Titans’ Mike McCoy Gets Honest About Cam Ward’s Season

The Tennessee Titans, as a franchise, are currently operating in a sort of limbo between head-coaching hires. After firing second-year head man Brian Callahan just over a month into the 2025-26 season, the team turned to senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy to fill the role for the time being; "the time being," in retrospect, meant the rest of the season.

After having earned his own HC experience with the San Diego Chargers earlier in his coaching career, McCoy's ongoing run in Tennessee has yielded just one win since Week 7. Then again, McCoy wasn't exactly expected to turn the team around on his own. He's a bridge option of sorts, spelling the development of the franchise's leading young talent and keeping the glue dry until a more permanent option comes in to take over.

Chief among the former young talent is rookie quarterback Cam Ward. Intended to be the face of the Titans' franchise, the first-year signal caller has slowly worked his way into a considerable, impressive role leading the team's offense. Yet, according to McCoy, Ward's rookie year has been a "typical" showing, defined by ups and downs that first-year players are known for.

Dec 14, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) warms up prior to the first half against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Good and Bad

"It's a typical rookie season," McCoy said of Ward's inaugural campaign. "For a rookie quarterback, there's going to be good and there's going to be bad."

.@Titans interim HC Mike McCoy: Ups and downs, good and bad, for QB Cam Ward. It's a typical rookie season, and he's always learning. He's getting better, but there will always be learning moments for a rookie QB. But you see the growth, and he's headed in the right direction
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) December 15, 2025

"There's the ups and downs, and you're learning every week," McCoy continued. "He's always learning and he's getting better week in and week out. You see the growth, week in and week out. He's headed in the right direction, and he has a very bright future. And we're going to win a lot of games with him."

Despite having won only two games thus far (the team is 2-12 overall), Ward's promising future with the team can be seen in flashes, even when the scoreboard yields a negative result.

Ward's growth has caught on online amongst fans, in posts with thousands of likes on X (Twitter):

……… pic.twitter.com/SYuXUQ9fdT
— RBT (@SamuelBrownRBT) December 15, 2025

A Crucial Hire

Regardless of how McCoy feels about Ward at this stage in his young career, the more important metric will be how the next HC is suited to helm the hopeful star's development.

An offfensive mind would likely be the most suited to the QB's path, but then again, that's why the aforementioned Callahan was hired in the first place. By all means, the Titans must avoid repeating that mistake this time around.

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