Head Coach Candidates 2026 Edition

[NashvilleNinja]

Saw this comment under Jacory Croskey-Merritt's fantasy page. Kinda relevant considering Kingsbury has been talked about as a candidate:

 

"every time I think this dude is going to break out the offensive line and play calling ruins it. he got hit in the backfield on basically all but one run. and the play calling was so predictable. They ran it up the middle on every single first down. They didn't even try to get him in space with outside runs or pitches. frustrating"

 

Sounds fun.

[oldschool]

1 hour ago, NashvilleNinja said:

Saw this comment under Jacory Croskey-Merritt's fantasy page. Kinda relevant considering Kingsbury has been talked about as a candidate:

 

"every time I think this dude is going to break out the offensive line and play calling ruins it. he got hit in the backfield on basically all but one run. and the play calling was so predictable. They ran it up the middle on every single first down. They didn't even try to get him in space with outside runs or pitches. frustrating"

 

Sounds fun.

 

He has a 60% success rate and is averaging 5.2 ypc.... maybe tell the FF moron to stfu.

[BTiger3733]

When can we add Demeco Ryans to the list?

[Mythos27]

42 minutes ago, oldschool said:

 

He has a 60% success rate and is averaging 5.2 ypc.... maybe tell the FF moron to stfu.

I'm starting to become annoyed by NFL fans that claim every play call is predictable after the fact and based on the fact that the defense shut it down. 

[OILERMAN]

4 minutes ago, Mythos27 said:

I'm starting to become annoyed by NFL fans that claim every play call is predictable after the fact and based on the fact that the defense shut it down. 

 

As old as the NFL itself

[Mythos27]

14 minutes ago, OILERMAN said:

 

As old as the NFL itself

For sure. I'm sure I've been guilty of it myself at times so I cop to the hypocrisy but I'm probably going to stop doing it going forward since I'm finding it so annoying. 

[japan]

On 10/18/2025 at 11:50 AM, Alcibiades said:

Why do people have strong feelings against Kingsbury? I'm missing something on that one. 

 

I don't actually care who our next HC is, as long as it is someone who KNOWS the rules and how to run a damn team. Players are more important, but a coach needs to do the competent stuff, at least. 

Because he's a good OC...

[japan]

On 10/18/2025 at 1:38 PM, BTiger3733 said:

Kliff Kingsbury's head coaching record:

Texas Tech: 35-40

Arizona Cardinals: 28-37

...but, he will have learned and corrected his shortcomings....

[japan]

On 10/19/2025 at 7:16 AM, AussieTitanFan08 said:

 

It is becoming really annoying how some people are using bad result as an excuse to paint the last HC hiring process as a sham. Facts are Callahan was an in demand candidate during that hiring cycle even as recently as two days ago Pelissero and Rapoport said had he not been hired by the Titans he would of been the Panthers HC and also would of had a second interview with the Falcons.

He wasn't an outlier hire.  He was a hot candidate.  But, he should have been swept out of the door with Carthon as you could tell in year one that he was in over his head...

[japan]

23 hours ago, charleytolar said:

But "gambit" does capture the "clever risk-taking" in hiring a Head Coach.

[TerryBoats]

On 10/19/2025 at 8:16 PM, AussieTitanFan08 said:

 

It is becoming really annoying how some people are using bad result as an excuse to paint the last HC hiring process as a sham. Facts are Callahan was an in demand candidate during that hiring cycle even as recently as two days ago Pelissero and Rapoport said had he not been hired by the Titans he would of been the Panthers HC and also would of had a second interview with the Falcons.

The demand was coming from some of the worst franchises in the NFL who constantly make poor decisions.  We've seen many examples of how unprepared he was for this job , including not even understanding basic NFL rules.  They clearly did a really poor job of vetting their hire, which makes the process a sham IMO

Edited Tuesday at 02:59 PM by TerryBoats

[titanskick8851]

 

[TerryBoats]

26 minutes ago, titanskick8851 said:

 

Is there any legible audio of him saying this?  I can't hear it

[OilerTitanHybrid]

What they really said to each other...

 

Cohen:  We still on for the fuckin' cook out later bro!?

 

Saleh:  Your cook outs rock my fuckin' world man!  I will eat all your wife's fuckin' food!

[Justafan]

On 10/20/2025 at 4:09 AM, AussieTitanFan08 said:

Albert Breer has a few nuggets here about the HC search and some of the analytical studies the team is already undertaking about varying success rates of second time HC and coordinators with more than 5yrs play calling experience.

 

Tennessee Titans

The next thing Amy Adams Strunk has to give her football people is time. The Titans’ owner’s issues have been documented over the past week (I chimed in, too). She’s had to face a lot of difficult, yet valid criticism. So, as the organization pulls itself from the ashes of the past week (and really the past three years), and charts yet another course to turn things around, it’s on Strunk to trust the people she’s entrusting.

 

Those people, as of this writing, are president of football operations Chad Brinker and general manager Mike Borgonzi.

 

You can go, chapter and verse, through all the things that went wrong, as we did last week. The overreaction to the A.J. Brown trade led to the firing of GM Jon Robinson. The decision, a year after giving Mike Vrabel more power, was to reinvent the wheel because of the climate in the office and fire Vrabel. The hirings and firings of successors Ran Carthon and Brian Callahan were independent of one another.  All of it is a mismanagement masterclass.

 

Now, she’s left with another search for a decision-maker looming. And I’d say this with all due respect: Strunk’s best move would be to stay out of it. She primarily did in the GM search, as Brinker tabbed Borgonzi, and I actually think the early returns on that hire are pretty decent, with a strong set of front office hires after the GM decision.

 

That’s currently the plan, as I understand it. Brinker and Borgonzi will lead the coach search, without a search firm. They’ll lean on the group they’ve assembled, which includes former GMs Dave Ziegler and Reggie McKenzie, as well as a rising young exec in Dan Saganey. The research to fuel it has already started. The study includes things, for example, like the track record of second-time head coaches with plus-.500 records, and coaches with five-plus years of play-calling experience before their hires.

 

I also believe that group will be open-minded, rather than just drilling down on simple ideas like simply focusing on a young offensive coach (which is what Strunk wanted, and got, in 2024) or an ex-player (which is where the franchise has had its most success since relocating from Houston, with Jeff Fisher and Vrabel). And that in the end, they’ll wind up with a Lions (Dan Campbell–Brad Holmes–Mike Disner) or Packers (Matt LaFleur–Brian Gutekunst–Russ Ball) type of setup between the coach, Borgonzi and Brinker.

 

Here’s the other thing I think Strunk needs to remember: Whoever the coach is, this is going to take time. The past three years have left a mark. It won’t be a one-season fix for Mike McCarthy (who has ties to Brinker), Matt Nagy (ties to Borgonzi), Arthur Smith (ties to the franchise) or whomever else the team winds up catching in the wide net it’ll cast. When you’ve had different people drafting and signing players for various systems and philosophies, there’s a lot of untangling to be done.

 

That’s going to require patience. Strunk hasn’t had much of late. But she’ll need to get some now, if the Titans are going to have a chance to fix it.

 

 

Best take i've read so far.