NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Thoughts on where things stand as we wait for what’s next from the Titans regarding their coach.
Yes, Sean McDermott is a stop-the-process guy.
Among active coaches, his .662 winning percentage (98-50) trails only Nick Siranni and Jim Harbaugh. I can understand the Bills' thinking that someone else can do what he’s been doing with the potential to break through better in the playoffs, but it’s risky to try it.
That said, he's a defense guy and his playoff defense has failed repeatedly.
Sean McDermott wasn't good enough
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 19, 2026
last 6 years: 6 playoff trips, 6 playoff losses
in those losses:
33.2 ppg allowed
#29 in defensive success
#27 in defensive EPA/play
unacceptable defense in the biggest moments
it finally cost him his job:https://t.co/OnKR9OZV0z
Tennessee, of course, would embrace a coach who could round a team into playoff form.
If the Titans get any indication that McDermott would be interested in coaching in Nashville, they need to pursue him. Hurry and try to accelerate his timetable.
He's 51, so there is still a lot ahead of him.
Mike McCarthy's standing
Mike McCarthy met with the Titans before his official interview. AtoZ reported it and Adam Schefter put time and place on it, December in Green Bay. Then he was here for his first official interview on Friday/Saturday.
Many who are rooting for him insist on giving more weight to that than to the fact that the Titans have other people in Nashville now, at a time when hiring is more likely to occur.
Depending on how McDermott impacts things, I won’t be surprised if Robert Saleh or Matt Nagy get an offer Monday, while the same could happen for Jeff Hafley in Miami. He'll come here on Tuesday if he gets out of South Florida and if the Titans' job remains open.
Fans of others, like Saleh, say, “don’t let him leave the building.”
Well, the Titans let McCarthy leave the building, and they weren’t holding his arm, pulling on him, trying to get him to stay.
For McCarthy to resurface as a serious candidate, multiple things would likely need to go wrong elsewhere. The perception I’ve heard from multiple people in the league is that he’s seen as too old school and not the type of innovator teams believe will adapt with where the league is headed.
The floodgates are about to open
The pace will pick up with head coaching hires, and then another race will begin.
Some coordinators will stay in place – probably Jim Schwartz if he’s not hired in Cleveland, probably John Fassell here. But a vast majority of 10 offensive coordinator jobs, 10 defensive coordinator posts and 10 special teams coordinator spots will churn, and then position coaches will follow.
That’s enormous turnover, and the ability to get your guys will be about relationships and money, but also about stability. What are the odds your head coach is going to play out his five- or six-year contract, and that your (likely) two-year deal will quickly get extended?
I don’t think the Titans are as cheap in this department as they are perceived to be by the public, but it’s an area where they need to win. They talked highly of tight end coach Luke Stocker. I could see two or three other holdovers beyond he and Fassel, depending on who the coach is and who he can bring.
Names are going to be flying around.
Trusting Mike Borganzi
I’ve encouraged people not to go crazy over Mike Borgonzi.
The tendency among Titans fans is to be all the way in or all the way out. There is no need to jump to “In JRob We Trust” or “Let Ran Cook” to “I Believe in the Borgonzi Scheme.”
He’s got a small sample size with a lot of good indicators, starting with the fact that he makes 
sense when he talks, which has become too rare among power brokers in this organization, where the owner doesn't speak at all.
But if you’re trusting him at this point, then I think you have to see what he does and hear his rationale. It does seem fair to like him if he picks someone you like and not like him if he picks someone you don’t.
I’ll have a big initial reaction to the new coach. Then I’ll give him a clean slate and judge him on his work. And his work will boil down to whether he wins or not – and that’s over some time, not over his first month.
