The Titans knocked over the first domino in the forthcoming coaching cycle this week, firing Brian Callahan after a 1–5 start to the 2025 season. Veteran offensive assistant Mike McCoy will now step in as the interim, looking to guide the way for rookie quarterback Cam Ward & Co. with 11 games remaining in the campaign.
Being tabbed to take over an NFL franchise on an interim basis puts coaches in a tough position. For starters, most come in having worked for the person who was just fired by the team, and have to do their best to galvanize a group of players going through what is already a tumultuous season.
Moreover, they're essentially working a dead-end job—as interim coaches are rarely retained when teams inevitably open up a wider search at season's end.
Despite all of this, however, these coaches have actually fared pretty well to begin their interim tenures—especially in recent years. Here's a closer look at how teams have performed in their first games under a new head man in charge.
How interim NFL head coaches have fared in their first game since 2000
Since the beginning of the 2000 NFL season, 48 teams have either fired, moved on from or had their coach resign mid-campaign. Of those 48, 20 have won their first game with a new voice at the helm.
From 2000 to '09, just two of 14 interim coaches won their debut, while more recently—since '18, to be exact—those stop gaps have gone a respectable 9–9.
Here's a year-by-year look at each coach fired, the interim tabbed in his place, and the result of their first game:
2000
2001
2002
No coaches were fired mid-season
2003
2004
2005
2006
No coaches were fired mid-season
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
No coaches were fired mid-season
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Notable interim head coach performances
As we mentioned before, these interim are typically a stop gap to what ends up being wider coaching search in the offseason. Other times however, they do a good enough job to land—or at least deserve to land—the full-time gig.
Here's a look at some notable coaches who took over in the interim:
Jason Garrett, 2010 Dallas Cowboys
Jason Garrett took over for Wade Phillips midway through the 2010 season and after going 5–3 down the stretch, was hired as the Cowboys full-time head coach in January '11.
Garrett would end up spending the next nine years in Dallas, going 85–67 overall and leading the Cowboys to three playoff appearances. He was fired at the end of the 2019 season.
Doug Marrone, 2016 Jacksonville Jaguars
After the Jaguars fired Gus Bradley amid a 2–12 start to the 2016 season, they tabbed Doug Marrone to guide the franchise on an interim basis. Jacksonville finished the year 1–1, and Marrone was hired as the full-time head coach heading into the next season.
Marrone saw instant success in Duval County, leading the Jaguars to a 10–6 record and a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2017. Unfortunately, three consecutive seasons with win percentages of .375 or worse followed, and he was fired after a 1–16 campaign in 2020.
Gregg Williams, 2018 Cleveland Browns
Gregg Williams went 5–3 as the Browns' interim head coach in 2018 after they parted ways with Hue Jackson, and had them on the doorstep of the playoffs heading into January.
That offseason, however, Cleveland went with Freddie Kitchens—who had been working closely with rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield—as their full-time head coach.
Rich Bisaccia, 2021 Las Vegas Raiders
Rich Bisaccia took the reins of a 3–2 Raiders team in 2021 after coach Jon Gruden resigned amid his leaked emails scandal. Las Vegas went 7–5 to finish out the year and even made it to the postseason, losing to the Bengals in the wild-card round.
Many clamored for Bisaccia to get the team's full-time head coaching job the following season, but they instead opened up a search and hired Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels—who we'll get to later.
Jeff Saturday, 2022 Indianapolis Colts
The Colts fired Frank Reich after a 3-5-1 start to the 2022 season and instead of appointing someone on the current staff, team owner Jim Irsay turned for former center Jeff Saturday to lead the charge.
At the time, Saturday was working as an analyst with ESPN and his only coaching experience had been at the high school level. Needless to say, the hire got a lot of flak.
Amid the noise, Saturday led Indy to a 25–20 win over the Raiders in his first game, but finished the season 0–7 and was not retained in 2023.
Antonio Pierce, 2023 Las Vegas Raiders
Known for firing coaches mid-season, the Raiders moved on from Josh McDaniels just eight games into his second year and turned to linebackers coach Antonio Pierce in the interim.
Pierce led Las Vegas to a 5–4 finish to the 2023 season, and this time, team owner Mark Davis listened to his players. He hired Pierce as the team's full-time coach in '24, but fired him this past January after a 4–13, fourth-place finish in the AFC West.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Interim NFL Coaches Have Fared in Their First Game As Titans Turn to Mike McCoy.
