After firing head coach Brian Callahan on Monday, the 1-5 Titans will move forward with Mike McCoy handling the role on an interim basis. It’s improbable that McCoy will fare well enough to take over on a full-time basis, meaning the Titans’ head coach for 2026 is likely to come from outside the organization. With that in mind, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Steelers OC Arthur Smith are early names to watch, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.
While the Titans hired a first-time head coach in Callahan, they’d be getting an experienced option in Nagy, who led the Bears from 2018-21. Chicago went 12-4 and earned a playoff berth in Nagy’s first year on the job, but he was unable to guide the team back to the postseason. The Bears went 22-27 from 2019-21, leading to his ouster.
[RELATED: Titans Separate From Bill Callahan, Keep Bo Hardegree As Play-Caller]
After his run with the Bears ended, Nagy went back to Kansas City for his second Chiefs tenure. He has worked in multiple offensive positions since rejoining the team in 2022, including as their O-coordinator since 2023.
The Chiefs have gone to three straight Super Bowls and won two with Nagy back on their staff. However, head coach Andy Reid – not Nagy – calls the plays. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the 47-year-old Nagy has a connection to Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi, who worked in various roles with the Chiefs from 2009-24.
The Titans and their fans are familiar with Smith, a Tennessee native who held multiple coaching roles with the team from 2011-20. Smith parlayed a successful two-year run as the Titans’ offensive coordinator into his first head coaching job with the Falcons. It proved to be a short-lived stint, however, with the Falcons moving on after Smith guided three straight 7-10 seasons.
In his first year with the Steelers in 2024, Smith oversaw an offense that ranked 16th in points and 21st in yards while struggling to find an answer at quarterback between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. This year’s Steelers have gotten better play under center from Aaron Rodgers and rank 14th in the league in points per game, but they’re just 29th in yards per contest.
While Nagy and Smith may be prominent in the Titans’ coaching search, the team is unlikely to hire Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports. Brady, 36, has called the plays for Buffalo’s prolific offense since taking over for Ken Dorsey in 2023. However, after the Callahan experiment failed, there’s doubt that the Titans will hire a 30-something with no experience as a head coach for the second time in a row.
Only if they don’t want to make the playoffs again for the next decade lol. Unless someone offers them a massive overpay, I would not entertain any offers.
Unless Amy Adams Strunk decides to let those she hires actually do their jobs it won’t matter who they hire. She’s doing her best to copy the likes of Brown in Cincy and Jerruh in Dallas.
She just hired a GM in the offseason.
And how long will she stick with them? All the past several years wouldn’t be necessary if she didn’t fire Vrabel.
Maybe, but the team is also still recovering from Robinson’s last three drafts being so wildly unproductive.
If Vrabel wasn’t trying to take over the organization like Belichick, he wouldn’t have gotten fired.
Nagy, and Smith? What about their previous head coaching gigs would make Titan brass think they are the answer? Stop recycling previous failures.
I’m not saying h’d be top of my list, but I think Smith still has a chance to be a good head coach. He’s a good offensive mind and I don’t think anyone could win much of anything with Marcus Mariota, Taylor Heinicke, and Desmond Ridder as his quarterback group.
People are literally throwing out names because of ites. Nagy worked for the new GM in KC, and Arthur Smith started under Vrabel with the Titans. It won’t be either of them.
If Atlanta has more games like last night, Robinson is going to get a ton of interviews, including Tennessee.
I think Nagy made the playoffs twice. One year, they were 8-8.
Nagy? Good luck wit dat. LOL
Yeah, after hiring a non-playcalling OC that benefitted from an elite quarterback and good pass catchers (neither of which Tennessee has), I suppose that they’ll hire another, according to this.
Well he did such a fantastic job with Trubisky he would be the first name that people would think of right? Baaaa Haaaaaa Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Stop it you’re killin me!
@uncle mike1526. Can’t polish a turd is that on nagy or the gm. You can wash your face still has poo on it. like you saying will fries wasn’t a overpay with a 58.8 grade on pff.