Titans GM Mike Borgonzi: We were looking for growth, didn't see any with Brian Callahan

The Titans made major changes at the top of their organization this offseason when they gave president of football operations Chad Brinker more control over the team and hired General Manager Mike Borgonzi, but they opted to hold onto head coach Brian Callahan after he went 3-14 during his first season on the job.

Brinker and Borgonzi might like a mulligan on that decision because they fired Callahan on Monday. Sunday's lifeless loss to the Raiders made Callahan's career record 4-19 and Borgonzi said at a press conference that the lack of progress was the reason why the Titans decided to pull the trigger now.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Brian, as a person, and as a coach in this league," Borgonzi said, via the team's website. "We are looking for growth right now, and we did not see that at this point. But he's an excellent coach, person, and I wish him the best moving forward."

The timing of the change makes Cam Ward the fourth straight quarterback picked first overall to see his first NFL coach fired during their rookie season. Even if firing Callahan is understandable given his record, it's a less than ideal way to break in a young quarterback. Picking the right choice for 2026 will be crucial for Ward and the Titans, but Brinker said the team isn't writing off the rest of the season with interim head coach Mike McCoy as a lost cause.

"Mike and I will lead that search," Brinker said. "But what our focus is right now is pouring everything we can into Mike McCoy and giving him every opportunity from here on out, starting this week. We have the Patriots coming to town, and we want to do everything we can to support him the way he needs to be supported so we can go out there and win a football game. So that's really what our focus is right now."

The Patriots are coached by Mike Vrabel, who held the same job with the Titans before being fired after the 2023 season. That wasn't that long ago, but his return will offer a reminder of how quickly and how far the Titans have fallen from the best days of his tenure.

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