Brian

Callahan

It’s quite the downgrade for Callahan after failing in his lone season at the helm in Tennessee. Callahan will now work with second-year QB Jaxson Dart to develop his game following a promising rookie season in which he threw for 15 touchdowns and five interceptions over 14 games, while rushing for another nine scores. Hopefully Callahan’s total inability to develop Cam Ward in Tennessee isn’t a harbinger of things to come for Dart and the Giants.

Unable to even find an offensive coordinator role, Callahan’s only real door appeared to close when Dan Pitcher remained with the Bengals. The Giants would be pairing two former NFL head coaches in Callahan and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy to try to develop Jaxson Dart. The experience is about the only comforting thing about that sentence given how poorly the two did developing their young quarterbacks in their most recent opportunities.

The Buccaneers and Chargers both spoke with Callahan about their offensive coordinator jobs earlier this offseason, but both opted to go in another direction. Bengals beat writer Paul Dehner also believes Callahan could be in the mix to return as the Bengals’ OC if Dan Pitcher were to leave — although, that seems unlikely at this time. Callahan’s market has been relatively quiet, which is no surprise given how his time with the Titans went, but he could be a fit with John Harbaugh and the Giants, who are left without an OC after Todd Monken took the Browns’ job. Callahan served as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2023 before landing with the Titans in 2024, but the team left play-calling duties to Zac Taylor. Callahan struggled to get the Titans’ offense off the ground in his brief 23-game tenure with the team, and would likely be tasked with calling plays in New York should he get the job. In addition to Callahan, Fowler also reports that former Commanders’ OC Kliff Kingsbury could be in the running for the Giant’s job, which was reported earlier by Giants’ writer Jordan Raanan.

Pitcher had an interview for the Browns head-coaching position and was also allowed to interview for a lateral move with the Buccaneers, a place where he’d actually get to call plays. To say the Bengals winding back up with Callahan after his stint as Titans head coach would be predictable is an insult to the word predictable. It would practically be written in the stars. Well, assuming Pitcher gets a new gig, anyway. Callahan has also interviewed for the Chargers and Buccaneers offensive coordinator jobs this cycle.

That’s two OC interviews for Callahan, who per Jeremy Fowler “impressed” Tampa Bay in his earlier interview last Friday. Callahan hadn’t called plays for the Bengals before getting the Titans head-coaching gig, and after watching his Titans head-coaching play calling, we’d be a little squeamish on the fantasy prospects of whatever team he lands with. It does make some extra sense for the Chargers because he’d likely bring along offensive line coach (and father) Bill Callahan with him, which could help a Chargers o-line that was woeful last year.

Callahan served as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator from 2019-2023 before becoming the Titans’ head coach in 2024. He was unable to lift the Titans’ offense to the same level of success as the Bengals enjoyed while quarterbacked by a healthy Joe Burrow from 2021-2022. Exploring all options makes sense for a Buccaneers squad searching for answers, and numerous staff members.

Why now? Why not 10 months ago? Frankly, it was a bit of a miracle that the Titans actually won a game this season and it took one of the most bizarre interception fumble recovery touchdowns we’ve ever seen to make it possible. The Titans finished 4-19 under Callahan’s guidance, were outscored by 78 points in their six games this season, and by 149 points in 2024. Tennessee drafted Cam Ward No. 1 overall and has seen him play like one of the worst quarterbacks in the league to this point. It’s hard to say that Callahan’s offense was the main culprit as the team is entirely bereft of talent at wideout and on the offensive line, but he certainly hadn’t been elevating Ward to this point either. The Titans have not yet named an interim head coach, though we presume Bo Hardegree will continue calling offensive plays in what is officially another lost season for the franchise. Mike Vrabel’s Patriots are in town this week if Titans fans want to remember what a real head coach looks like.

The move comes after a miserable start to the 2025 season for Callahan’s offense, which ranks last in yards per play (3.2), second to last in first downs, and second to last in offensive success rate. Cam Ward has struggled mightily in a predictable and somewhat vanilla offensive scheme. Ward has been among the most inaccurate quarterbacks through three games. It’s unclear how the offense might shift under Hardegree, but it would hardly be a surprise if Callahan is fired in the next week weeks, barring a miraculous turnaround for the Titans.

The 0-3 Titans are open to anything to secure that much-needed first win of the season. Currently ranking 31st in both EPA per play and offensive success rate (36.8 percent), Callahan’s offense is in need of a spark, which could come from a change in play-calling. The former OC, who was once praised for the elite offenses he oversaw during his time in Cincinnati, has struggled to live up to the hype in his brief tenure as head coach of the Titans. The Titans are riding a nine-game losing streak that dates back to last season and were a bottom-tier offense in 2024, which ultimately led them to the No. 1 overall pick and QB Cam Ward this offseason. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz, who last served as OC in 2022 while at UNLV, would presumably take over at play-calling if a change were to be made. He joined Callahan’s staff during the 2024 offseason and has never held a play-calling role in the NFL.

“Internally, there is a feeling Callahan has shown long-term promise and the team has improved,” Rapoport writes. A second win over the Texans — a mental rival of sorts for former current Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk — in Week 18 would cement going into the offseason with good vibes. Rapoport adds that “Fixing the QB position” is “Job No. 1.”