What Titans' Cam Ward reportedly wants from his next head coach

Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback and 2025 No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Ward lost his first head coach in his career when the Titans fired Brian Callahan in October. 

For a piece published on Tuesday evening, Titans interim coach Mike McCoy spoke with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated regarding what McCoy has learned about Ward during the first-year pro's debut season. 

Cam Ward "wants to be coached hard"

"He’s getting better every day," McCoy said about Ward. "He has a burning desire to be great, and he’s learning. We’ll sit down sometime during the week, I’ll have some plays from the game, and go over them. Not the entire game, just some things to point out to him. He wants to be coached hard. He’s a competitor. He wants to play perfect, which is never going to happen, but you can see his improvement on a weekly basis."

Ward has endured more lows than highs while featuring for a Titans team that will enter Week 15 at 2-11. According to Pro Football Reference, he began Wednesday ranked 32nd in the NFL among qualified players with a 30.9 adjusted QBR, 33rd with a 74.9 passer rating and 32nd with a 59.1 percent completion percentage. Over his first 13 games, he tossed nine touchdown passes and seven interceptions. 

This past Sunday, Ward was outplayed by Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Nevertheless, the Titans earned a 31-29 win.

Cam Ward is still learning about life in the NFL

"He’s going to make some mistakes, and it’s like, 'Mistakes are on me, don’t worry about it buddy, you just keep plugging along. I'll take the hit for any mistake you make, and we'll learn from it and go from there,'" McCoy added during his comments about Ward. "He’s learning how to play quarterback in the NFL. Two weeks ago, when he had the six carries, everyone went crazy here, but that’s just learning to take off when you can. [Against the Browns] was the first interception he’s had [since Week 8], so it’s not a big deal. But I love the way he responded from it."

There's no indication the Titans plan to find a replacement for Ward during the upcoming offseason, meaning he will spend the final four weeks of the ongoing campaign attempting to impress coaching candidates who will interview for the Tennessee opening in January. One would think the Titans will want to hire an offensive-minded coach to work with Ward, but plenty about what is to come for the franchise remains unknown ahead of Christmas. The Titans next play at the San Francisco 49ers (9-4) this coming Sunday.