Brian Callahan Becomes First NFL Head Coach Fired This Season — and Others Are Feeling the Heat

Brian Callahan has become the first NFL head coach to be fired this season, marking yet another early-season shakeup for a league where job security is as fragile as a losing streak.

The Tennessee Titans announced Monday that Callahan was relieved of his duties after a 1-5 start, ending his brief tenure less than two seasons into a five-year deal reportedly worth around $3 million annually.

It’s a stark fall for a coach once viewed as part of the NFL’s next generation of offensive minds — and a reminder that in football, patience remains in short supply.

A Short-Lived Era in Tennessee

Callahan’s dismissal comes just 20 games into his head-coaching career, leaving the Titans once again searching for direction. His 3-14 debut season in 2024, which did yield the No. 1 overall draft pick in quarterback Cam Ward, was supposed to be a rebuilding year. But the 2025 campaign opened with similar inconsistency — stagnant offense, shaky defense, and locker room frustration — sealing his fate before midseason.

His firing also continues an unwelcome trend: for the fourth time in five years, an NFL team that drafted a quarterback No. 1 overall has fired its head coach midseason. Previous examples include Matt Eberflus (Bears, 2024), Frank Reich (Panthers, 2023), and Urban Meyer (Jaguars, 2021).

The Titans are expected to name an interim coach later this week.

Coaches on the Hot Seat: McDaniel, Glenn, and Harbaugh Feeling the Pressure

While Callahan became the first casualty of the 2025 season, several other head coaches may soon follow.

In Miami, Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins have stumbled to a 1-5 start — a far cry from their playoff expectations. The struggles have been compounded by reports of locker room tension after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa publicly criticized unnamed teammates for arriving late to player-led meetings.

The Dolphins’ slow start has reignited familiar questions about discipline and culture within the organization, issues that McDaniel appeared to have solved early in his tenure but that now threaten his standing.

Meanwhile, Aaron Glenn, once among the league’s most talked-about head coaching prospects, is learning the hard way just how thin the margin for error can be. The New York Jets, under Glenn’s leadership, have started 0-6 following a painful 13-11 loss to the Denver Broncos in London.

The game featured a cascade of coaching blunders — from mismanaging the clock at the end of the first half to punting on 4th-and-4 near midfield instead of attempting a long field goal to take the lead.

The result? The Jets finished with just 10 net passing yards, their lowest output in franchise history. Quarterback Justin Fields was sacked nine times, completing only nine passes. Glenn is now the first Jets coach ever to begin his tenure with six straight losses.

Over in Baltimore, John Harbaugh — one of the NFL’s most accomplished coaches with 187 career wins and a Super Bowl title — has also come under fire. The Ravens, widely tipped as a Super Bowl contender this year, have started 1-5 amid a rash of injuries and poor offensive play.

A 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday marked the team’s fourth straight defeat and prompted boos from the home crowd. Though Harbaugh’s job appears safe for now, frustration in Baltimore is rising rapidly.

A Brutal Business: Fired Coaches Pile Up

Last season, three NFL head coaches were fired before their teams even reached December:

Robert Saleh (Jets, Week 5)

Dennis Allen (Saints, Week 9)

Matt Eberflus (Bears, Week 14)

They joined a crowded group of offseason departures that included Jerod Mayo (Patriots), Antonio Pierce (Raiders), Doug Pederson (Jaguars), and Mike McCarthy (Cowboys).

All told, seven head coaches lost their jobs by the end of the 2024 season — a turnover rate that underscores the league’s “win now or go home” mentality.

The Replacement Reality Check

If ownership groups were hoping midseason firings would produce quick turnarounds, the results suggest otherwise.

The three interim head coaches who stepped in last season went 7-18 combined, compared to the 8-18 record posted by the men they replaced.

This year, the permanent successors aren’t faring much better: their collective record stands at 4-13 through six weeks.

Aaron Glenn (Jets): 0-6

Kellen Moore (Saints): 1-5

Ben Johnson (Bears): 3-2

Johnson’s Bears have been the lone bright spot, surpassing 20 points in each of their first five games — something the franchise hadn’t achieved since 1995.

By contrast, Glenn’s Jets have fielded one of the league’s worst offenses, while Moore’s Saints are still searching for consistency under new quarterback leadership.

Offseason Firings Proving More Stable

Interestingly, the four teams that waited until after the 2024 season to part ways with their head coaches are enjoying a more promising start in 2025.

Mike Vrabel (Patriots): 4-2

Liam Coen (Jaguars): 4-2

Pete Carroll (Raiders): 2-4

Brian Schottenheimer (Cowboys): 2-3-1

Collectively, those replacements have gone 12-11-1, compared to the 19-49 record of their predecessors last season.

Vrabel has already matched Jerod Mayo’s total wins from 2024, while Coen has equaled Pederson’s. Both are being credited for restoring discipline and offensive rhythm to struggling teams.

The Cost of Losing: Millions in Buyouts

Coaching turnover isn’t just costly on the field — it’s expensive off it.

Callahan’s firing leaves the Titans on the hook for more than $10 million in guaranteed money, since his five-year deal had only just begun.

In college football, buyouts are reaching astronomical levels. Callahan now joins seven FBS head coaches fired midseason in 2025, including Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Sam Pittman (Arkansas), DeShaun Foster (UCLA), Brent Pry (Virginia Tech), Trent Bray (Oregon State), Trent Dilfer (UAB), and James Franklin (Penn State).

Franklin’s dismissal drew particular attention: less than three weeks after his Penn State team ranked No. 3 nationally, he was fired following a three-game skid. His buyout reportedly approached $50 million — nearly half of the $100 million total owed to fired FBS coaches so far this year.

It’s a stark reminder that, in modern football, even failure comes with a paycheck.

A League That Never Sleeps

NFL insiders often say coaching is the most volatile profession in sports, and this season’s carousel proves it yet again. The firing of Callahan, a respected young offensive strategist, underscores how unforgiving the league has become.

As one AFC executive told ESPN on background:

“You’re not just coaching games anymore — you’re managing billion-dollar expectations every Sunday. One bad month can change your life.”

For coaches like McDaniel, Glenn, and Harbaugh, that reality looms large heading into Week 7. Another string of losses could mean the next wave of pink slips is already being printed.

Even Legends Aren’t Immune

Not even the most successful coaches are untouchable.

Just last year, Bill Belichick, the legendary architect of six Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots, was dismissed by owner Robert Kraft after nearly a quarter-century at the helm.

Belichick shocked the football world by accepting the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina after a one-year sabbatical.

On Monday, during his weekly press conference, Belichick addressed rumors that he was seeking a buyout to leave the Tar Heels program early.

“Those reports are completely false,” Belichick said firmly. “I’m happy to be here. This is where I want to be.”

It was vintage Belichick — terse, focused, and uninterested in distractions — but it also underscored a truth every coach in football understands: no one is safe forever.

The Cycle Never Ends

For Brian Callahan, the end in Tennessee may not mean the end of his NFL career. Many fired head coaches find their way back into coordinator roles or broadcasting gigs before another opportunity arises.

But as the league barrels deeper into another turbulent season, one thing is clear: the coaching carousel is spinning faster than ever.

In an era of impatient owners, soaring payrolls, and 24/7 media scrutiny, survival depends not only on winning games but on managing egos, injuries, and expectations — week after week, season after season.

And as the Titans, Dolphins, Jets, and Ravens can all attest, even the brightest minds can fall victim to the league’s most unforgiving statistic: you’re only as good as your last win.