Brian Callahan has become the first head coaching casualty of the 2025 NFL season, after the Tennessee Titans decided to move from the man who had been in office for little over 18 months.

The team informed Callahan of the decision after president of football operations Chad Brinker and GM Dan Borgonzi met with owner Amy Adams Strunk on Monday.

“We met with Brian this morning to tell him we are making a change at head coach,” a statement attributed to Brinker read. “These decisions are never easy, and they become more difficult when they involve people of great character. We are grateful for Brian’s investment in the Titans and Tennessee community during his tenure as head coach. We thank him and his family for being exemplary ambassadors of the Tennessee Titans.

“However, while we are committed to a patient and strategic plan to build a sustainable, winning football programme, we have not demonstrated sufficient growth. Our players, fans and community deserve a football team that achieves a standard we are not currently meeting, and we are committed to making the hard decisions necessary to reach and maintain that standard.”

Callahan took over as head coach of the Titans in January 2024, replacing Mike Vrabel, who had led the Titans to four winning seasons — and back-to-back AFC South titles — during a six-year stay in Nashville. Under Callahan, meanwhile, Tennessee went 3-14 in 2024 and, despite having the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft under center, were 1-5 at the time of his sacking.

While the hunt for a long-term replacement goes on, the Titans have named Mike McCoy as interim head coach, promoting the former San Diego Chargers head coach from his erstwhile role as senior offensive assistant. McCoy is currently in his 23^rd season in the NFL, and has previously served as offensive coordinator in Denver and Arizona. In McCoy’s four seasons in charge of the Chargers, between 2013-16, his offense ranked ninth in the league in total offense and featured a top 10 passing attack each season.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Brian, as a person and as a coach in this league,” Borgonzi echoed during a hastily-arranged press call. “We are looking for growth right now, and we did not see that at this point. But he’s an excellent coach, person and I wish him the best moving forward.

“What Mike (McCoy) brings right now is experience, leadership. He has done it before, and I’ve had respect for Mike for a long time. We have full confidence that he is going to be able to steer the ship here.”

In an ironic twist to the story, McCoy and the Titans face Vrabel’s New England Patriots on Sunday.