Former Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Rumored Frontrunner Emerging in Titans HC Search

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Dec 11, 2025 1:00 PM ET

One of the only remaining factors preserving the optimism of long-tired Tennessee Titans fans is the team's current head coaching situation.

After deciding to move on from Brian Callahan earlier this season, much to the relief of the fanbase, the team have since taken their time in searching for someone to take his place. In the meantime, senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy has served as a temporary replacement, to similarly discouraging results.

In good and bad news for the Titans, the current market for potential HC hires is among the most memorable and varied in recent memory, with candidates across the board having mass appeal and boasting their own ups and downs, dependent on a franchise's specific needs.

A Multitude of Options

For Tennessee, having someone who can properly handle the development of their young offensive weapons, primarily rookie quarterback Cam Ward, is paramount to the hire seeing long-term success. Interestingly enough, according to the latest in a tangled web of rumors, the team may be trending towards one option specifically.

According to Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr, Mike McCarthy is viewed by some as the current leader in Tennessee's search for a new head-man.

: Former Cowboys and Packers HC Mike McCarthy is viewed by some as the front runner to become the Titans’ next head coach, per @ConorOrr pic.twitter.com/SD6HTOHYje
— JPA (@jasrifootball) December 11, 2025

The post, from JPA, is quickly picking up steam, and has already garnered a number of reactions from Titans fans and onlookers in the comments.

Reactions and Replies

"Would bring stability to an organization that desperately needs it. Mike had multiple 10+ win seasons in Dallas and understands what it takes to rebuild a team," said one, pointing to McCarthy's (somewhat distant) history of success as a positive note for what the longtime HC could bring to Tennessee.

Though not everyone in the replies shared the same positivity. "If 9-8 is the goal… he’s your guy," said another, flipping the script and honing in on McCarthy's mediocrity which, at previous stops, led to him losing jobs.

Since his departure from Dallas in January of this year after a disappointing 7-10 finish, McCarthy's name has consistently been circled for multiple teams' openings as a potentially stable hire, if nothing else. Given his longtime experience and, at times, high-win successes, the coaching veteran appears to be an antidote to all the issues that the aforementioned Callahan posed to Tennessee.

Whether or not McCarthy ends up being the man will likely not be sure until the offseason, but of all the rumored hires thus far, this one makes perhaps the most practical sense for a Titans franchise that has been anything but stable since parting ways with Mike Vrabel.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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