Is Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan on the hot seat in 2025?
Is Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan on the hot seat in 2025?
The Tennessee Titans are coming off a disappointing 2024 campaign; a season that was so bad that many wondered if head coach Brian Callahan would survive his first season at the helm.
In the end, owner Amy Adams Strunk decided to part ways with general manager Ran Carthon and bring in a new front office structure led by Mike Borgonzi. While Callahan survived that round, can he afford another dismal season in 2025?
That is the question addressed by Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus, who has Callahan in his top-10 head coaches on the hot seat.
Brian Callahan, Tennessee Titans
Although first-year head coaches Jerod Mayo and Antonio Pierce were let go after their first full seasons, Callahan survived the cut. But more is necessary to avoid a similar fate to his counterparts.
Under Callahan's guidance, Tennessee ended a woeful 3-14 in 2024. Callahan's offensive success with the Bengals hardly translated, as the Titans ended the year 29th in EPA per play, 25th in success rate, and 27th in average yards per play.
Callahan now has his hand-picked quarterback of the future in No. 1 overall draft selection Cam Ward (91.7 PFF passing grade), in addition to an upgraded roster featuring Kevin Zeitler (86.5 PFF overall grade) and Dan Moore Jr. (66.9 PFF pass-blocking grade). Although this team is still among the league's worst in terms of talent — and years away from contending — Callahan will need to get the wheels moving in the right direction, particularly on offense, or he risks being fired after his second campaign.
Borgonzi and the Titans not only addressed the offense during free agency, but they also spent six of their nine draft choices on that side of the ball, giving Callahan the tools needed to turn things around on that side of the ball. If he doesn't, he could very well be headed out of Nashville.
It is a trend across the NFL that general managers are closely tied to head coaches and quarterbacks. With Borgonzi inheriting Callahan, if the team struggles, a move in a different direction would not be a surprise, and the move would be somewhat justified.
Tennessee plays in one of the worst divisions in the NFL and will face one of the easiest schedules in the league during the 2025 season. If Callahan can't start turning it around, he may never be able to do it.
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