Jul 23, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree watches during training camp at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Unpacking New Titans Play Caller's History

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Luke Hubbard | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Tennessee Titans Head Coach Brian Callahan announced he would relinquish play calling duties and hand them over to QB Coach Bo Hardegree. It was a shocking move, but one that makes a lot of sense. The Titans' offense hasn't had much success this year, and this move allows Callahan to focus more on his head coaching duties.

Hardegree isn't a household name, but he brings a lot of experience to the table. He has an expansive coaching history at both the college and professional level, and while he's only called plays for a brief stint, he did an great job with the Raiders.

Hardegree's coaching career began back in 2007 as a student assistant at the University of Tennessee, where he served as the Volunteers reserve QB from 2003-2006. He then went on to coach as a grad assistant at Duke and interned at LSU before heading to the pro ranks.

His professional career began with the Denver Broncos back in 2014, where he was an offensive assistant. He bounced around quite a bit, coaching for the Bears, Dolphins, Jets and Patriots before landing with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 as their QB coach.

After Raiders' Head Coach Josh McDaniels and Offensive Coordinator Mick Lombardi were fired, Hardegree took over as the Raiders' offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. With Aiden O'Connell under center, Hardegree led the Raiders offense to 22.8 points and 308.4 yards per game, and during that span, the Raiders went 5-4.

Bo Hardegree was the interim offensive coordinator for 9 games with the Raiders in 2023.

His offense averaged 22.8 PPG and 308.4 YPG during that time.

The Raiders went 5-4 and had rookie Aiden O’Connell at quarterback.

Could be a massive upgrade for the Titans offense! pic.twitter.com/qzhqPi35jc
— TicTacTitans (@TicTacTitans) September 23, 2025

Prior to Hardegree taking over play calling duties, that same Raiders team averaged 15.8 points per game and had a 3-5 record. He completely turned that offense around and helped them finish the season strong, so it was a bit shocking when Antonio Pierce didn't retain him in some fashion when he was hired.

The Raiders' loss was the Titans' reward, though. They quickly scooped Hardegree up as their QB coach, and just over a year later, he'll get another shot at calling plays. Through three games, the Titans are averaging 17.0 points and 222.3 yards per game, which rank 28th and 31st, respectively.

Titans fans will hope that Hardegree can help turn things around in Tennessee like he did in Las Vegas. Only time will tell if it was the right decision, but it's nice to see them take some sort of initiative to help fix their offensive problems.

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

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