After a dismal 23 game tenure in which the Tennessee Titans won just four games, Brian Callahan was relieved of his duties as head coach after their Week 6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Everyone seems to be in agreement that dismissing Callahan was the right move, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the Titans are one of the most directionless franchises in the NFL.
The team now begins their searching for a new leader, but that task has been made more difficult due to how poorly run the organization has been in recent years. Despite citing a desire for more organizational unity as the primary reason for firing Mike Vrabel, they continue to replace one person at a time, rather than hitting the reset button and bringing in a whole new regime with a common vision.
When an organization operates that way, they have their choice of every possible candidate, and can pick the one who best fits the direction they want to go. In their current situation, the team must find a head coach who fits an incredibly specific set of requirements: Most importantly, they must believes in Cam Ward as a future franchise quarterback, as well as create an offensive environment that will allow Ward to flourish. Given the state of the team, they'll need to be the type of coach who is capable of building a strong culture from the wreckage of a broken one.
Titans are doing everything they can to make their head coaching job undesirable
The next head coach must share a common vision for the future of the team with GM Mike Borgonzi, and be willing to accept the current power structure that's in place. It's previously been reported by The Athletic that owner Amy Adams Strunk strongly believes the head coach should not control the roster. That belief, right or wrong, could exclude some of the most sought after candidates on the market.
So how many head coaching candidates fit that description? It’s impossible to know without understanding their preferences, but it can’t be many. Based on Ian Rapaport’s report that Arthur Smith and Matt Nagy are two names to watch, the team could be prioritizing candidates with previous head coaching experience.
With that in mind, Kliff Kingsbury sticks out as fitting the criteria. He doesn’t exactly scream “culture setter”, but he’s seemingly learned from the mistakes he made in Arizona, and the RPO-heavy offense he’s built around Jayden Daniels in Washington would be a great fit for Ward’s skillset. However, Kingsbury might have his choice of a few different jobs this offseason, and who knows how high the Titans would be on his list based on the organization's league-wide reputation.