The Titans have interviewed Mike Macdonald and Antonio Pierce for the head coaching position.
The Tennessee Titans have interviewed Mike Macdonald, the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, and Antonio Pierce for the head coaching position, according to a team announcement on Saturday night. This interview follows discussions with other candidates, including Brian Callahan, Mike Kafka, and Antonio Pierce. The team, having fired former coach Mike Vrabel on January 9, has reportedly sought to interview up to nine candidates to fill the vacancy.
Mike Macdonald, at 36 years old, has rapidly ascended the coaching ranks, notably with the Baltimore Ravens, where he started as a coaching intern in 2014. He progressed from a defensive assistant to defensive backs coach and then to linebackers coach. In 2021, Macdonald became the defensive coordinator at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh, where he significantly improved the team’s defensive performance. Upon returning to Baltimore in 2022 as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, Macdonald’s unit excelled, ranking top-five in various defensive categories in both 2022 and 2023.
Antonio Pierce, promoted to interim head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2023 season, led the team to a 5-4 record. Pierce, previously the Raiders’ linebackers coach, had worked at Arizona State and began his coaching career at the high school level. A former NFL linebacker, Pierce played from 2001 to 2009 and was part of the New York Giants’ Super Bowl XLII-winning team.
The Titans’ coaching search is their first in six years, initiated after the dismissal of Mike Vrabel. The team, under controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, seeks to enhance collaboration and alignment between ownership, the front office, and the coaching staff. The interview process, governed by NFL rules, includes virtual interviews with candidates currently employed by other organizations until the end of the second round of the NFL playoffs. The Titans are allowed to interview candidates not currently employed by an NFL organization at any time.
