The thought of getting to coach a No. 1 overall draft pick at quarterback sounds enticing. But recent history shows it also has its downsides.
The Tennessee Titans on Monday fired Brian Callahan as their head coach. The firing continued a concerning trend among coaches of quarterbacks taken No. 1 overall.
Yahoo’s Matt Harmon noted in a post on social media that the last four quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall have seen their head coach get fired during their rookie season. That list includes:
– 2021 Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer (Jaguars)
– 2023 Bryce Young and Frank Reich (Panthers)
– 2024 Caleb Williams and Matt Eberflus (Bears)
– 2025 Cam Ward and Brian Callahan (Titans)
What does this tell us? It’s probably not a good thing to be the head coach of a team that takes a quarterback No. 1 overall. The reasons for that are numerous. Quarterbacks taken No. 1 overall are typically going to bad teams. Combining that with the understanding that it takes a rookie QB a while to adjust to the NFL, and the likelihood of that team having success immediately is very low. These days, NFL teams don’t have patience for learning curves, which is why the coaches get fired so quickly.
Of course, Urban Meyer’s firing was also self-inflicted based on his conduct. But someone like Reich in Carolina was hardly given the chance to turn things around. If you’re a head coach, it’s better to get a former No. 1 pick at QB in their third year rather than their rookie season.
