Tennessee

14 Tennessee Titans coaching candidates after Mike Vrabel fired, from Jim Harbaugh to Jim Schwartz

Published

2 years ago

January 9, 2024

14 Tennessee Titans coaching candidates after Mike Vrabel fired, from Jim Harbaugh to Jim Schwartz

The Tennessee Titans fired Mike Vrabel after six seasons on Tuesday, ending a run that included three playoff appearances, two division titles, one NFL Coach of the Year award and two disappointing, disjointed, losing seasons.

The Titans will be looking for their sixth coach since moving to Tennessee.

Vrabel was the third-winningest coach in franchise history behind only Jeff Fisher and Bum Phillips. He was the first coach to lead the Titans to three straight playoff appearances since Jack Pardee in the early 1990s. But his tenure is over now.

Now, as Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and general manager Ran Carthon embark on the start of the next era of Titans’ football, there is no shortage of directions the Titans could take. Here are 14 candidates the Titans could consider to replace Vrabel, sorted alphabetically by last name.

Tennessee Titans coaching candidates after Mike Vrabel fired

Shane Bowen, Titans defensive coordinator

Never rule out the internal candidate when it comes to the Titans. The 37-year-old has been with the franchise since the start of the Vrabel era, has called plays for the defense since 2020 and has been the defensive coordinator since 2021. The defense had its ups-and-downs during Bowen’s tenure, especially with struggles in the secondary, but his familiarity with the roster and ability to keep the messaging consistent could be viewed as a plus.

Brian Callahan, Bengals offensive coordinator

Few teams haunted the Titans throughout the Vrabel era like the Cincinnati Bengals, and Callahan was a big part of why. In five seasons as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator, Callahan helped develop quarterback Joe Burrow into a star and co-organized a prolific offense that featured some of the league’s most dynamic receivers and got running backs involved in a unique way.

Aaron Glenn, Lions defensive coordinator

A 15-year pro and three-time Pro Bowler as a cornerback, Glenn has led the Lions defense since 2021 after stops coaching with the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints. Glenn’s Detroit defenses haven’t exactly been stellar, ranking 31st, 30th and 23rd in points allowed per game. But he’s a renowned leader and has played and worked under multiple successful coaches, making him the candidate who might actually be most similar to Vrabel when the Titans hired him in 2018.

Jim Harbaugh, University of Michigan coach

Going from an Ohio State Buckeye to the sitting coach at the University of Michigan would be some culture shock (though Taylor Lewan would be a fan). Harbaugh’s been coy about whether he wants to return to the NFL after the success he’s experienced in college, leading the Wolverines to three straight College Football Playoff appearances and Monday’s national championship win over Washington. But the 60-year-old coach is as intriguing of a candidate as can be. In four years as San Francisco 49ers coach, his teams went 44-19-1 with three NFC Championship appearances and a Super Bowl loss. And his college success isn’t anything to scoff at either. Where Harbaugh goes, wins follow.

Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator

Another Detroit-based candidate, Johnson has led the Lions to top-five seasons by points and yards per game each of the past two. A longtime Miami Dolphins assistant before his stint with the Lions, Johnson doesn’t have the same pedigree of working on championship teams as some other potential candidates. But there’s no disputing his success in turning the Lions offense into one of the league’s best, especially when it comes to passing success and keeping quarterbacks clean and upright.

Anthony Lynn, 49ers assistant head coach

Lynn, formerly the coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, has spent two years working alongside Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, one of those years while Carthon worked in the front office. That familiarity, combined with the 49ers’ success and his experience as coach, makes him a hard candidate to rule out.

Mike Macdonald, Ravens defensive coordinator

No team plays defense quite like the Ravens do, and Macdonald is the mastermind behind so much of the team’s recent success. The Ravens allow the fewest points and second fewest yards per play in the NFL, ranking among the league’s best in sacks, interception rate, third down stops and red zone defense. A long-time Ravens assistant who also coordinated at Michigan, Macdonald is only 36 years old but has more than proven he can lead defenses and has learned how to build and lead franchises from both Harbaugh brothers.

Todd Monken, Ravens offensive coordinator

Few coaches have taken more circuitous paths into the head coaching discussion than Monken. He cut his teeth in college, came to the pros as a receivers coach, went back to college where he became a coordinator and eventual coach at Southern Miss, went back to the NFL as an offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay and Cleveland, returned to college to coordinate Georgia’s offense for two championship runs and now is leading Lamar Jackson to what will likely be his second MVP season. Monken’s done a bit of everything, coached numerous types of offenses and has the AFC’s best team rolling in a way it hasn’t in years.

Raheem Morris, Rams defensive coordinator

Morris hasn’t gotten a second crack at being a full-time head coach since his tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended after the 2011 season. He has, however, coordinated some of the league’s best defenses in three years with the Rams and spent time on extremely successful staffs in Washington and Atlanta, working alongside future head coaches such as Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel. As far as second-chance hires go, Morris is a more than qualified candidate.

Dan Quinn, Cowboys defensive coordinator

Morris’ former boss, Quinn was coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2015-20, when he was fired just five games into the season. Quinn led the Falcons to a Super Bowl berth and two playoff appearances and has helmed three top-10 defenses in three years with Dallas. He interviewed for multiple coaching jobs last offseason but opted to stay in Dallas, so it’s tough to say whether he’d be open to a move this year. But, like Morris, Quinn is a coach more than due for a second crack at a top job.

Jim Schwartz, Browns defensive coordinator

It’s a marriage that can never truly be ruled out. Schwartz has the Browns allowing the fewest yards per play and per game in the NFL this season, a reminder that the long-time Titans assistant and former Lions coach can still flat-out coach. He spent 2021-22 as a senior defensive assistant with the Titans and was notably the Titans’ defensive coordinator from 2001-08. He only posted one winning season in five years with the Lions but his continued success in years since coordinating the Bills, Eagles and Browns defenses are proof of his ability.

Bobby Slowik, Texans offensive coordinator

Nothing’s stopped the Titans from hiring a young Texans assistant with just one year of coordinating experience as a head coach before. Slowik has helped orchestrate Houston’s impressive turnaround in 2023, developing rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud into one of the NFL’s best passers. It also doesn’t hurt that Slowik spent six years in San Francisco, meaning he has a prior relationship with Carthon.

Frank Smith, Dolphins offensive coordinator

There’s nothing quite as evergreen in NFL hiring season as trying to poach the coordinator from the league’s best offense. Smith has helped McDaniel devise the NFL’s fastest, most potent offense this season, building on the success he experienced in previous stops with the Chargers and Raiders. It’s tough to separate Smith’s success from the talent Miami has on offense and on the sidelines, but he’s certainly worth a look.

Shane Waldron, Seahawks offensive coordinator

Another offensive coach from the McVay-Shanahan tree, Waldron has revitalized Seattle’s offense in the last two years by getting the best out of once-discarded journeyman quarterback Geno Smith. Waldron has worked in various capacities under McVay, Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll, giving him a pedigree of great mentors to go along with his teams’ offensive successes.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

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Tennessee attorney general files lawsuit against Roblox

Published

5 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee attorney general files lawsuit against Roblox

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Chronic wasting disease in Tennessee whitetail deer continues creeping eastward

Published

17 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Chronic wasting disease in Tennessee whitetail deer continues creeping eastward

WAYNE COUNTY, Tenn. — Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in whitetail deer continues creeping in an eastward direction in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has received the first-ever positive chronic wasting disease (CWD) test result in a road-killed deer found in Wayne County. Since Wayne County is already within the current CWD Management Zone, wildlife feeding and carcass transportation restrictions are already in place.

This means CWD has now been confirmed in 20 of Tennessee’s 95 counties. This is the third county where CWD has been confirmed East of Kentucky Lake, what some people hope might provide at least a partial impediment to CWD’s eastward expansion. The first CWD case confirmed in Tennessee came in 2018. Of course several cases have also been more recently identified in the northwest corner of Alabama.

In Wayne County, there are no changes to the deer hunting season dates and regulations. However, hunters are now eligible for the Earn-a-Buck Program. Hunters can earn additional bucks by harvesting antlerless deer in Wayne County and submitting them for testing. Hunters who have already submitted antlerless deer for testing this fall will be provided an earned buck. For more details on the CWD Management Zone and Incentive Programs, visit CWDinTN.org.

As a reminder, Wayne County is subject to the following wildlife feeding and carcass transportation restrictions:

Deer carcasses can move within and between counties in the CWD Management Zone.
Hunters may not move whole or field-dressed deer carcasses or unapproved parts outside of the CWD Management Zone. Only approved parts may be moved out of the CWD Management Zone.
Once a carcass is brought into the CWD Management Zone, it cannot be moved out of the zone.
Approved parts are free to be transported anywhere statewide. Approved parts are listed below:
Deboned meat
Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates, cleaned skulls (where no meat or tissues are attached to the skull)
Cleaned teeth
Finished taxidermy and antler products
Hides and tanned products
Within the CWD Management Zone, the placement of grain, salt products, minerals, and other consumable natural and manufactured products is prohibited.
Feeding restrictions do not apply if the feed or minerals are:
Placed within one hundred (100) feet of any residence or occupied building; or
Placed in such a manner to reasonably exclude access by deer; or
Placed as part of a wild hog management effort authorized by the agency; or present from normal agricultural practices, normal forest management practices, or crop and wildlife food production practices.

Hunter’s participation in CWD testing is critical for the continued surveillance and monitoring of CWD throughout the state.

Hunters can access CWD testing through participating taxidermists and meat processors or by using drop-off freezers.

The Wayne County drop-off freezer is available at: Beech Creek Fire Hall, 5775 Beech Creek Road, Waynesboro, TN 38485.

CWD is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose.

The agency partners with certified laboratories to test samples, and TWRA has already submitted approximately 8,400 samples for testing this hunting season.

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Titans QB Cam Ward Talks Past, Present and Future

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Titans QB Cam Ward Talks Past, Present and Future

NASHVILLE – Cam Ward discussed the past, present and the future on Wednesday.

During his regularly scheduled session with reporters, the Titans quarterback also discussed what it’s been like handling the pressure of being the number one pick and the face of the franchise.

“I just wake up and go about my business, honestly,” Ward said. “I don’t really see no pressure. I mean, I get to do something every day that I like to do. I’m going to always remember the hard times that I went through my rookie year. I’ll remember the good plays that I made in my rookie year. I’ll remember how many reporters came to report on the team one year. And I’ll remember in the next couple of years when there’s a lot more reporters out here trying to get footage on us.

“You’ve just got to continue to take your day by day process. We continue to feed into each other as the locker room, continue to give emphasis on the coaching staff, what we’re looking for ahead. And we’re ready to turn it back around.”

In 14 starts this season, Ward has thrown for 2,638 yards with 11 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

He needs just 181 pass yards to break Marcus Mariota’s Tennessee record with 2,818 passing yards (in 2015).

Ward has shown improvement in recent weeks – he has back-to-back games with two touchdown passes (zero such games in his first 12 starts) and this past Sunday was his first career game without taking a sack (3.8 sacks per game in Weeks 1-14).

Ward discussed some of the highs and lows of his rookie season.

Ward said he feels like he hasn’t had his signature game yet while saying “I don’t think I’ll ever have a signature game in my career, honestly.”

“Every game there’s going to be some bad tape,” he said. “Whether it’s one play, two plays, from myself or another teammate. So I don’t really try to chase having a perfect game. I try to just chase having a good play every play. Because at the end of the day, I’m going to have a bad play. I’m going to throw another interception. I’m going to fumble the ball again at some point in my career. So the more I can continue to stress myself, limit the little bad plays and just continue to build on what I already know, what I’m good at, and then just continue to put the ball in space to my playmakers, I think that will serve me better in the long term.”

The Titans face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and after that the team has games left vs the Saints and Jaguars.

Ward knows there will be changes on the horizon, including the team naming a new head coach for 2026.

Ward on Wednesday was asked if he wants to meet the head coaching candidates during the process.

He said he’s actually talked to Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker about the process.

“I want to meet all of them,” Ward said. “Every coach who’s going to get the opportunity to come here, I want to meet them, have conversations throughout the whole process with them because that’s someone that I’m going to be here with for that time. So, we got to just continue to — me being around and being open to it no matter whoever we try to hire because I know at the end of the day who we do hire is going to be the right fit for us. Whether it’s a defensive person or an offensive person, they’re going to make sure that every person is in the right place, and make sure every person is set up for success.

“Yeah, I have had a conversation with them about wanting to be involved. They know how much I want to be involved. And then especially just not even with the scheme part of it just as the head coach who he is on a everyday basis. And then, we’ll get into the scheme what I know I’m good at, what I want do, what he thinks will also help me.”

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