Brian Callahan to be hired as Tennessee Titans head coach

The Tennessee Titans are working to finalize a deal to make Brian Callahan their next coach, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.

The offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals since 2019, Callahan's hiring ends a two-week search conducted by controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and general manager Ran Carthon after Mike Vrabel was fired on Jan. 9.

He will be inheriting a roster built around young quarterback Will Levis, but also taking over at an uncertain time following back-to-back losing seasons and with star running back Derrick Henry heading into free agency.

He becomes the sixth man to lead the Titans since the franchise moved to Tennessee, following Jeff Fisher, Mike Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey and Vrabel.

The Titans interviewed 10 candidates for this vacancy.

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Who is Brian Callahan? Meet the new Titans head coach

Callahan comes from a coaching family. His father is Bill Callahan, offensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns and former head coach of the Oakland Raiders (2002-03) and University of Nebraska (2004-07). The younger Callahan has held NFL jobs since 2010, beginning as an assistant with the Denver Broncos before moving onto jobs with the Detroit Lions, Raiders and, eventually, the Bengals.

Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor hired Callahan as his offensive coordinator in 2019. Though Taylor calls the plays on gameday, Callahan is heavily involved in the game-planning process and has been instrumental in the development and success of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

After finishing 2-14 in 2019 and 4-11-1 in Burrow's injury-shortened 2020 rookie season, the Bengals emerged as a league power in 2021. Callahan's offense finished seventh in the NFL in yards per play and second in yards per pass attempt the Cincinnati won the AFC North with a 10-7 record and won three playoff games by a total of 13 points to advance to Super Bowl 56.

The Bengals were even better in 2022, posting a 12-4 record and advancing to their second straight AFC championship game behind a top-five passing offense. But the philosophy behind Cincinnati's attack changed between 2021 and 2022. Whereas the 2021 Bengals thrived with a deep passing attack, the 2022 Bengals nickel-and-dimed defenses intent on taking away deep shots, throwing more short passes as extensions of the run game. The Bengals threw passes targeted to running backs 133 times in 2022.

Another Burrow season-ending injury derailed the 2023 Bengals season. Despite this, Taylor and Callahan still found remarkable success building an offense around backup Jake Browning, a fifth-year pro who'd never taken an NFL snap before 2023. Browning led the NFL with a 70.4% completion percentage, and only San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy benefitted more from a higher average of receiving yards gained after the catch than Browning's 6.5, meaning a high volume of his completions were to targets with room to move downfield.

About the Tennessee Titans coach search

Adams Strunk fired Vrabel on Jan. 9, two days after the completion of a 2023 season where the team finished 6-11. The Titans lost 18 of their final 24 games under Vrabel and failed to score more than 28 points in any game in the last two seasons.

Upon firing Vrabel, Adams Strunk said she wants the Titans organization to be more aligned and collaborative in football operations than it was throughout Vrabel's tenure. Neither she nor Carthon gave much more of an indication about what they were looking for in Vrabel's replacement.

Eight teams had coach vacancies this offseason. Two, the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders, promoted internal candidates. The Titans competed for top candidates with the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders. Callahan interviewed with the Falcons, Panthers and Chargers in addition to the Titans.

Tennessee Titans roster: What players can Brian Callahan build around?

The Titans selected Levis in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft, giving the new staff a cornerstone piece to build around on offense. Levis started nine games as a rookie, throwing eight touchdowns with four interceptions. His most notable games included his four-touchdown debut in a win over the Atlanta Falcons and his comeback win over the Miami Dolphins where the Titans trailed by 14 points in the final three minutes and managed to win in regulation.

In addition to Levis, the Titans drafted several other young offensive pieces in 2023. First-round pick Peter Skoronski was the Titans' starting left guard as a rookie and third-round pick Tyjae Spears accounted for 838 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns as the Titans' No. 2 running back.

All Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is the star of the Titans' defense and is under contract through 2027.

There are several unknowns about the Titans' roster as well. Henry heads into free agency for the first time since the Titans drafted him in 2016. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, defensive end Denico Autry, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, center Aaron Brewer, cornerbacks Sean Murphy-Bunting and Kristian Fulton and receivers Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Chris Moore are all heading for free agency as well.

As a result of the Titans' youth and high volume of players heading into free agency, the Titans project to have the second-most salary cap space available this offseason to go along with picks No. 7 and No. 38 in the 2024 NFL draft.

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