Giants Add Ex-Titans Coach Brian Callahan to Bolster Harbaugh’s Offensive Staff
The New York Giants are finalizing a high-profile addition to head coach John Harbaugh’s inaugural staff. Sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that the team is hiring former Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan as their new quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.
The move signals a clear strategy by Harbaugh to surround second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart with a surplus of NFL experience. Callahan, 41, initially interviewed for the offensive coordinator position. While that role ultimately went to former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy, Callahan agreed to join the staff in a specialized capacity focused on the aerial attack.
This hiring creates one of the most experienced offensive coaching rooms in the NFL. The Giants’ offensive staff now includes two former NFL head coaches in Nagy and Callahan, along with former Stanford head coach Mike Bloomgren, who is overseeing the offensive line. Additionally, the team has retained Greg Roman as a senior offensive assistant and Tim Kelly as tight ends coach, both of whom have previous experience as NFL offensive coordinators.
A Focus on Quarterback Development
The primary objective for this revamped staff is the development of Jaxson Dart. The Giants traded up to select Dart with the No. 25 overall pick in the previous draft, and while his rookie season showed promise, it also highlighted areas in desperate need of refinement.
Dart proved to be a legitimate dual-threat weapon during the 2025 campaign. He completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 15 touchdowns and added another nine scores on the ground. However, his tendency to invite contact and place himself in harm’s way became a recurring concern for the organization.
Callahan arrives with a resume built on maximizing quarterback play. Before his stint in Tennessee, he spent four seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals. During that time, he played a pivotal role in the development of Joe Burrow, helping the franchise reach a Super Bowl and an AFC Championship Game. His background also includes time as a quarterbacks coach for Matthew Stafford in Detroit and Derek Carr in Oakland, as well as an early career stop in Denver during the Peyton Manning era.
Rebounding From a Difficult Stint
Callahan joins the Giants looking to rebuild his reputation after a challenging tenure as a head coach. The Titans fired him in mid-October after a 1-5 start to the season. His time in Tennessee ended with a 4-19 overall record.
The end of his tenure in Nashville was marked by significant offensive struggles. Through the first six games of the 2025 season, the Titans scored only 83 points, which ESPN Research noted was the franchise’s lowest total to start a season since 1985. The situation deteriorated to the point where fans at Nissan Stadium were heard chanting for his dismissal during a Week 3 blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Now back in an assistant role, Callahan returns to his roots. He will be tasked with designing the passing game while Greg Roman is expected to have significant input on the run game design under Nagy.
Building a Support System
The structure of the offensive staff suggests Harbaugh is leaving nothing to chance regarding his young quarterback. By pairing Roman, who has extensive experience designing run games for mobile quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, with Callahan, who favors a precision passing attack, the Giants are attempting to build a system that utilizes Dart’s legs while protecting him through better passing concepts.
This creates a distinct narrative for the Giants heading into the offseason program. The team has heavily invested in “brain power” rather than just roster additions to fix an offense that has lacked identity.
It is also a reunion of sorts in the NFL coaching carousel. In an ironic twist, former Giants head coach Brian Daboll is now serving as the offensive coordinator in Tennessee, where he is coaching Cam Ward. Ward was the quarterback Callahan struggled to win with at the start of the 2025 season.
With the staff now largely in place, the focus shifts to on-field execution. Harbaugh has assembled a group of coaches who have all held the top job at various levels, betting that their collective experience will prevent the stalling out that plagued the previous regime. For Callahan, it is an opportunity to prove that his offensive acumen remains sharp, even after a bruised tenure as a head coach.
