The Tennessee Titans are weighing a range of potential head coaching candidates ahead of the 2026 season, with several names emerging based on experience and connections to the organization. Relationships and vision are expected to be key considerations for the franchise.
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy’s History with Titans’ Front Office Puts Him in the Mix
Lead NFL Insider for CBS, Jonathan Jones, recently outlined some of the top candidates Tennessee is expected to consider, a list that started with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
“I would anticipate Chiefs OC Matt Nagy and former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy to get long looks in Tennessee based off their relationships with Titans GM Mike Borgonzi (Nagy) and president of football operations Chad Brinker (McCarthy),” Jones wrote Saturday. “Defensive coordinators like Jeff Hafley (Packers), Chris Shula (Rams) and Jesse Minter (Chargers)Â have been expected to get interview slips as well, according to sources.”
Notably, Borgonzi called Kansas City home from 2009 to 2024, working his way up from administrator of college scouting to assistant general manager with the Chiefs before landing the general manager role in Tennessee this season. His working relationship with Nagy began in 2013, when the now 47-year-old coordinator was hired as Kansas City’s quarterbacks coach, while Borgonzi served as the assistant director of pro scouting.
Borgonzi was later promoted to co-director of player personnel in 2015, and Nagy assumed offensive coordinator duties shortly thereafter in 2016.
Come 2018, Nagy left the Chiefs to take his first head-coaching opportunity with the Chicago Bears. That same year, Borgonzi became Kansas City’s director of football operations. Once Nagy returned to the Chiefs in 2022 following his dismissal in Chicago, Borgonzi had already been elevated to assistant general manager.
Clearly, the Borgonzi-Nagy ties run deep, and in the NFL, just as in life, relationships matter.
Though Jones also noted that the Titans will not limit themselves to one specific type of head coach, he did say previous head-coaching experience will be valued after the franchise fired Brian Callahan just six games into his second season. Tennessee, which could move quickly given the amount of time it’s had to prepare for such a decision, is seeking to stabilize the locker room, reset the culture, and commit to a candidate with a direct vision on filling out a quality staff.
Leadership remains a major factor in how the Titans’ opening is perceived league-wide, which some believe could lead controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk to take a strong step back.
“It’s been a tough few years for the owner, and I could see her fading more into the background,” one AFC source told Jones.
Strunk has drawn criticism for a series of abrupt leadership changes, moving on from winning figures such as general manager Jon Robinson and head coach Mike Vrabel, while also dismissing short-tenured hires like general manager Ran Carthon and Callahan. Questions about clarity and consistency in decision-making, combined with her reluctance to engage publicly on these issues, have contributed to a negative perception and become elements that candidates like Nagy will have to carefully consider this offseason.
