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A new report suggests that unless Cam Ward has a strong rookie season for the Tennessee Titans in 2025, he will have a different head coach next year.
Ward will have the difficult task of being a Week 1 starter in his rookie season. That was likely when he was taken No. 1 overall in April’s draft. However, it became a lock when Will Levis underwent season-ending surgery last month. However, it looks like the former Hurricanes star will have the weight of his head coach’s job on his shoulders as well.
ESPN NFL insiders Jeremy Fowler and Turron Davenport revealed that Titans head coach Brian Callahan was nearly ousted following his debut season, after the man who hired him, former general manager Ran Carthon, was fired in January.
“There was consideration given to completely cleaning house and sending Callahan on his way, along with Carthon, multiple Titans sources confirmed,” they insiders reported. “Callahan and Carthon had a close relationship, and having the No. 1 pick gave Tennessee an opportunity to bring in a new general manager, coach, and rookie quarterback at the same time.”
So why didn’t the Titans go through with starting fresh with a new head coach? Team President Chad Brinker and his new GM, Mike Borgonzi, valued that Callahan was one of the most sought-after coaches in the game when they hired him due to his success with the Cincinnati Bengals and star Joe Burrow.
“The front office took an honest look at the talent on the roster and factored that into Callahan’s record in his first season. The front office didn’t lose sight of Callahan being one of the league’s in-demand coaching candidates when the Titans hired him,” the report stated.
“We wanted to give him that opportunity to grow as a head football coach,” Brinker said to ESPN. “We felt like another year to grow into that, and we’re going to need to see that growth. We believe in Brian, and we think he’s going to get there. So that’s why he was retained.”
It is very possible that Callahan and Ward can end up being just as good a coach and QB combat as Callahan was with Burrow. However, a rookie QB struggling is like an NFL tradition. And if Ward doesn’t show clear signs of growth, it could cost his head coach his job.
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