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The Tennessee Titans became the first NFL team to fire their coach, as they handed Brian Callahan his walking papers on Monday following a 1-5 start. The Callahan era was a disaster, as the former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator went 4-19 during his time in Tennessee. Now, yet another coaching search begins.

Who could the Titans hire to serve as their next lead man? Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady may be the No. 1 option atop coaching big boards this offseason, but sources indicated to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones that the Titans probably wouldn’t want to go with a 30-something offensive coordinator with no head coaching experience after firing Callahan. Tennessee’s next coach may be someone who has done it before.

According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, two names to watch for the Titans job are Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Both coaches have not only served as lead men before, but also have ties to the Titans in one way or another.

New Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi came over from the Chiefs, so he knows Nagy well. Nagy served as coach of the Chicago Bears from 2018-2021, and actually won NFL Coach of the Year in his very first season after leading Chicago to a 12-4 record and NFC North title. However, things went downhill from there, as the Bears finished 8-8 in each of the next two seasons, and then 6-11 in 2021 before Nagy was fired. He left Chicago with a 34-31 record.

Titans fire Brian Callahan: Kliff Kingsbury, Matt Nagy among coaching candidates to watch

Jordan Dajani

Titans fire Brian Callahan: Kliff Kingsbury, Matt Nagy among coaching candidates to watch

Nagy never won a playoff game during his four seasons with the Bears, and his offense never finished above 21st in yards per game. Following his firing, Nagy returned to the Chiefs and won two straight Super Bowls as Patrick Mahomes‘ quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator. 

As for Smith, he spent 10 years in Nashville from 2011-2020. The son of FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith worked his way up in the organization from offensive/defensive quality control coach, to offensive line coach, to tight ends coach, to finally offensive coordinator. Smith was calling plays for the Titans during that remarkable 2019 campaign, when Mike Vrabel benched Marcus Mariota for Ryan Tannehill, which propelled the Titans to a 9-7 record and a postseason appearance. 

The Titans went on a legendary playoff run that year, upsetting Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Foxborough, then defeating Lamar Jackson and the No. 1-seeded Ravens in Baltimore before ultimately falling to Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

In 2020, the Titans won the AFC South for the first time in 12 years with an 11-5 record. Smith’s offense was tied for No. 2 in yards per game, and ranked No. 4 in points per game. That’s when the Atlanta Falcons came calling and hired Smith to be their new coach.

Smith registered three straight 7-10 seasons with the Falcons while experiencing plenty of quarterback turnover. His first year was Matt Ryan’s last in Atlanta, then came Mariota in 2022 followed by Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke in 2023. After being fired, Mike Tomlin of the Steelers scooped Smith to run his offense in 2024. Pittsburgh made the playoffs last year with a 10-7 record.

Nagy and Smith are two offensive minds that have served as head coaches before. That may be the path Titans ownership is trying to take.