Titans Confirm Brian Callahan as Coach, Promote Ran Carthon
NASHVILLE — It's official. The Tennessee Titans have hired Brian Callahan as coach.
Callahan, 39, comes to the Titans with 14 years of NFL coaching experience, including the past five seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals. This is his first job as head coach.
The Titans will introduce their new coach at a press conference at 1 p.m. Central on Thursday.
With the Bengals, Callahan was was part of two AFC North titles, two AFC Championship appearances, and a Super Bowl berth. He also helped guide quarterback Joe Burrow from the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2020 to single-season franchise records by his second year.
The Bengals offense has ranked in the top 10 in several categories each of the past three seasons: sixth in scoring (24.9), seventh in passing (250.8 yards per game), seventh in red-zone efficiency (61.5 percent), 10th in third-down percentage (41.0), and sixth in time of possession (31:00).
"During his time with the Bengals, he was trusted with a number of responsibilities—offensive design, quarterback development, a contributor to the free agency and draft processes—and showed the ability to be a resource in all of those areas. As we seek sustained success and pursue a championship, Brian has seen firsthand what that looks like, and he is the right person to lead us there," Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said via press release.
“To our fans, thank you for your support and for sticking with us. You deserve a championship team, and we’re going to get there. I can’t wait for you to get to know Brian and his family.”
Tennessee interviewed Callahan, Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce (who was later hired as permanent head coach with the Raiders), Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, and former Stanford head coach David Shaw. Brown and Callahan had their second in-person interviews on Monday, following Shaw's interview.
In addition to naming Callahan as head coach, the Titans have also finalized the team's football structure. Ran Carthon has been promoted to Executive Vice President/General Manager, and Chad Brinker has been promoted to President of Football Operations.
"Over the past year, Ran has impressed me and our staff with his innovative approach to roster building,” said Adams Strunk. “Ran’s exceptional reputation around the league as a talent evaluator and culture builder was a clear competitive advantage during last year’s free agency and draft process, as well as our recent search for a head coach. Simply put, Ran Carthon makes the Tennessee Titans a destination for the league’s top talent. By expanding his role to include full roster control and oversight of the coaching staff, our organization will now benefit more completely from Ran’s unique ability to build and lead a championship-caliber football team.”
Related Titans stories
- TITANS DAILY PODCAST: The Tennessee Titans are set to hire Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as their next head coach. We need to get to know him better, so AllBengals.com publisher James Rapien joined the "Titans Daily Podcast'' to tell us all about him. CLICK HERE
- TOM BREW COLUMN: Brian Callahan has worked with some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and most recently has helped turned Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow into a star. He's the next head coach of the Tennessee Titans, and his first job will be to turn Will Levis into that same kind of star. This is a great hire for the Titans. CLICK HERE
- WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT CALLAHAN: "Obviously, the work that he's done with Joe Burrow has certainly been noted. But it's not just that. The fact that he got Jake Browning this year to play as well as he did certainly played into it." CLICK HERE
