Brian Callahan went from Tennessee Titan to New York Giant in a New York minute.
Before he became quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator in February 2026 for the Giants — whom the Titans face Sept. 27 (noon CT, CBS) — Callahan spent a little more than a season as head coach of the Titans before he was fired six games into the 2025 season.
That was about six months after the team chose Cam Ward first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft with the intention of pairing him with Callahan, who had coached quarterbacks such as Joe Burrow, Derek Carr, Peyton Manning and Matthew Stafford.
So why did the Titans pull the plug so quickly on Callahan as their coach?
Start with the beginning of his career with the team.
What was Brian Callahan's record with the Titans?
In his first NFL head coaching job, Callahan
was 4-19. He was fired Oct. 13, 2025 after a 1-5 start and following a 20-10 loss to the Raiders in Week 6. He lost six of his first seven games his first season and became the first Titans coach fired during the season since Ken Whisenhunt was dismissed in November 2015.
Callahan previously was an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.
His father, Bill Callahan, spent two seasons as head coach of the Raiders, whom he led to the Super Bowl in 2002, and one season in the same role with the Washington Commanders.
How did the Titans' offense, defense perform with Brian Callahan as coach?
In a word: Poorly.
The Titans ranked at or near the bottom of many key offensive and defensive categories while Callahan was in charge. In 2024, they scored the fourth-fewest points (311) and allowed the most points (450) in the league, resulting in the second-worst points differential (minus-149).
Things didn't get any better in 2025 before Callahan was fired.
The offense ranked last in the NFL in yards per game, yards per play, first downs per game and yards per pass attempt, and was second-worst in points per game, rushing yards per game and passing yards per game.
"I'd like to see our quarterback play be better," then-Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker said. "I'd like to see the offense be consistent, more consistent moving the football. I want to see improvement in the defense and the offense, but again — we all know what it looks like when we see it. When you see that you're playing complementary football, that the offense and the defense and special teams are playing off of each other. We have yet to put together a complete game in a long time. So, there's a lot of work to do for everyone in this organization."
What Cam Ward said about playing under Brian Callahan
Ward showed little progress under Callahan. Though, to be fair, the Titans didn't provide Ward much protection. He was sacked 55 times (for minus-410 yards) in 2025, tied for most in the NFL. Twenty-five of those came during the six games Callahan was his coach.
Ward has been vocal this year about how new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney are a better fit for him than the previous coaching staff.
"They allow me to be myself," Ward said. "Upstairs and downstairs. The new system we’re in is more of my style. Coach Dabs is a big part of that. And I think the entire offensive and defensive staff, they don’t try to change the person or anything. Just be yourself."
Who did Brian Callahan replace as Titans head coach?
Callahan replaced Mike Vrabel, who went 55-45 in six regular seasons with the Titans, including 13-21 during his final two seasons. He led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game in 2020, which they lost 35-24 to the Kansas City Chiefs. He led the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl last season in his first year as their head coach.
Who replaced Brian Callahan as Titans head coach?
Senior offensive assistant coach Mike McCoy served as interim coach until the team hired Robert Saleh on Jan. 22, 2026. The Titans were 2-11 under McCoy, who lost six in a row after he took over. His first game as interim coach was Oct. 19 at Nissan Stadium against — who else? — Vrabel and the Patriots.
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Brian Callahan was fired by Titans, how he ended up with Giants
