The Las Vegas Raiders are set to face the Tennessee Titans in a Week 6 matchup that features two of the worst teams in the NFL. While the Raiders began their season with a win before losing four games in a row, the opposite has been the case for the Titans, who picked up their first win last week.
Las Vegas has been awful on both sides of the ball compared to the rest of the league; however, Tennessee has been even worse, as they are the only team in the league to score fewer points and allow more points than the Raiders.
The Titans' head coach, Brian Callahan, is in his second year leading the team and has not shown much improvement despite the addition of rookie quarterback Cam Ward. While Pete Carroll likely has some leeway as he is in his first season on the job, the same cannot be said for Callahan.
Titans HC Brian Callahan could be fired with loss to Raiders
Callahan was viewed as one of the league's brightest young offensive minds during his tenure as the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator, which included a trip to the Super Bowl. The Titans made him the head coach with the hopes that he would transform their offense, but that has not been the case.
Tennessee finished just 27th in scoring last season and currently ranks tied for last in that department despite the addition of Ward. FOX Sports' Ralph Vacchiano labeled him as the coach with the hottest seat heading into Week 6, and a loss to the Raiders could put him over the edge.
"He entered the season on shaky ground in large part because the Titans hired new general manager Mike Borgonzi in January, and GMs generally prefer to choose their own coach rather than inherit one. Callahan is also 4-18 in his two seasons, so his résumé isn’t exactly sparkling," Vacchiano wrote. "Even the one win so far this season, against the Cardinals in Week 5, was thanks to a series of fluky plays, not brilliant coaching. Callahan's best chance to keep his job is to show he’s the right guy to develop Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick, into a true franchise quarterback. But through five games, Ward has topped 220 passing yards once with just two touchdown passes and three interceptions. With a notoriously impulsive owner, Callahan isn’t just on the hottest seat, he may also be the most likely coach not to survive the season. Keep an eye on Tennessee's bye week in Week 10."
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All signs point to Callahan not being back with the Titans next season if things continue. Losing to the Raiders in their current state, however, may lead to him being gone before the aforementioned bye week.
His inability to get anything going offensively is not ideal for an offensive-minded coach. Derek Carr wasn't exactly great when Callahan was the team's quarterback coach, either. Instead, Callahan's success appears to be a product of Joe Burrow's impeccable talent.
With Burrow under center during his tenure as the Bengals' offensive coordinator, the team was 29-22-1 due to an offense that looked elite, averaging 24.6 points per game. Without the two-time Pro Bowler, Cincinnati was just 8-22, averaging 18.0 points per game.
In Callahan's 22 games as Tennessee's head coach, they are averaging just 17.5 points per game, continuing a trend of his lack of offensive success without Burrow. If the Titans struggle against the Raiders, or even worse, suffer a blowout loss, he could be in danger of losing his job.