The steady Titans descent leading to Brian Callahan's ouster was certainly predictable given recent organizational decision-making. Owner Amy Adams Strunk has fostered an unstable environment, and the power structure left standing still invites questions. The impulsive owner, as is the case with several other dysfunctional organizations, remains the common denominator during this nosedive.
Tennessee went 4-19 under Callahan, the coach Adams Strunk insisted upon when not bothering to explore Mike Vrabel's trade value. Linked to such a trade effort late in the 2023 season, the Titans bailed on that plan due to Adams Strunk not wanting to potentially miss out on some of the 2024 cycle's candidates while dealing with Vrabel trade negotiations. The result: a 23-game head coach. Callahan matched Ken Whisenhunt's tenure for the franchise's shortest for a full-time HC in 50 years.
Callahan did not appear deserving of a third season, and it took one of the most bizarre collapses -- Week 5 in Arizona -- in recent NFL history to give the Titans their win. The team's 83-point total represents the fewest points through six Titans/Oilers games since 1983. With Cam Ward development paramount, Tennessee's power structure pulling the plug makes sense. Though, Ward will debut next season -- barring an unexpected decision to retain Mike McCoy and Bo Hardegree -- with a third play-caller in 18 games. Not ideal for quarterback growth. Ward has nowhere to go but up, by his own admission, ranking dead last in QBR (by a wide margin) and EPA per play.
Although eventful due to the past two Tennessee iterations' performance, Callahan's tenure will be rather insignificant in the grand scheme. Adams Strunk's 10-plus-year run as controlling owner has included more notable impulse firings, with that list starting with Vrabel and GMs Jon Robinson and Ran Carthon. How the owner has operated will make hiring the next coach more difficult, regardless of any positive perception the Chad Brinker-Mike Borgonzi power duo generates around the league.
it is interesting to me, the dichotomy of Tennessee and Indianapolis. Tennessee quickly transformed from Mike Vrabel’s overachievers, the sneaky AFC South powerhouse, into a perennial cellar dweller immediately when the organization was turned over to a girlboss.
The conclusion drawn might be that the girlboss power structure is incompatible with the NFL, until you examine Indianapolis, where a similar maneuver was enacted just this previous offseason, bequeathing the organization to the feminine. meanwhile, The Colts are enjoying their best season in ages.
Inept mismanagement has no gender. Brinker, who’s another common denominator in this mess, weasled his way into Strunk’s good graces, and by usurping Borgonzi’s roster control, has managed to hamstring the only guy in the building who has the knowledge and experience to untangle this mess. And all just in time for the new, ridiculously expensive stadium to open. Her old man is rolling over in his grave.
It’s amazing that more teams don’t learn from the Bears decades of GM-Coach off setting mass confusion. The order has been and Should always be Hire the GM first and then let him pick the Head Coach. Then the GM acquires the players the Coach needs to make his plan work. The Bears finally got it right after all these years so maybe there’s hope for the Titans too. One should always stick with proven formulas when attempting these things.
I think the hiring order is irrelevant if you get good people who are intelligent enough to put their egos aside and work as a team towards a common goal. Unfortunately a lot of executive hires spend their time searching for a fall guy to blame if things go wrong.
I think the Bears still got it wrong. They held onto Eberflus for too long and Poles was assembling players for his own plan well before Johnson arrived. They have now put them on the same timetable with the Poles extension but they fumbled this before he arrived.
Jefferspin- That’s where you’re wrong. Poles was hired first. Then they let him fire Eberlose and pick his own guy. Then they watched and saw how they worked together before extending Poles to match them up. They may not have done it in the PRECISE order they should have but now you have them linked together which is a first for the Bears since Jerry Vainisi hired Ditka.
Poles hired Eberflus. Then stood by him as much better coaches were available. Don’t even get me started on how bad Poles is. He isn’t qualified to choose a HC, couldn’t even build an OL although he’s a former OL. They didn’t get it right, just got lucky Johnson was available, and the jury is still out on that hire (after interviewing 100 candidates, embarrassing.) Coming off the bye they shouldn’t have made as many mistakes as they did Monday night. Jayden Daniels is still showing he was the better QB.
Those much better coaches like Harbaugh and Payton pick their GMs, and rightfully so. TB12 picked the GM in LV, and probably Carroll too. Poles knows he wouldn’t last long with a competent HC. He’d be back to scouting for some team and sharing a bunk with other scouts.
Take a deep breath. You are way jumping the gun on Johnson. He and Dennis Allen are slowly but surely changing things in a real way and the players are buying in. That game against the Commanders is a game they would’ve lost before Johnson. And btw, a strong case can be made that McAskey made Poles keep Eberflus because he didn’t want to eat the rest of his contract- which he’d only done once before.
I’d like to know why Eberflus was even hired for one the storied franchises in the NFL. That was a WTF? move. Poles bought himself a contract extension by hiring Johnson, otherwise he wouldn’t last much longer.
So far Johnson is showing he’s a rookie HC. While Williams is playing better than last year, he still needs alot more polishing, especially in the red zone, where he just terrible. Daniels looks much better, poised and confident. Williams stil had some drives where he’s throwing the ball all over the field. Most of their 2025 draft picks haven’t even seen the field that much. TE Warren is way outplaying Loveland. DJ Moore, their expensive WR is barely even used. They have so much offensive talent other teams would love to have, and it’s not being used. Put Daniel Jones/Sam Darnold at QB and Bears score 30 ppg.
WASH was down their top 2 WRs, and CHI off the bye, which should mean more time to prepare, better execution, and less mistakes. That didn’t happen. They play this game again with both teams at full strength, WASH wins. Too many offensive mistakes still. Keep in my they should’ve lost to a bad LV team, got blown out by DET, and should’ve won vs MINN.
First of all and let’s make this PERFECTLY CLEAR! Poles DID NOT HIRE EBERLOSE! When he got the job he was given a list of supposedly 3 guys the MCCASKEYS interviewed BEFORE he got there to choose from. When Poles was given the chance he interviewed like 30 guys in case he couldn’t convince Johnson to take the job. So I’m putting the MYTH to rest once and for all. They won’t say who the other 2 guys besides Eberlose were on that list, But if he chose Eberlose I can only imagine what the other choices were.
Dan Quinn was one of the choices.
Nobody knows who the others were. Nobody.
I think the runners up were Barack Obama and Staley the Bear (but not necessarily in that order) 🙂
Other choices were Jim Caldwell and Dan Quinn, from what I heard. Poles was hired officially two days before Eberflus. I’d believe he had the decision Into who to hire. Myth busted lol. Quinn would’ve been good eh?
If you use your mind for what is was intended and you admit that Poles was hired 3 days before he picked Eberlose you only have to use a limited amount of brain cells to figure out that if you want the job you’ll pick this guy. This is the guy you hire or we’ll go for somebody who will. The McCaskeys had already decided who it was gonna be. And once again, Nobody KNOWS who the other guys ACTUALLY were. It’s been speculated but never admitted by anybody in the Bears FO. Myth back on.
That’s quite the conspiracy theory! So you’re saying the FO picked Eberflus, then told Poles he had to go with that guy to get hired? Did the space aliens return you to earth recently too? Lol
Then you know nothing about the McCaskeys. The McCaskeys sent all their children to Ivy League Schools to learn finance not football. Ever since they’ve been running the team they’ve used outside firms to do all their executive hires and interviews. So I find it impossible to believe that after spending all that money to interview people they would go against the recommendation. Other than a brief spell where Marv Levy was used their has been absolutely zero football minds involved in any process. So once again, If you know nothing, You should say nothing. The McCaskeys were all groomed to make money, Not be football people. They are good at making money, Bad at football. Up until now they’ve learned nothing. Now they seem to be on at least a path of doing it the right way so maybe there’s a light here. So knock if you like, But as usual you’re wrong.
You do know that people are hired before a job even opens up. Employers just go through the interview process because they have to follow procedures. Poles probably had that job locked in.
Well all I do know is that after the Bears build their own Privately Funded 2.5 Billion Dollar year round stadium on their own land and basically give the finger to both the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois for doing nothing they will in all certainty leapfrog to the top of the list of NFL Franchises in value. Like I said, The McCaskeys are good at making money, Football has come in 2nd but things are catching up. And I know they wouldn’t spend the money and then ignore what they were told. Make of it what you want.
I agree 100% on that
Side note: I wouldn’t look past Trace Armstrong either
link to heavy.com
She has no business in the football decisions, owner or not. Hire good people and let them do their jobs! Call Jimmy Haslam and ask him how long it took him to learn this lesson ….. I feel bad for the players and coaches of the Titans..
When did Jimmy Haslam learn this lesson? I’m 100% certain he forced Berry to draft Shedeur Sanders.
Sheila Ford Hamp wisely got out of the way in Detroit allowing Holmes, Spielman, Campbell etc to run the organization… for decades her father thought somehow he knew better… gender has nothing to do with being wise.