After less than a season and a half, the Tennessee Titans have fired head coach Brian Callahan. Callahan failed to make his team competitive. He failed to win football games. And, maybe most importantly, he failed to set rookie quarterback Cam Ward up for success.
The Titans invested the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Ward, making him the future of the franchise. Whether the decision came from Callahan or not, the head coach's job security was bound to be determined by his ability to get the most out of the quarterback, at least to some extent.
With this move, Tennessee has made a clear statement: Cam Ward is the future, and anyone not fit to support him can see themselves out.
Titans make clear Cam Ward statement with Brian Callahan firing
It doesn't seem like a coincidence that Callahan criticized his star quarterback just a day before being let go. After the Titans' loss to the Raiders in Week 6, the head coach was more direct than ever about the rookie's play.
He told reporters, "I am incredibly discouraged by the outcome. We felt good coming into the game. And to not be able to perform well on offense, to not be able to score points and then lose the game, it's disappointing. We've all got to be better. Cam's a part of that too. Cam's gotta play better football. We've gotta coach better, we've gotta play better, all those things. It's not all just him, but he is a part of it. You'd like to see some more good football being played, and we've gotta do a better job."
There's no doubt that Ward has made mistakes early in his first NFL season. While he's shown flashes of the electric play that made him such an intriguing prospect, the young quarterback deserves some of the blame for the Titans' rough start to the year. Callahan's sentiment isn't wrong here, but it's rare territory for a coach to call out his quarterback in front of national media.
Clearly, the Titans felt that their former coach was not doing enough to support his quarterback. He was brought in as an offensive mastermind with the hopes of establishing a dominant attack. When he fell short, the decision was made obvious.
Whoever Tennessee chooses to replace Callahan, fans can be sure that Ward's future will be a leading factor in the decision.