The Tennessee Titans fired Brian Callahan on October 13th after just six weeks of the season. Ever since, who they decide to hire as the next head coach of Cam Ward has been a leading discussion in Nashville. And ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter took to local airwaves on Tuesday to share his two cents on who that man may be.

Adam Schefter’s latest on Titans coaching search

Schefter joined “Cover Two with Blaine and Zach” on 104.5 the Zone to discuss the latest on the Titans coaching search Tuesday. He covered the basics of what we already understand, such as the likelihood of Mike Borgonzi and/or Chad Brinker connections like Matt Nagy getting an interview.

“Of course, they factor into everything that everybody does in every line of work,” Schefter said of existing relationships. “The people you know, the people you trust, the people you believe in, the people you talk to. So of course that’s a part of it. That’s definitely a part of it. And they’ll lean on those people and they’ll default to some of those people as candidates. Like, do I think Matt Nagy will be a candidate? I’d be surprised if he weren’t, right? It’s just part of it. To me it’s just natural. Everybody leans on who they know and like.”

A lot of people like to throw former Packers and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy into that mix as well due to his overlap with Brinker in Green Bay. And while my understanding is that these guys are likely to get an initial interview, I’m not as quick to jump to the conclusion that they’re some kind of favorite for the job.

Packers executive Jon Eric-Sullivan was the presumed favorite for Tennessee’s GM vacancy last winter, and we knew for a fact that he and Brinker had a tight relationship. but Brinker decided that Borgonzi was the right man for the job instead of his friend. I think dedication to doing what’s right for the Tennessee Titans regardless of prior relationships will be a focus again this winter.

In general, we often see teams pivot from the coach they just fired with their next guy. Sometimes it’s going from offense to defense, sometimes young to old, and sometimes it’s personality. For these Titans, Schefter emphasized the expectation that they’ll be looking for someone with experience.

“I think that it is wide open,” Schefter said of the search, “but I think in a perfect world they’d like to get somebody that has some experience. That’s done it before. That understands how the business works, and what that chair is like when you have a head coach’s chair. Now maybe they’ll meet somebody that blows them away that’s never been a head coach, that’s certainly possible, but I think they’re fallback position would be to fall back to somebody that they know has done the job before and understands everything that it takes.”

So who is on Adam’s short list of names to watch? He rattled off these:

“Chris Shula, Rams defensive coordinator. Jeff Haffley, Packers defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph, Broncos defensive coordinator. Matt Nagy, Chiefs offensive coordinator. Anthony Weaver, Dolphins defensive coordinator. Joe Brady, Bills offensive coordinator. Klint Kubiac, Seahawks offensive coordinator. Nate Scheelhaase, he’s an assistant with the Rams.”

He also mentioned the current head coaches who could get fired, bringing up one by name.

“Those are some names, and I think there’ll be others. You know, if Kevin Stefanski loses his job in Cleveland that’ll be one to watch. Anybody who loses their job as a current head coach, that would be interesting.”

It’s fair to throw Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel into that mix as well, in the case that he’s let go after the year.

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