Titans Reportedly in 'Beginning Stages' of NFL HC Search After Brian Callahan Firing

The Tennessee Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan on Monday and installed and promoted senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy to interim head coach, though the team has begun the process of identifying a successor.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Sunday, "Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the latest search is in the 'beginning stages.' No outside search firm will be used. Instead, the search will be led by president of football operations Chad Brinker and general manager Mike Borgonzi. The team intends to conduct, we're told, an extremely calculated process."

McCoy's first crack at interim duties didn't go terribly well, as the Titans lost 31-13 to the New England Patriots on Sunday, dropping to 1-6 this season. He was 27-37 in his time coaching the then-San Diego Chargers between 2013-16.

"What Mike brings right now is experience, leadership," Borgonzi told reporters last week. "He has been a head coach. He's a former quarterback who's had some years in the NFL as a player and has been around NFL quarterbacks like Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning, and he was with Trevor Lawrence last year."

His "résumé" as a head coach was certainly better than Callahan's, who went 4-19 in parts of two seasons leading the Titans.

"We just felt like this was the right time to make a change," Brinker told reporters after Callahan was fired. "We were looking for growth in this football team, and that's what this is about right now. We're not seeing enough growth from this football team."

The Titans will be an interesting job opening. On one hand, they have an intriguing young quarterback in Cam Ward, the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. He's shown flashes of brilliance but has also suffered from bouts of inconsistency, throwing for 1,356 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games, completing just 57.6 percent of his passes.

But the Titans haven't surrounded him with much talent, and it's very clear the organization is in the very early stages of a full rebuild. Getting the most out of Ward—who is enduring a rough rookie season and already experiencing a midseason coaching change—will be the top priority for the team's next head coach.

Given the lack of talent elsewhere, however, it won't be the sexiest opening for high-profile candidates.