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Titans Schedule Mike McDaniel HC Interview

By | at January 9, 2026 3:08 pm

Mike McDaniel is drawing extensive OC interest, but the recently fired Dolphins leader is not certain to fall past the HC level just yet. Browns interest in the four-year Dolphins coach has emerged, and the Titans will take it a step further by setting up an interview.

The Titans will meet with McDaniel about their HC job Wednesday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. McDaniel is generating “significant” interest, so it will be interesting to see how many HC interviews he books. This is McDaniel’s first scheduled HC interview since the firing.

Tennessee’s search is already wide-ranging, as the AFC South team has been without a full-time HC since October. McDaniel is the 10th former head coach to receive a Titans interview slip thus far. With other candidates in the mix as well, this search is starting to remind of the Jets’ exhausting 2025 process. GM Mike Borgonzi was part of that search as a candidate, and with full roster control now, the second-year Titans exec is operating similarly as he looks to make his first HC hire.

We heard before the Titans’ season ended the team would prioritize experience. The Titans missed on Brian Callahan, firing the former Bengals OC after just 23 games, but hit on Mike Vrabel. The latter did not have HC experience, either. The team gave Mike Mularkey a third HC opportunity previously; that came after retread Ken Whisenhunt did not make it out of a second season in the role. While first-timers are present on Tennessee’s interview docket, signs are pointing to a second- or third-chance HC being the pick.

Borgonzi has an extensive history with Matt Nagy, who has been a candidate since this process started. Nagy is a former play-caller who has settled back into a non-play-calling role in Kansas City. The two-time Chiefs OC and former Bears HC likely will be a finalist for this job given his ties to Borgonzi, but McDaniel called plays throughout his time in Miami.

That included two upper-crust offenses, despite the ex-49ers OC inheriting a quarterback the previous coaching staff could not unleash. Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in yards per attempt in 2022, passing yards in 2023 and completion percentage in 2024. McDaniel played a central role in the former top-five pick taking off, though he later benched him weeks before his own dismissal. The Titans have their own holdover quarterback whose development represents the top organizational priority, as Cam Ward finished last in QBR as a rookie but will obviously go into the 2026 season as the starter.

McDaniel, 42, will likely receive multiple OC offers, per veteran insider Jordan Schultz. The Lions reached out hours after his Dolphins ouster. The Browns have lurked as an interested party since before season’s end. Considering Kevin Stefanski‘s background under Gary Kubiak, it would be quite interesting for the Browns to pivot to an ex-Kyle Shanahan disciple. But McDaniel has been on their radar for a bit. An interview should be expected. Despite the Dolphins briefly including McDaniel in their GM search only to fire him soon after, the two-time playoff qualifier looks set to land on his feet.

Here is how the Titans’ HC search looks as of Friday afternoon:

Tennessee Titans
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