Why Titans reportedly felt now was right time to fire Brian Callahan

The Tennessee Titans decided to fire second-year head coach Brian Callahan just eight days after he guided the club to its first win of the season (thanks largely to help from the Arizona Cardinals). 

ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler explained Wednesday why the Titans didn't allow Callahan to continue working with rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Ward through Week 18. 

Titans no longer wanted Cam Ward to develop under Brian Callahan

"The 2025 product under Callahan was worse than imagined — and with one of the NFL's worst rosters, that's saying something," Fowler explained. "The goal was simple: get better. The Titans didn't. Was 23 games enough for Callahan to establish a winning culture? Of course not. But my sense after asking around is the Titans weighed Cam Ward's development in all of this, and whether Callahan could spark any improvement." 

Ahead of the Titans' 20-10 loss at the Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) in Week 6, Ward acknowledged that he was "not playing how I want to play right now." ESPN stats show that he heads into Week 7 ranked last in the league among qualified players with a 24.9 adjusted QBR for the campaign. The Titans are 31st in the NFL with an average of 13.8 points scored per game, and Callahan compiled a woeful 4-19 record before he was shown the door. 

Did Mike Vrabel impact Brian Callahan decision?

The 1-5 Titans fired Callahan less than one week before the club will welcome the New England Patriots (4-2) to Nissan Stadium on Sunday. New England head coach Mike Vrabel held that job with Tennessee for six seasons until he was fired in January 2024.

"Some people I've talked to believe Vrabel's presence was a factor, at least subconsciously," Fowler added about the Titans firing Callahan. "One industry source told me half-jokingly, 'They didn't want Vrabel to be the one to dunk on [Callahan],' thus getting ahead of it. People around the league with a fundamental understanding of the Titans' standing also wondered if this was a chance to reset. As one team executive put it, this is the 'last cleanup' under president of football operations Chad Brinker. Now Brinker and general manager Mike Borgonzi can handpick their coach." 

That last point suggests Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk should've completely cleaned house last winter when the franchise parted ways with then-general manager Ran Carthon. What's done is done, and the Titans will now spend the next few months searching for a coach who believes he can turn Ward into a top-tier QB1.