The 1-5 Tennessee Titans still have 11 games to play (barring a miraculous turnaround that somehow leads to a postseason berth) under a fill-in head coach. That’s a long time for players, fans, and outside observers to mull over who should take the reins for real in 2026.
One name that’s very familiar to Cowboys Nation is already near the top of the list. If he ends up being chosen, put another revenge game on the 2026 calendar.
Mike McCarthy is being touted by several outlets as a possible contender for the Tennessee job. The Titans tabbed Mike McCoy to be their interim head coach after firing Brian Callahan earlier in the week. McCarthy, who will turn 62 next month, is currently taking a year away from the game after five seasons with the Cowboys.
Notable names like Matt Nagy, Arthur Smith, Kliff Kingsbury, Robert Saleh, Brian Flores, Bill O’Brien, and even Bill Belichick have also been bandied about. All have NFL head-coaching experience.
McCarthy went 49-35 in his time in Dallas, but his 1-3 postseason record and a disappointing 7-10 finish last year led to a split with the organization. It was reported that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and McCarthy were headed toward finalizing a new contract for 2025 and beyond, but the two elected at the last minute to part ways.
This season, McCarthy is in heavy-duty dad-mode to his two youngest daughters but has been preparing all along for a return to coaching in 2026. As a former Super Bowl winner with Green Bay and the one of the winningest coaches in NFL history, he’ll likely be a top candidate for every opening next offseason.
With 174 career wins as a head coach, McCarthy currently sits 13th on the league’s all-time list. His ranking will have changed, though, by the time he takes his next gig; Denver’s Sean Payton is tied with him heading into Week 7 at 174. Baltimore’s John Harbaugh is one win behind them, and Pete Carroll is two victories back.
Tennessee may well provide McCarthy with an attractive situation for his third head coaching stop. Perhaps the main draw would be the young (but raw) quarterback talent in Cam Ward. The Titans took Ward No. 1 overall in April, and McCarthy has a longstanding reputation as a nurturer of passers, having contributed heavily to the development of Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Dak Prescott during his 30-plus years in the NFL.
Further, the Titans are likely to have another very high slot in next spring’s draft and a league-leading amount of cap space. And there’s a brand-new $2.2 billion stadium being built in downtown Nashville.
Want more? McCarthy’s former running back Tony Pollard, special teams coordinator John Fassel, and special teams assistant Rayna Stewart are already with the Titans, and, as many have pointed out, Tennessee’s current president of football operations previously spent a decade alongside McCarthy in Green Bay.
There’s a long way to go and likely many hoops to be jumped through before the club officially names their new man. But keep in mind that if McCarthy winds up with the Tennessee job, he’ll be coming back to Dallas in very short order. The Cowboys already know they will face every team in the AFC South in 2026; they are slated to host the Titans at AT&T Stadium at some point during the regular season.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys to host Titans in 2026; will Mike McCarthy be Tennessee’s HC?
