Titans Forced to Pivot After John Harbaugh Miss

Up to now, the league-wide search for a new head coach - with nearly 10 total teams taking part in the hunt - has been on relative ice, with high-profile candidate John Harbaugh dominating the scene with his silence. Just about everyone among the "coachless" ranks had Harbaugh high on their list, and that includes the Tennessee Titans.

Not only did Harbaugh appeal for the basic, historical reason that he's coming off a 15+ year tenure with the Baltimore Ravens (accompanied by multiple playoff appearances and a Super Bowl win in XLVII), but his deep roots in the league would've likely lended themselves to a solid cast of additional staff following in his wake.

Yet, just as the Tennessee brass was preparing to fly out and make their pitch to Harbaugh in his home, the coach canceled in favor of a long-rumored deal. Harbaugh and the New York Giants are officially working to finalize an agreement that will take the uber-popular candidate off the board.

Breaking: John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are working to finalize an agreement to make him their next head coach and, barring a setback, a deal is expected, multiple sources tell @AdamSchefter.

The deal is not final and contract numbers still are being negotiated, per… pic.twitter.com/UkRA0HUn14
— ESPN (@espn) January 15, 2026

The Titans Had a Plane Ready

According to Sr. NFL Reporter Albert Breer, "The Titans had the plane ready," for John Harbaugh, with general manager Mike Borgonzi, president of football operations Chad Brinker and owner Amy Adams Strunk in tow to Baltimore.

That is, before Harbaugh canceled, accepting the Giants' (the first and only team to interview Harbaugh in-person) terms and working to ink the aforementioned deal to New York.

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

"They [Titans] went after Harbaugh from right when he was let go," Breer continued, "but knew it might be a long shot."

Tennessee Has to Pivot

Even if the Titans were never never the favorites for everyone's favorite candidate on the market, Harbaugh so much as considering Nashville as his future home - being reported to like both the team and their general situation - may be perceived as a win for the usually bad-news-bound franchise.

Though the front office can't dwell on moral wins like those. Tennessee has to pivot and, sooner rather than later, find a proper suitor for their growingly worrying open chair at the top.

With names like Kevin Stefanski, Mike McDaniel and Mike McCarthy still on the board, among others, the Titans have plenty of options remaining to choose from with confidence. Further, those names may even suit the team's needs better than Harbaugh, to some extent, given their offensive expertise and dire need of a new opportunity.

In the end, so long as Tennessee doesn't hire Matt Nagy, it'd be hard to truly miss with the sheer number of high-quality names still waiting on a call.

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