Offseason contract extensions makes firing Titans’ coaching staff even more expensive for Amy Adams Strunk
Contract extensions last offseason are going to hurt Amy Adams Strunk’s bottom line
It has been said, however cynically, that there is no better job than to be a fired ball coach. Some of the richest, most flexible people in our society are those living fat and happy on massive contract buyouts and multiple years of owed money for no work.
It’s a sign of a dysfunctional organization to have a laundry list of salaries on the books for former employees, but it sure sounds like a nice perk for the coaches. Nobody likes to be fired, but in an industry with so much volatile turnover, that insurance is nice to have.
Brian Callahan became just the latest former Titans employee to start cashing checks for zero service rendered when he was fired six games into the season. But as it turns out, he’s far from the only person owner Amy Adams Strunk will be paying to go away soon.
Callahan’s coaching staff signed extensions before 2025
Callahan reportedly signed a five-year contract that pays him around $3 million annually. He served out less than a year and a half of that, meaning he’ll be on the Titans’ payroll for another three and a half years or until he gets another significant job.
Sources tell A to Z Sports that Callahan’s primary lieutenants — offensive coordinator Nick Holz and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson — signed three-year contracts before the 2024 season. So they’ll be on the payroll through January 2027.
Sources also confirmed the vast majority of the rest of Callahan’s coaching staff, if not all of them, signed two-year deals in 2024. But during this past offseason, they were all given extensions, at least through January 2027, alongside the coordinators.
It’s generally good business not to leave your staff on expiring contracts, especially when a team is heading into a year in which the plan is to play a ton of young, inexperienced players.
After all, Bill Parcells famously said, “For every rookie you start, you lose a game.” Everybody understands the volatility of this business, especially for its owners. Fighting for insurance in a situation like this, beyond just 2025, makes all the sense in the world. And it’s what Callahan’s staff got.
Which brings us back to Adams Strunk, who has garnered a remarkable reputation lately for paying people not to work for her. The obvious reality is that this entire Titans’ coaching staff is getting the axe at the end of the year, with the only possible exception being special team coordinator John “Bones” Fassel. He signed on with the team in 2025, and it’s fair to assume he signed a contract for at least two years. I could see a world in which he’s retained by the next staff, who, by the way, Adams Strunk also has to pay.
Callahan’s entire staff will be dead weight on the books soon, and then consider the entire next staff that will be signed in the new year… It’s not a great situation for Titans leadership. Will it restrict their willingness to pay top dollar for their next candidate?
It’s this situation that makes me question people who think somebody like Mike McCarthy could be coaching this team next. The guy who walked away from Dallas over money and contract duration disputes? Titans ownership will shell out for that guy? I’ll believe it when I see it.