Tennessee Titans Head Coach Brian Callahan Lon Horwedel | Imagn Images

Titans HC Calls Play-Calling Change Seamless

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 5:00 PM ET

Ahead of the Tennessee Titans impending road battle against the Houston Texans this weekend, in which both teams will be in the dire hunt for their first win of the season, head coach Brian Callahan assured a growingly restless fanbase that the team's change at play-caller has been a no-frills transition.

Through his first 20 games at the helm for Tennessee after being hired in the lead role before last season, in which Callahan called plays for the offense, the Titans recorded an abysmal 3-17 split. Last season, even if frustrated, many were able to put the team's abject failure aside due to first-year forgetfulness and, among much else, recurring injury issues.

But now? With the team 0-3, having suffered two of those losses in relatively decisive fashion at home, the patience of perhaps the most weathered fanbase in the league is wearing thin. In response, to both the team's struggles and a general disgruntled attitude surrounding the franchise as of late, Callahan turned over his duties as play-caller to QBs coach Bo Hardegree.

"It was good," Callahan said of the swap. "I thought it was pretty seamless."

When asked about the freedom Hardegree will have in his new role, Callahan clarified that, while he'll still be involved, the QBs coach is in firm control. "He's calling the game," he said. "I'll have times where I'll interject, because I know all head coaches do, but he is calling the game."

Hardegree, after spending the last nine games of his previous run with the Las Vegas Raiders as their interim play-caller, might fit the Titans with a much-needed fresh perspective on the offensive clipboard given their struggles in that area up to this interval in the early-season. Going 5-4 in that stretch, Hardegree took a rookie Aiden O'Connell in an inarguably disheveled Raiders system and delivered a net positive result.

Tennessee, whilst in a similar spot, may be even more primed for a winning turn on a still-young season. With rookie quarterback Cam Ward steadily improving under center and a litany of offensive talent surrounding him, Hardegree's implementation may be just what the team needs to turn the tide.

And, thus far, the noise within the team seems to suggest confidence in Hardegree's schematic overhaul - from both coach Callahan and the aforementioned Ward, who thinks the change is "going to be great." Only time will tell whether or not that confidence actually transfers to the field, though, and that's all that really matters.

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

More must-reads: