Updated Tennessee Titans Head Coach Hot Board: 5 rising candidates in wake of Giants firing Brian Daboll

The Tennessee Titans are one of two NFL teams slated to be in the head coach market this winter, joined by at least the New York Giants, with two critical months ahead for a couple others. When Amy Adams Strunk made the hasty decision to fire Brian Callahan following Week 6, I put together this instant hot board of 10 head coaching candidates.

That was a month ago, and a lot has happened since then. So, here is an updated list of 10 candidates who seem to be trending up and down the short list of potential hires for Cam Ward and company.

Trending Up

Robert Saleh

Everything coming out of San Francisco about Saleh’s return as the defensive coordinator has been golden. His tenure as the head coach of the Jets looks better in hindsight when you consider the string of quarterbacks he was given to work with, the level he had his defense playing at (and how quickly it fell off when he left), and the record of success that franchise has had since he was fired.

His reputation around the league in the coaching and playing ranks appears to be stellar, and he seems like the kind of culture hire Tennessee badly needs. His stock is sky high despite struggles with nightmarish injuries to his defensive group this season. You can read my complete feature on him as a Titans candidate linked here.

Klint Kubiak

Have you watched a Seahawks game this season? If so, you certainly know why their new offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, is rising up the board of head coaching candidates this year.

After gathering offensive coordinator experience in Minnesota and New Orleans, and passing game coordinator experience in Denver and San Francisco, his work with this year’s unstoppable Seattle offense has catapulted him up lists.

The Seahawks have a reputation for burying opponents 30 points deep in first halves, and they’re doing it with Sam Darnold. Fair or not, OC’s who have units that look like this without “the guy” at QB get bonus points narratively.

Mike Kafka

Kafka was just named the interim head coach of the New York Giants in the wake of Brian Daboll’s dismissal, which you can read about in more detail here.

The next eight weeks are the final test for Kafka on his quest to earn a head coaching job. He’s done many interviews in the past three cycles, been appointed to assistant head coach, and now has an eight-week audition as an interim head coach.

All that’s left to do is… be a real head coach. If the Giants decide against giving him the full-time gig after the season, he’s likely to get a fourth offseason of interest around the league.

Matt Nagy

Why is Kansas City Chiefs’ OC Matt Nagy rising? Because Titans GM Mike Borgonzi came out in his press conference last week and made a few statements about the head coaching search that many believe could point to Nagy being high on their list.

“We’re in the process with it now,” Borgonzi said. “But one thing that me and Chad (Brinker) have talked about is the GM and the head coach working together every day. So, I think it’s imperative that we make this decision, who’s the best leader of this organization coming forward? I don’t really want to touch on the head coaching topic, but I do want to mention this though. Me and Chad have had conversations, and it’s important that it’s a fit, not only a fit for the organization, but we want a leader here. I don’t care if it’s defense, offense, but that they have a working relationship with the GM, myself.”

A healthy working relationship with the GM is what they’re after? And we already know they’re going to value guys with experience? It’s hard not to think Nagy will be on the short list since he checks both of those boxes.

He’s the former NFL Coach of the Year from his tenure in Chicago. Additionally, he and Borgonzi spent many years together in Kansas City.

Rex Ryan

Alright, maybe he isn’t rising per se. However, I didn’t include Rex on my first hot board, and I want to add him to this one. I believe he wants this job, and he at least has some reciprocal interest in the league based on interviewing for a head job last season.

He’s been out of the league for nearly a decade now, but he’s not aged out of coaching. He has a 65-68 record as a head coach of the Jets and Bills, and brought the Jets their two most successful postseason runs this century.

He fits the Titans’ needs as a guy with considerable head coaching experience, and he’d be a culture builder for a blank slate locker room. He’s somebody who commands a room.

Trending Down

Mike McCarthy

Why is Mike McCarthy trending down on my board? Because the more I dig into how things ended for him in Dallas, the more I question how willing the Titans will be to pay up for him. He drew a line in the sand on money and contract terms, and when Jerry Jones called his bluff, he actually walked away.

He’s bound to be one of the highest sticker-price coaches on the market, and he’ll be desirable among teams looking for an experienced (Super Bowl-winning!) floor-raiser to bring in. I’m just not convinced the Titans will shell out for him when there are other attractive candidates.

Kliff Kingsbury

The shine on all things Washington Commanders has tarnished in a serious way this season. Kingsbury emerged from 2024 as a coaching candidate whose reputation had undergone significant improvement in the public eye.

Now 10 weeks into 2025, the Commanders are 3-7 and everything is sad and bad. Kingsbury himself hasn’t been a big scapegoat in this failure of a season (yet), and the deck he’s been working with has been constantly changing with QB injury issues. But he simply isn’t as attractive a candidate today as he was a couple of months ago.

Arthur Smith

The same applies to Arthur Smith in terms of recent reputation tarnishing, but to a greater extent than Kingsbury. His Steelers offense has been a big point of contention in Pittsburgh this year, despite it winning more than it’s lost.

The more Steelers football I watch this year, the less interested I am in bringing him back to Nashville.

Joe Brady

Add one more to the pile of offensive coordinators whose reputation hasn’t been helped this year in Joe Brady. He came into this season as the hot new candidate on a lot of people’s minds, and now two months later, the city of Buffalo is ready to send him home packing.

Josh Allen and his offense are struggling far more than they should be, and the focus for Brady, narratively, has shifted from a potential head coaching future to maintaining his job with the Bills. Not great!