Titans coach Brian Callahan hands off play-calling duties amid 0-3 start

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee coach Brian Callahan announced Tuesday he's handing off the offensive play-calling duties to quarterbacks assistant Bo Hardegree with the Titans off to an 0-3 start.

“I think this is one of the best things for us at the moment to help me do a better job as a head coach and be more present and available for the football team and less involved in just the day-to-day minutiae of getting ready to call a game," Callahan said. "So I think it's going to be positive for us.”

Callahan was asked about whether he would consider not calling plays Monday after the Titans lost their ninth straight game going back to last season. Some fans chanted for him to be fired during the 41-20 loss to Indianapolis. He said then that everything was being evaluated.

He announced the change Tuesday, just before the Titans' coordinators talked. Callahan had plenty of options to call the offensive plays from senior offensive assistant and a former NFL coach in Mike McCoy, hired this offseason, and offensive coordinator Nick Holz whose role remains unchanged.

Callahan said Hardegree interviewed for some coordinator jobs during the offseason and that the Titans were lucky to have him. Hardegree called plays for nine games as interim offensive coordinator with the Raiders in 2023 after Josh McDaniels was fired.

“Bo's had some interim experience calling, he’s been with a rookie quarterback before. That part of it will make it a little bit seamless in that regard,” Callahan said.

Hardegree, who played at the University of Tennessee, started in the NFL as a quality control assistant with Denver in 2014. He also has coached with Chicago, Miami, the New York Jets, New England and the Raiders.

The Titans will see if Hardegree continues to stay on the sideline with Holz and McCoy in the press box. Hardegree also has been working with Cam Ward since the Titans drafted him No. 1 overall, and he said he's seen the rookie growing as a player.

“It's all about the players and putting them in the best spots,” Hardegree said.

Callahan is 3-17 as a head coach, with a .150 winning percentage. The Titans fired Ken Whisenhunt in November 2014 with a 3-20 record for a .130 winning percentage.

The Titans are starting a rookie quarterback. They also are scoring fewer points per game (17) than in 2024 with 18.3 a game. Ward also is last among starting NFL quarterbacks in completing 54.5% of his passes and averaging just 5.1 yards per attempt.

“Everyone owns a mirror, right?” Callahan said. "We can all look at it. We can all see where we need to be better and what can help us be better.”

The Titans knew when they hired Callahan in January 2024 that he hadn't called offensive plays during an NFL regular-season game, instead leaning on his work as offensive coordinator with Cincinnati and quarterback Joe Burrow to take over after they fired Mike Vrabel.

Callahan has had two situations in separate games this season where his decision-making opened him up to questions about how well he knows NFL rules and his lack of decisiveness in settling for a long field-goal try that led to a delay of game penalty and a blocked field goal on Sunday.

“My job is to be the head coach of the football team," Callahan said of handing off play-calling duties. "I think that this allows me to do that job a little bit better, pay more attention to some things that might require my attention and be more present.”

Tennessee starts a three-game road swing Sunday at Houston (0-3).

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