The NFL’s first head coaching domino fell just six games into the 2025 season. Brian Callahan is out after one loss too many for the Tennessee Titans, and it didn’t take long for Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s name to be bandied about as a potential successor.
Kingsbury was a high-profile name in last year’s head coaching cycle after galvanizing his career with the Commanders. The New Orleans Saints job would have been his if he wanted it, but the signal-caller chose to stay in Washington, citing his love for the job, working with Jayden Daniels and learning from Dan Quinn as the driving forces behind his decision.
He also has the luxury of being demanding. Kingsbury won’t just take the first job that comes along — not after the way things ended with the Arizona Cardinals. He said this should be a significant opportunity for him to move on from Daniels, but the Titans have their own draft pick under center who desperately needs the right mentor.
OC Commanders Kliff Kingsbury among possible candidates for Titans job
Jordan Dajani CBS Sports » agrees, naming Kingsbury among the possible candidates to take over for the Titans. Although the analyst acknowledged that consistency is a concern, his accomplished development of young quarterbacks could be precisely what Cam Ward needs.
“[Kliff] Kingsbury’s unique, fast-paced offense ranked in the top seven in yards per game (369.6) and points per game (28.5) in 2024. Kingsbury has been a head coach before, as he led the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022. He improved Arizona’s win total each year, going from 5-10-1 to 8-8 for ultimately going 11-6, but was let go after a disastrous 4-13 campaign in 2022. Overall, the 46-year-old went 28-37-1 as a lead man. Consistency is a question when it comes to Kingsbury, but he will be on board the coaching carousel this offseason. »
Jordan Dajani
The Tennessee vacancy won’t be the only one by the end of the season. Kingsbury will receive interview requests, but he declined to accept any while the Commanders were still in the playoffs last time. Whether he’ll adopt a similar philosophy in the next hiring cycle is up for debate, but you only stay hot for so long.
Kingsbury might be intrigued by Ward’s skills. He is a mobile and athletic quarterback who can make every throw. He is very competitive and leads from the front. This is the kind of signal-caller he’s had success with before, with Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray and Daniels all benefiting greatly from his expertise.
It will be interesting to see what path Kingsbury takes when the time comes. His primary focus now is helping commanders achieve their goals, and this candor helped him rediscover his love for coaching. It will be difficult to leave, but he also wants another chance to be a head coach again.
Whether he takes the Titans job, if offered at some point, will depend almost entirely on his evaluation of Ward, because it all starts with the quarterback.
