Brian Callahan was running out of options when he had the chance to interview for the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator job. He had interviewed for a couple of other coordinator jobs without luck.
When he saw the report that Matt Nagy had gotten the Giants’ coordinator gig, Callahan figured he might end up taking a year off from coaching, something he had never done since starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at UCLA in 2006.
Then, Giants coach John Harbaugh called. Would Callahan,
offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2019-2023, and head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2024 and part of 2025 until being fired, be interested in returning to his roots as a quarterbacks coach?
Callahan asked Harbaugh for a night to consider it. He ultimately decided that coaching quarterbacks was better than not coaching at all, and that working for Harbaugh could be a beneficial experience.
Callahan is glad he said yes.
“It’s been awesome,” Callahan said Wednesday afternoon after the conclusion of mandatory minicamp. “Talk about growth and being stimulated and being excited to come to work every morning.
“I’ve always been a fan of Coach Nagy and what they’ve done in Kansas City in that system of offense. I think everybody in the league studies that team every year. We studied that offense for years.”
There have been questions about lines of authority and how things would work with Callahan and Nagy having both been head coaches and offensive coordinators, Tim Kelly and Greg Roman having called plays, and Willie Taggart and Mike Bloomgren having experience as college head coaches.
“We’ve got some really, really smart coaches,” Callahan said. “It’s probably the most experienced from top to bottom offensive staff I’ve been around. It’s stimulating. It’s exciting.”
Callahan admitted they don’t always see things the same way, but they have a common goal of building the best offense they can.
“I’ve got a unique perspective from some of the places I’ve been that’s different than his. You add in G-Ro [Greg Roman], and TK [Tim Kelly]. We’ve got a really, really experienced coaching staff, and the best part about it is there’s no ego. I really mean that, and that’s what’s made it so fun,” Callahan said. “We get all these different ideas. How do we make it ours, and what do our players do best?
“I think we’ve put together a pretty sweet starting point to our system, and I’m really excited about it. I think the players are, too.”
Callahan will now be directly responsible for Jaxson Dart’s development. Among quarterbacks he has worked with are Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow, and 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward. He won’t compare.
“Every quarterback’s unique. They have their own strengths, they have their own weaknesses, they have their own things they need to work on,” Callahan said. “They all have perspectives that are different, they see the game differently.
“Try really hard to let Jaxson be Jaxson.”
