Titans firing Brian Callahan continues worrying rookie QB trend

The Tennessee Titans made it official on Monday. After weeks of speculation, the Titans dismissed second-year head coach Brian Callahan. Hired by the Titans after four seasons as an offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals, Callahan finished with a 4-19 record over his time in Nashville.

His firing also continues a rough trend for rookie quarterbacks who went first overall in their draft class.

The Titans owned the first-overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft and selected Cam Ward out of Miami. Just six games into his rookie season, Ward is now faced with adjusting to a new head coach.

In fact, the last four quarterbacks selected first in their respective draft classes all faced a head coaching change during their rookie season. Trevor Lawrence was drafted first overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2021 NFL Draft, only to see the Jaguars fire Urban Meyer after just 13 games. Meyer ended up with a 2-11 record during his time in Jacksonville, and his 13-game tenure is one of the shortest in NFL history.

After the Jaguars drafted Trevon Walker first overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers selected Bryce Young at the top of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Frank Reich was fired in Carolina after a 1-10 start that season.

Then there was the 2024 NFL Draft, which saw Caleb Williams selected first by the Chicago Bears. It was a surprise to begin with when Chicago retained Matt Eberflus for the 2024 season, after the coach went 3-14 in 2022 and 7-10 in 2023, but with two picks inside the top ten, including Williams, there was hope Eberflus would turn things around in the Windy City in 2024.

After the Bears started 4-8 and lost to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, Eberflus was fired.

For those wondering, while the 2026 NFL Draft class might not have a surefire QB1 yet, if the draft were to happen today, the New York Jets -- who need a quarterback -- have the first-overall selection.