Titans New HC's First Loss Not Sitting Well

For perhaps the first time all season, the Tennessee Titans fanbase found themselves in an usual bliss last week when second-year head coach Brian Callahan was fired by the franchise. In deciding to move on from the leader and former play-caller - who, in 23 games with the team, managed just four wins to 19 losses - Tennessee inspired new life in people both within and outside the franchise.

Now, less than seven days later, the Titans have taken yet another double-digit loss, falling to 1-6 on a season that has appeared to be a wash for more than a month now. To add salt to the wound, this most recent defeat came at the hand of the New England Patriots, led by former Titans HC Mike Vrabel, in a homecoming that had both sides bitter to begin with.

Bad Blood

Despite the relative bad blood (Vrabel made a joke prior to the game about leaving his old gear at a local Goodwill), the Patriots left no doubts in a convincing 31-13 win. For a Titans team, operating for the time under interim HC and senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy, what does such a loss mean? Was the firing of Brian Callahan, as painful as the thought may be, preemptive?

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In short, the answer is no. Tennessee's failure to improve even remotely in the former HC's wake is slightly concerning, but that one thing that shouldn't posit in the mind of any observer is that parting ways with Callahan, who had long proven his ineptitude in this specific context, was a mistake.

Even if the Titans aren't necessarily better off right now without him, they likely will be in the future given a competent hire as his replacement.

Identity Crisis

For lack of a better term, this Tennessee Titans team is simply a shattered image. Few knew what to expect of the rookie-heavy, Cam Ward-led roster coming into this season, but even then, it feels as if they've fallen short of those shaky standards.

Now, with just one win through seven games and without a long-term head man, the Titans are facing an identity crisis nearing the midway point of a threateningly bad year. It'd be an overreaction to suggest that the team needs to reset entirely during the coaching search, but all the same, something about this unit remains out of place even with Callahan gone.

No matter what it is exactly, the team feels a long way off from figuring it out. All that can be hoped is that the next head coach is not only a winner with a fully-formed team, but a winner when it comes to building one, too.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!