factor, “at least subconsciously.” One team executive even joked, “They didn’t want Vrabel to be the one to dunk on [Callahan],” suggesting Tennessee wanted to avoid the optics of their former coach embarrassing his replacement.
The move also signals a reset for Titans leadership under Brinker and Borgonzi, who now have the freedom to select their own coach moving forward. “This is the last cleanup,” one source told Fowler. “Now Brinker and Borgonzi can handpick their coach.”
However, not everyone buys that narrative. Graziano noted that if the organization truly wanted a fresh start, they should have made the move in the offseason instead of midyear. “This smells more like dysfunction than the tail end of some grand plan,” he wrote. “For the next three months, Tennessee is in a holding pattern.”
NFL insider Peter Schrager echoed that sentiment on The Pat McAfee Show, suggesting the Titans’ instability may make it difficult to attract top coaching candidates. “If you’re one of these top coaches, is that a desirable job? You’ve got to know the building, who you’re reporting to, and whether everyone is on the same page,” Schrager said.
For now, Mike McCoy will try to stabilize the team before Sunday’s matchup against the Patriots, and against Mike Vrabel, whose shadow still looms large over Nashville.
