It’s no secret that the team with the first overall draft pick tends to be really bad, but in recent times, it’s also become a bad omen for head coaches. If you need an example, look no further than the Tennessee Titans and their now-former HC, Brian Callahan.
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Even though they had the honor of drafting Cam Ward with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, hardly anyone is surprised by the Titans 1-5 start. After all, no one player can transform your franchise from the worst in the league to Super Bowl contenders in the span of one season.
Nevertheless, the Titans clearly felt as if they had seen enough from Callahan, and now, they are officially the fourth consecutive franchise to fire its head coach after drafting a quarterback with the number one overall pick.
The trend initially started during Trevor Lawrence’s rookie season in 2021, back when the Jacksonville Jaguars were in the midst of what would become the Urban Meyer debacle. Just two years later, however, the Carolina Panthers would also decide to move on from their head coach, Frank Reich, just 11 games into his tenure after spending the first overall pick on Bryce Young.
Last season, when they were more than halfway through their 10-game losing streak, the Chicago Bears infamously fired Matt Eberflus less than 24 hours after their Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions.
When a team invests a hefty amount of draft capital into a player who is supposed to be the face of their franchise for the next several years, they are incredibly obligated to make things work with that player. When there are disagreements in the locker room, rumors in the media, or frustratingly close losses, you can’t blame the guy who you just signed to a massive rookie contract.
Unfortunately, you still need to be able to blame someone. When you only have 17 wins since 2022 like the Titans do, fans expect to see some changes, and firing a head coach is often one of the easier ways to quiet those complaints.
Conveniently enough, it then also allows for that franchise to go to their newly minted QB1 and have them pick a head coach of their choice. So, while it is certainly a case of ‘wrong place, wrong time’ for any head coaches who may be caught in the crossfire, this process can actually be a rather productive one for certain teams.
Sometimes, an attempt at resetting the culture feels like the only thing that you can do to fix a football club. The problem with the Titans, however, is that they’ve been stagnating for quite some time, and it’s going to take a lot more than a head coaching change to bring about their first winning season since 2021.
