Titans fire Mike Vrabel’s replacement ahead of Patriots game
Brian Callahan went 4-19 during his time with the Titans.
The Titans are once again in the market for a head coach.
Tennessee fired coach Brian Callahan on Monday, according to a statement released by the team on social media.
“After extended conversations with our owner and general manager, we met with Brian Callahan this morning to tell him we are making a change at head coach,” the statement reads.
“These decisions are never easy, and they become more difficult when they involve people of great character. We are grateful for Brian’s investment in the Titans and Tennessee community during his tenure as head coach. We thank him and his family for being exemplary ambassadors of the Tennessee Titans.”
“While we are committed to a patient and strategic plan to build a sustainable, winning football program, we have not demonstrated sufficient growth. Our players, fans, and community deserves a football team that achieves a standard we are not currently meeting, and we are committed to making the hard decisions necessary to reach that standard.”
The Titans picked Callahan to replace Vrabel after the 2023 season. Tennessee fired Vrabel after the team went 6-11 that year. After three consecutive playoff appearances from 2019-21, Vrabel went 13-21 over his final two seasons with the Titans.
Vrabel spent a year with the Browns as a coaching consultant before returning to the Patriots as head coach this offseason.
Callahan leaves Tennessee with a 4-19 record. He becomes the first NFL head coach to be fired this season.
Vrabel’s Patriots (4-2) have as many wins through six games this season as Callahan did during his entire time with the team. Tennessee is 1-5 this season, with the lone victory coming against the Cardinals.
The timing of Callahan’s firing is notable, as the Patriots are set to visit Tennessee this weekend. New England is on a three-game win streak.
“I think it’s going to feel different,” Vrabel said of his return on Monday morning during an appearance on WEEI. “It can’t be different, the way that we prepare, the way that we try to put together a gameplan. But, I think we have to recognize the obvious, me having spent time there, and so there’s a lot of people on the other side that I know, or have coached or have worked with.”
Vrabel downplayed his return during a press conference at Gillette Stadium, telling reporters that it would be “interesting”, but not “important” in terms of what the Patriots need to do this week. The focus is on picking up another win, he said.
The Patriots are off to their best start since 2019, and they’ll have a chance to keep the good times rolling this week against the Titans.
It’s not clear yet who the interim replacement for Callahan will be. Tennessee will have to find one within the next few days.
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