Titans fire Brian Callahan: Kliff Kingsbury, Matt Nagy among coaching candidates to watch

The 1-5 Tennessee Titans are making yet another change in leadership, as the franchise fired head coach Brian Callahan on Monday following Tennessee's Week 6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. 

The Titans franchise has been in an aggressive tailspin ever since the infamous postseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2021, the Titans were the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Since then, they have fired two head coaches and two general managers while going 17-40.  

Tennessee parted ways with Mike Vrabel following the 2023 season, and opted to hire the offensive-minded Callahan. The former Bengals offensive coordinator had worked with notable quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow at different points of their careers, so it was believed he could groom a franchise quarterback. That did not happen. Will Levis struggled mightily in his second NFL season, as the Titans finished with a 3-14 record. That awarded the flailing franchise the No. 1 overall pick -- which the Titans used on quarterback Cameron Ward. The first-year signal-caller has not been a disaster this season, but he could not will this roster to wins by himself. 

So, where do the Titans go from here? What do the Titans have going for them? Well, a No. 1 overall pick at quarterback that has shown some potential, a shiny new stadium that's in the process of being built and a general manager that saw a dynasty built in Kansas City with Mike Borgonzi. Who could Tennessee be looking at to hire as its next head coach? Let's take a look at five candidates. 

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady

Brady was once viewed as the next Sean McVay. The former William & Mary wide receiver landed an offensive coordinator job with the Carolina Panthers in 2020 at the ripe age of 30 after he served as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the historic 2019 LSU team. In his one season in Baton Rouge, LSU went undefeated with college football's top-ranked offense, winning a national championship while Joe Burrow picked up the Heisman Trophy. Under Brady's guidance, Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase both recorded over 1,500 yards receiving, and combined for 38 receiving touchdowns. 

After just one season as Carolina's offensive coordinator, the young Brady received interview requests from teams searching for a new head coach. However, Brady was fired during his second season with the Panthers -- viewed by many as a scapegoat of the tragic Matt Rhule era. 

Brady then made his way to Buffalo, and served as the Bills' quarterbacks coach before he was promoted to offensive coordinator during the 2023 season. In 2024, the Bills made the AFC Championship game while Josh Allen won MVP. The star quarterback led Buffalo to a 13-4 record and became the first player to ever throw 25 touchdowns, rush for 10 touchdowns and commit fewer than 10 turnovers in a season. He did this without his top two wide receivers from the previous year.

Brady may be viewed as the best coordinator in the NFL right now, and in a quarterback-driven league, developing Ward is something the Titans have in mind. 

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury

Tom Brady's former backup quarterback has worked with some big-name signal-callers, such as Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes, Caleb Williams, and of course, Jayden Daniels. Kingsbury had a hand in one of the biggest surprises in the NFL last season, as the Commanders went from 4-13 to 12-5, and ended their magical campaign with an NFC Championship appearance.

In his first NFL season, Daniels became the second quarterback to ever throw for 4,000 yard and rush for 1,000 yards in a season, including playoffs. He scored the most total touchdowns (37) and racked up the most total yards (5,416) by a rookie all time, and had more games in one year where his team had zero punts and zero turnovers than Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning and Mahomes had in their combined careers. Kingsbury's unique, up-tempo offense ranked top seven in both yards per game (369.6) and points per game (28.5) in 2024. 

Kingsbury has been a head coach before, as he led the Arizona Cardinals from 2019-22. He improved Arizona's win total every year, going from 5-10-1 to 8-8 to eventually 11-6, but was let go after a disastrous 4-13 campaign in 2022. Overall, the 46-year-old coach has gone 28-37-1 as a lead man. Consistency is a question when it comes to Kingsbury, but he will be aboard the coaching carousel this offseason.

Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy

If the Titans are done experimenting with young offensive minds, they could entertain the 61-year-old Mike McCarthy. He spent 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, going 10-8 in the playoffs, which includes a Super Bowl XLV championship with Aaron Rodgers. McCarthy went 125-77-2 during his time in Green Bay, and was fired in 2018 after a 4-7-1 start. 

McCarthy then took a year off and enrolled himself in head coach bootcamp, before the Cowboys came calling in 2020. After going 6-10 in his first season, McCarthy put together three straight 12-5 campaigns. Despite all of the regular-season success in Dallas, he won just one playoff game in five seasons with the Cowboys. McCarthy walked following a 7-10 campaign in 2024. 

McCarthy is definitely not the sexiest name aboard the coaching carousel, but he should be the most experienced. That's something that could intrigue Titans ownership. 

Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter

Minter is a name quickly rising up coaching "big boards." The former Michigan defensive coordinator followed Jim Harbaugh to Los Angeles, and helped the Chargers become the first team since the 1993 New York Giants to go from 24th or worse to first in scoring defense. The Chargers went from 5-12 to 11-6 in 2024, while Minter's unit allowed just 17.7 points per game. 

The 42-year-old defensive mind has limited NFL experience, but there's no debating his impact on the Chargers in a short amount of time. ESPN analyst and former scout/executive Louis Riddick even said on a "Monday Night Football" broadcast in September that Minter will be a head coach in 2025. 

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy

Tennessee's current general manager has a relationship with Nagy from their days together in Kansas City, making him a natural candidate. 

The Chicago Bears hired Nagy to be their head coach in 2018, and he won NFL Coach of the Year in his very first season after going 12-4. Chicago won the NFC North for the first time in eight years with quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the backing of a Vic Fangio-led defense. Things just got worse from there, as the Bears finished 8-8 in each of the next two seasons, and then 6-11 in 2021 before Nagy was fired. Nagy went 0-2 in the postseason, and his offense never finished better than 21st in yards per game. 

Nagy then returned to the Chiefs and won two Super Bowls as Mahomes' quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator. Andy Reid said in 2018 that Nagy is the best head-coaching candidate he's ever had. Maybe he deserves a second chance.