Titans Had Plane Ready for John Harbaugh Interview When Giants Hired Him

John Harbaugh will be the next Giants head coach. | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Late on Wednesday night the news broke that the Giants planned to hire John Harbaugh as the franchise’s next coach. It was a collectively lauded move for New York. Harbaugh is a highly-respected coach who kept the Ravens near the top of the AFC standings for nearly 20 years at his last stop in Baltimore. Proof of that became apparent as soon as Harbaugh became available after he was dismissed by the Ravens, with just about every team in need of a head coach rumored to be interested in this Harbaugh brother.

The Titans were one such team. Tennessee fired the incumbent Brian Callahan halfway through the 2025 campaign and were next in line to speak to Harbaugh after he met with the Giants. The Titans were so eager to interview him, in fact, that they had the team plane all ready to go to visit Harbaugh at his home in Baltimore the day after his Giants interview, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported on Thursday. The key figures of the franchise—GM Mike Borgonzi, president of football ops Chad Brinker and owner Amy Adams Strunk— were all set to fly out to interview Harbaugh.

Then the Giants got a deal done in the dead of night and it was all for naught.

The Titans had the plane ready for today, with GM Mike Borgonzi, president of football ops Chad Brinker and owner Amy Adams Strunk set to go to Baltimore, before John Harbaugh canceled.

They went after Harbaugh from right when he was let go, but knew it might be a long shot.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 15, 2026

As noted by Breer the Titans understood their chances of landing Harbaugh might have been slim. But it’s still a disappointing development for the franchise. Tennessee has been flailing since firing Mike Vrabel and the organization is in desperate need of direction given 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward seems like a future franchise quarterback. Harbaugh would have provided stability for the development of the young QB and putting the team back on the track to relevance; the Titans have finished dead last in the AFC South for three years running.

Now Tennessee will turn its attention elsewhere for the franchise’s next head coach. But nobody can say they weren’t prepared to hop on the Harbaugh opportunity.

Titans’ scheduled head coaching interviews

With Harbaugh out of the picture, the Titans will proceed with the other interviews they have scheduled.

Per Breer, Tennessee is set to interview veteran coach Mike McCarthy on Saturday. On Sunday, the Titans will speak to former Jets head coach and current 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh while he prepares for San Francisco’s divisional clash with the Seahawks. They’ll also interview former Cardinals boss Jonathan Gannon, who was fired earlier this month following three unsuccessful seasons in Arizona.

Breer additionally notes ex-Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is still a “very strong candidate” in Tennessee.

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