Tennessee
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.
JACKSON, Tenn. (WBBJ) – An exciting day of sporting clays in West Tennessee is doubling as a major fight against hunger.
Today’s “Shooting Hunger” event took place at the Carroll County Shooting Sports Park in Huntingdon. It’s a partnership between Tennessee Farm Bureau, Tennessee Farmers Co-Op, Farm Credit Mid-America and Rural First.
Since 2015, Shooting Hunger has helped provide more than three million meals to Tennesseans with money going to food banks, backpack programs, and local hunger relief. A $500 scholarship will also go to the top youth shooter in each flight.
“We’re joining together to raise money for school backpacks to feed hungry kids. We do these, we actually do three of these across the state of Tennessee so at the end of the day we take, we take all the money we put it into a pile and when we divide equally amongst all 95 counties across the state of Tennessee,“ said Bryan Wright, executive vice president for the Tennessee Farm Bureau.
Organizers say events like this matter because one in six children in Tennessee struggle with hunger.
Copyright 2026 WBBJ. All rights reserved.
Tennessee director of track and field Duane Ross gauged the hunger of the men’s 4×100-meter relay team to pull off the upset.
“They said, ‘Coach, we’re going to win,’ ” Ross said. “When they bring you that much confidence, you can grab your popcorn and enjoy the meet.”
No popcorn was consumed, but the appetite was there from the start.
Traunard Folson, Davonte Howell, T’Mars McCallum and Elijah Clark finished in a school record time of 37.98 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 12 in Eugene, Oregon. It was the the program’s first national title in the 4×100 since 1983 and the fourth-fastest in NCAA history.
Four other relay teams never crossed the line. Auburn, the two-time defending champion, had run an NCAA-record 37.75 in the semifinal, but had a botched handoff on the last exchange. Arkansas, the reigning SEC champion, also dropped its baton, along with Oregon and Houston.
McCallum said staying clean through a race of chaos starts with a focus on winning, even in practice.
“In the moment we can’t really worry about anything else, just what we can control,” McCallum said on June 18. “We came to practice every time with the idea of, ‘OK, we’ve got to make sure this is fixed, because we know if we run that time, we can win.’ “
It was the final event of McCallum’s college career. It didn’t fully hit until the long flight home to Knoxville.
“I was like, we really did it,” he said. “Now we have a school record, the first team to ever go under 38 seconds here.”
Whether belief had anything to do with what went wrong in those four other lanes isn’t something Tennessee’s runners can answer. It’s exactly what they point to for why theirs didn’t.
Clark, a freshman who ran the anchor leg, said winning was just a matter of starting the race.
“We knew we had it the whole time,” he said. “No matter who did what, what happened, we knew what the outcome would come to.”
Ross said the victory wasn’t a surprise inside the program either.
“I wouldn’t say unsung,” Ross said. “I’ve watched this team all year long, and we were expecting to come out of there with the championship. It was a tight competition down to the last event.”
Tennessee finished third in the men’s team standings with 46 points, its best total since 2002.
Howell, a junior who ran the second leg, said the belief behind the relay team’s confidence was built long before the race.
“Three of the four of us already ran under 10 seconds,” he said. “Last year we all trained together during the summer, all lived together. We already had the bond, and adding the freshman on anchor was just a cherry on top. He figured it out at SECs, ran a 10.1, season’s best, and we trusted him to bring it home.”
Clark said the title is already part of something bigger to him.
“The goal is to always make history,” said Clark, who was hired by Tennessee four years ago after a successful run at North Carolina A&T. “It’s been one of my dreams. To be able to be on the wall, especially at a school like this, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
With OTAs and minicamp now behind us, all we have before the preseason gets underway is training camp. The Titans will enjoy the next month off before getting started with camp in late July.
This time of year is always fun because you get to see a few players come out of nowhere and work their way into the roster discussion. You also get to see if the young players have made progress, and we get a good idea of what the depth chart is looking like. Today, let’s go over eight players who were winners at camp and four who didn’t have the best showings.
Winner: Cam Ward | QB
Cam Ward has to be considered a winner. The quarterback faced a ton of criticism for his performance at OTAs, and if he had gone out and had a bad showing at minicamp, you can just imagine what the talking points would be.
Luckily, Ward looked much more relaxed and efficient during minicamp. On Tuesday, Ward made a few very nice throws, including a sidearm touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm that I’m sure everybody has seen by now. On Wednesday, Ward showed off his chemistry with Wan’Dale Robinson and Chimere Dike, in particular, as both guys caught several passes.
I think we saw what we needed to see from Ward this offseason. He’s a young passer learning a new offense, it’s not crazy to think there are some kinks to work out.
Winner: Tyjae Spears | RB
It seems like many forgot about Spears this offseason. After the talk of Jeremiyah Love around the draft and Nicholas Singleton being added, it seems like not many were expecting big things out of Spears.
However, Spears has done nothing but impress this summer. The Tulane product looks as explosive as ever and had a couple of really nice runs. Spears also caught some passes and mentioned that he actually wants to get even better as a pass-catcher. Spears did well enough this summer that Robert Saleh already said Spears and Pollard will be the bellcows. That has to be a win.
Winner: Xavier Restrepo | WR
Xavier Restrepo was the most productive wide receiver on the team this offseason. The receiver had more catches than any other pass-catcher and legitimately looked like an NFL-caliber player. Restrepo also had probably the most impressive catch of the summer on Wednesday. That’s really saying something, too, considering this receiver room is incredibly deep.
I still think Restrepo still has an uphill battle to make the final roster, but it would have been very difficult to have a better couple of months than Restrepo has had.
Winner: Chimere Dike | WR
Someone who definitely WILL make the roster is fellow receiver, Chimere Dike. Dike was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro as a rookie thanks to his special teams prowess, but he showed off his talent as a wide receiver too this summer.
Dike caught a ton of passes during minicamp and finished behind only Restrepo in total catches this offseason. He offered plenty of value already as a returner, so if he can give more on offense as well, watch out.
Winner: Austin Schlottmann | C
Austin Schlottmann was signed this offseason, and at the time, the deal didn’t exactly make a ton of headlines. It was expected that Schlottmann would be battling for the starting center job with several other players, but it already seems clear that the veteran is the leader for the job.
Schlottmann was made available to the media, which usually is a good sign that the player is in the team’s plans. Teammates and coaches have praised Schlottmann’s leadership and familiarity with Brian Daboll’s offensive system. Schlottmann looks primed to step into the largest role of his career in a system he’s familiar with.
Winner: Pass Rushers
There are several defenders on the line who deserve praise. This defensive front made life hard for the offensive line, especially on Wednesday. Truman Jones, Earnest Brown, Jacob Martin, and Jermaine Johnson II were all credited with would-be sacks on Wednesday.
This is another group that didn’t seem to have the best depth, but looks much better now. The line was able to dominate even without Jeffery Simmons and Femi Oladejo, too, which is more impressive.
Winner: Alontae Taylor | CB
Alontae Taylor was a big-ticket addition for the Titans and is expected to play a crucial role in 2026. Taylor missed some time at OTAs, but if there were any worries about that, those should be put to rest now.
At minicamp, Taylor showed why the Titans valued him so highly. The veteran is talkative and always seemed to be around the ball. The defender almost came down with an interception on Tuesday on a nice play and then had another nice pass breakup on Wednesday. Jim Wyatt noted that Titans fans will love Taylor’s “scrappy play and feistiness.”
Winner: Keydrain Calligan | CB
Keydrain Calligan isn’t a name that was on many radars a month ago. That’s changed now, as the depth corner took full advantage of his opportunities at OTAs and minicamp. Calligan came down with an interception and had several pass breakups over the last few weeks.
I was worried about the corner depth, and I’m still not thrilled with it, but Calligan has made me feel better. The former undrafted free agent also has some versatility and can play safety as well. Perhaps nobody more helped their chance to make the roster than Calligan.
Loser: Hendon Hooker and Will Levis | QB
I didn’t want to just pick on Will Levis, as Hendon Hooker was also underwhelming. Both passers had a perfect chance to impress, considering Mitchell Trubisky missed the first part of OTAs, and neither were able to do so.
There was probably no scenario where Levis or Hooker earned the QB2 spot, but with a good offseason program, they could’ve forced the Titans to keep a third quarterback. Instead, the young passers were either bad or mediocre for the majority of the offseason. I don’t see a scenario where either quarterback is on the final roster.
Loser: Kalel Mullings | RB
As I mentioned above, Saleh has already appointed Pollard and Spears as the team’s top running backs. Rookie Nic Singleton should also factor in as well, but there’s likely going to be four running backs on the roster. This meant that Mullings seemingly entered the offseason with a great shot to stick.
Unfortunately, Mullings didn’t take advantage of his opportunities. Michael Carter, who is also competing for a spot, made more plays, and Julius Chestnut probably has the edge due to his special teams prowess. Mullings still has time, but it would have been nice to have seen him do more this summer.
Loser: Femi Oladejo | EDGE
It feels bad to put Oladejo here because injuries are unavoidable. However, it’s objectively disappointing that Oladejo wasn’t able to do much this offseason. The young pass-rusher missed minicamp with an unspecified injury, missing out on valuable offseason reps.
Oladejo has a shot to fill an important rotational role this year. After losing most of his rookie season, it would have been nice for him to get some hype going this summer. Instead, we’ll head to training camp still not knowing what to expect from Oladejo.
Latrell McCutchin Sr. | CB
I was very high on McCutchin when the Titans signed him right after the draft. McCutchin has good size for the boundary and had a ton of pass breakups in college. With the lack of depth the Titans have at corner, I thought McCutchin had a great shot to make the team.
Instead, McCutchin has been overshadowed by Keydrain Calligan and Micah Robinson. I had McCutchin making the roster over those two originally, but if the season started tomorrow, I’d have the rookie behind both. McCutchin needs a strong camp and preseason to avoid landing on the practice squad.
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