After one of the ugliest 1-5 starts to a season you’ll see … which came after an NFL-worst 3-14 record in 2024 that was so bad it was almost comical … the Tennessee Titans have fired struggling head coach Brian Callahan.
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This is the first firing of the young season. But with Callahan being let go just six weeks in, the move actually feels later than it perhaps should have.
Last year, we all blamed Will Levis, but maybe Callahan deserved some of that criticism too. He’s certainly facing it this year with No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, also struggling. The Miami product has been unable to use his legs effectively in the running game and has been sacked an NFL-high 25 times.
That said, the issues in Nashville might actually run much deeper than the incompetence of Callahan. He didn’t make a lot of the most bone-headed moves the franchise has made recently, so there is surely blame to go around. And former wideout Chad Johnson didn’t hold back in pointing them out.
“It’s not the coaches, it’s the owners! This ain’t a microwavable plate. You don’t draft a new QB, have a new coach, and put him out there on the field, and think you all are gonna have success right away,” Ocho said on Nightcap.
“Who gonna be the next coach? … If they don’t get it right, we might as well put our goddamn names in the hat and see if we could come away with it. We could diversify our portfolio. Can you imagine Shannon Sharpe, general manager, Tennessee Titans?” the former wideout then asked.
The current general manager for the Titans is Ran Carthon. He took charge in 2023 after several years in high-level positions with the San Francisco 49ers. However, he butted heads with head coach Mike Vrabel. And, when Vrabel was fired, Carthon was promoted to Executive Vice President as well.
Safe to say, his tenure has not been good without Vrabel there. And with Vrabel’s Patriots sitting at 4-2 in his first season in Foxborough, owner Amy Strunk might be regretting the side she chose in that little battle.
The Titans had the worst record in football last year. Free agent risks like DeAndre Hopkins did not pay dividends for Carthon. He let Derrick Henry walk for free well before the future HOFer’s prime had finished, and high draft picks like Will Levis and Tyjae Spears have been disappointments.
Even so, Carthon doesn’t have to worry about his job where Shannon Sharpe is concerned. No matter how bad Ochocino wants it.
“I’ve made it abundantly clear: I wanna cover the NFL in this capacity. I don’t wanna work for an organization.”
The Titans owners treating this team like a cup of noodles 😭 you can’t just add hot water and stir! Cam Ward was already right, but this is exactly why 🙃@ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @ShayShayMedia_ pic.twitter.com/m7f99c7rOl
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) October 14, 2025
With Callahan now out of the picture in Tennessee, it’s Mike McCoy, who joined as a senior offensive assistant this season, who will oversee operations as the Titans’ interim head coach for the remainder of the year.
McCoy has been coaching in the NFL since 2000. He spent nearly a decade climbing the ladder with the Carolina Panthers before getting his first big job as the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos from 2009-2012. McCoy then had a disappointing 27-37 stint as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2013-2016.
He returned to Denver as OC in 2017, and took the same job with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 before taking a few years off. McCoy then spent three years tutoring Trevor Lawrence as the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterbacks coach before joining the Titans this season. Make what you will of that.
