Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Titans' Cam Ward Has Burning Desire to be Great

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Oct 18, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Little remains the same when a franchise overhauls their front office. The Tennessee Titans, now enduring their second coaching chance in less than two calendar years upon the firing of Brian Callahan, will likely look entirely different this time next year, just as they do now from 365 days in the past.

The NFL is an ever-changing competitive landscape, and any semblance of consistency, reliability or both can go a long way for a team trying to build something more than "good enough," or a forgettable one-year run that ends in mere deceny.

For the Titans, this need is being unexpectedly met in the form of rookie quarterback and first overall pick Cam Ward. Despite a troublesome statistical run towards the end of Callahan's time in Tennessee, the freshman signal caller is dedicated to improvement and, ultimately, greatness.

In the wake of Callahan's split, the Titans promoted senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy to the interim HC position. McCoy, an NFL coach for more than two decades at this point, has taken the wheel for the franchise whilst they search for a more permanent option at the leading position.

His longtime experience paired with Ward's first-year fire creats an intriguing dichotomy for Titans fans looking for anything remotely new to hang their hats on.

In his press conference immediately following the team's string of coaching decisions, McCoy remarked on Ward's attitude as the coach steps into a position directly above him, saying, "Cam has a burning desire to be great... a burning desire to be great.

"And the key thing I always tell him is just trust the system. Go out there and be you, have fun. Be Cam."

As a team, the Tennessee Titans have had very little fun up to this point. At 1-5 and winless in their division, the navy and blue have thus far followed up their 3-14 campaign from last year with a pace promising simiarly disastrous results.

All the same, with a new (if temporary) coach leading the charge and a quarterback that hasn't been dissuaded by the roster shakeup, the expected goalposts may have shifted from "win now" to "prove that you can win soon."

The Titans' next opportunity to do so, and the first under Coach McCoy, comes this weekend against the 4-2 New England Patriots at Nissan Stadium. Led by Mike Vrabel, in an ironic twist of fate, the Titans will face one of the league's hottest teams in what should be a solid litmus test for both the franchise's, and Ward's specific future without Brian Callahan.

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

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