Titans Coach Faces Fierce Crowd Backlash—His Unexpected Reaction Will Surprise You

Man, Sunday just turned into one of those days the Tennessee Titans—and especially their head coach Brian Callahan—would rather forget. The team stumbled hard, falling 41-20 to the Indianapolis Colts, sliding to a disheartening 0-3 start. You could practically hear the frustration ripple through the crowd well before halftime, as Callahan faced a chorus of “fire Callahan” chants, sparked by a series of blunders that handed the Colts a crucial six-point momentum shift. Walking off to the locker room, the boos hit loud and clear, laying bare the growing unrest among the faithful. The icing on the cake? A notably botched sequence towards the end of the first half that only fueled the fire. It’s clear the Titans are grappling with more than just their record—there’s a real sense that things are unraveling right under Callahan’s watch, and the pressure’s mounting with every misstep. LEARN MORE

Sunday was another tough day for the Tennessee Titans and head coach Brian Callahan.

The Titans suffered a 41-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts to drop to 0-3. Before halftime, Callahan drew jeers of “fire Callahan” after a series of miscues contributed to a six-point swing in favor of the Colts.

Callahan was then greeted by loud boos from fans as he walked to the halftime locker room.

The latest to draw the ire of Titans fans was a botched sequence late in the first half.

Bungled end of half stirs up Titans fans

With Indianapolis leading, 17-6 and 3:15 remaining in the half, Tennessee ran five straight run plays after taking over possession in good field position at its own 41-yard line.

Callahan prioritized running down the clock and clearly had no intention of giving rookie No. 1 pick quarterback Cam Ward a chance at driving for a touchdown with his arm despite the 11-point deficit and plenty of time remaining. The fifth play of the possession was a one-yard run up the middle on third-and-2 that left the Titans short of a first down.

Indecision makes things worse

This drew a heavy round of boos from the stands as the Titans appeared ready to settle for a 57-yard field-goal attempt. But Callahan wasn’t quite sure what to do at this point. He ended up calling a timeout on the heels of a Colts timeout to give himself more time to make a decision on whether to kick or go for it on fourth down.

Until or unless there's improvement, the boos around Brian Callahan in Nashville will only get louder. — Until or unless there’s improvement, the boos around Brian Callahan in Nashville will only get louder.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

He eventually decided to kick. But his kicking unit wasn’t ready, despite the back-to-back timeouts. The Titans didn’t get set before the play clock expired, and they took a five-yard delay-of-game penalty, pushing the field-goal attempt back to 62 yards.

This, of course, drew more boos from the Tennessee crowd. The Colts tipped Slye’s 62-yard attempt at the line of scrimmage and took over on downs at Tennessee’s 48-yard line. Again, more boos.

‘Fire Callahan’ chants break out

The Colts then capitalized on their good fortune with a Spencer Shrader field goal to go into halftime with a 20-6 lead. Fans chanted “fire Callahan” as Shrader lined up for his kick. Then came an intensified round of boos after the kick went through.

Asked about the calls for his job, Callahan said this in his postgame news conference:

“I don’t think about those things,” Callahan said, per the Associated Press. “You really can’t. This is hard enough as it is to put those other things and think about that, it doesn’t do anybody any good. So, I just go to work and work as hard as I can. I put as much effort as I can into this.”

As for what happened with his late timeout before the delay-of-game penalty, Callahan acknowledged that he was buying time to make up his mind.

“I hadn’t decided yet at the moment what we’re going to do,” Callahan said. “We were going back and forth and wanted a minute to think about it.”

He also acknowledged the disorganization that led to the delay of game.

“Obviously looks really bad at the end of the day,” Callahan continued. “That was not the intention to do that.”

How much leash does Callahan have?

Callahan is in his second season as Tennessee’s head coach after the franchise’s decision to fire longtime coach Mike Vrabel following the 2023 season. The Titans are 3-17 under Callahan’s watch after Sunday’s loss.

After a Week 1 loss to the Broncos, Callahan admitted that he didn’t know a rule about what constitutes a catch at the sideline on a play that he didn’t challenge but should have.

The stakes are higher this season than last as the Titans seek to develop Ward into a franchise quarterback. Until or unless there’s improvement, the boos in Nashville will only get louder.