The Tennessee Titans have identified 19 head coaching candidates. They’ve formally requested (or completed) interviews with 18 candidates, and their planned in-person interview with John Harbaugh makes 19. Mike Borgonzi has casted the widest net among the nine teams with a head coaching vacancy this cycle.
We previously ranked the Titans’ candidates 1-13. Six more have emerged since then. We’ve completed a new Big Board featuring all 19 options, ranked from best to worse.
John Harbaugh
John Harbaugh should be the
Titans’ primary focus. Hopefully he departs his meeting with the New York Giants without an agreement to become their next head coach. If so, the expectation is Harbaugh will have in-person interviews with the Titans and Atlanta Falcons.
Robert Saleh
Robert Saleh is among the top retread candidates. The Titans’ interview with him is scheduled for Sunday, one day after the NFC Divisional Round. Saleh’s tenure with the New York Jets was doomed by bad ownership and letting Aaron Rodgers take control of coaching and player personnel.
Mike McDaniel
Mike McDaniel’s in-person interview with the Titans occurred on Wednesday. There are legitimate questions about the overall toughness of his teams, and his ability to be a culture builder, but he possesses one of the most brilliant minds in football. Would Cam Ward develop into an MVP candidate under McDaniel?
Chris Shula
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula is a popular candidate. Shula is expected to interview for at least six openings. The Steelers might make seven. He’s among the most popular first-time candidates in the NFL.
Jesse Minter
Chargers DC Jesse Minter is quite literally the most popular head coaching candidate in the league. He’s been requested by eight different teams, and assuming the Steelers request him too, he’ll be the only candidate to discuss all nine openings. The NFL is infatuated with Minter for a reason.
Mike McCarthy
Mike McCarthy has ties to president Chad Brinker after working together in Green Bay for a decade. McCarthy has won a Super Bowl, developed two young quarterbacks in Dak Prescott and Aaron Rodgers, and has a 60.8% career win percentage. He’s a quality retread candidate.
Jeff Hafley
Jeff Hafley is the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator. He checks Borgonzi’s boxes in the sense he possesses previous head coaching experience at Boston College, and is a long-time play caller. Packers fans love Hafley and would hate to see him depart.
Kevin Stefanski
The Titans had an in-person interview with Kevin Stefanski over the weekend. The two-time Head Coach of the Year winner possesses a brilliant offensive mind. A few Browns players have questioned his leadership ability since his firing, but he’d be a great asset to develop Cam Ward.
Matt Nagy
Since the Titans requested an interview with Matt Nagy, he’s become a candidate for multiple other vacancies. That wasn’t an expected development, since most Titans fans were chalking up his candidacy to his relationship with Borgonzi.
Kliff Kingsbury
Kliff Kingsbury helped two young quarterbacks win Offensive Rookie of the Year in Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels. His offense is similar to Eric Morris’, who coached Cam Ward at Incarnate Word and Washington State. The Titans should have questions about Kingsbury’s ability to lead a locker room though.
Brian Daboll
Brian Daboll worked for prestigious institutions like Alabama and the New England Patriots. He helped develop Josh Allen in Buffalo, and Jaxson Dart regressed following his dismissal. Daboll’s tenure with the Giants went poorly, though, and he might make more sense as a coordinator.
Arthur Smith
Arthur Smith was the Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2019-20. The offense was its most explosive in the Tennessee-era under his direction. Smith hasn’t recaptured that same success in Atlanta or Pittsburgh, but his relationship with Amy Adams Strunk could play a role here.
Vance Joseph
Vance Joseph has also received significant interest for coaching vacancies around the league. He went 11-21 in two seasons (2017-18) as the Broncos’ head coach while displaying in-game management struggles, but has since rehabbed his reputation as their defensive coordinator. Joseph would be an uninspiring hire.
Lou Anarumo
Anarumo feels like another low-floor, veteran, stabilizing option. He possesses a brilliant defensive mind, but has never been an NFL head coach. It’s tough to envision a 59-year-old, first-time, defensive-minded head coach as the best option to develop Cam Ward.
Raheem Morris
It’s surprising that Raheem Morris is interviewing for so many vacancies. This would technically be his fourth head coaching stint if you include his interim tenure. Perhaps a few these organizations, Tennessee included, are secretly hoping to land him as their defensive coordinator.
Jason Garrett
The Jason Garrett interview news was stunning given his absence from an NFL sideline since 2021. Garrett possesses a better all-time winning record as a coach than advertised, but his candidacy feels random and unexpected. Surely the Titans won’t be doing the unthinkable.
Jonathan Gannon
Jonathan Gannon was a surprising addition for the Titans. He did terribly in Arizona and appears to lack the strong personality type the Titans prefer in their next head coach. Gannon would make a terrific defensive coordinator, however, and perhaps that’s the real reason Borgonzi made him a late addition to the list.
Steve Spagnuolo
Like Nagy, Steve Spagnuolo possesses a relationship with Borgonzi through Kansas City. It feels like the only justifiable reason for his interview request. Spagnuolo is a brilliant defensive coordinator, but he has an all-time head coaching record of 11-41.
Mike McCoy
Mike McCoy’s interview is simply a courtesy thank you. He did an admirable job as the interim head coach following Brian Callahan’s in-season firing. The Titans won’t be hiring McCoy to be their next full-time head coach.
