The Tennessee Titans have fired head coach Brian Callahan after the team's latest loss, a 20-10 defeat in Week 6 at the hands of the previously one-win Las Vegas Raiders. The 1-5 Titans canned Callahan in his second season and a 4-19 record.

Callahan's dismissal in Nashville, however justifiable it might seem, extends a very disturbing trend around the NFL. It means No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward is the latest in a growing string of rookie quarterbacks selected in the top spot who have had their head coach fired during their rookie season.

Ward and Callahan lasted just six games together. That's half the amount of time 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams got in Chicago with Matt Eberflus before the Bears canned him with a 4-8 record (14-32 overall). The 2023 No. 1 overall pick, QB Bryce Young, had just 11 games with Panthers head coach Frank Reich before Carolina pulled the plug on Reich with a 1-10 record.

In 2022, the first quarterback didn't come off the board until Kenny Pickett at No. 20 overall. But in 2021, the Jaguars tabbed Trevor Lawrence at the top of the draft. Urban Meyer was the coach in Jacksonville at the time, until he was summarily sent packing when Lawrence and his Jaguars started 2-11.

That makes Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020 by Cincinnati, the last rookie QB taken at the top to get a full rookie season with his head coach. Burrow and Bengals coach Zac Taylor are still together for a sixth season, although Burrow is out with a toe injury.

Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury got three seasons together in Arizona before the Cardinals axed the coach. But going back one more year, the Browns fired Hue Jackson eight games into No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield's rookie campaign. Just for good measure, the Browns also fired Jackson's replacement, Freddie Kitchens, after one season too. Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, got 13 games with longtime Rams coach Jeff Fisher before ownership moved on after a 4-9 start. Go back another year and Jameis Winston at least got to finish his rookie season in Tampa Bay with Lovie Smith before the Bucs fired the veteran head coach.

It's a frustrating trend. One of the universal scouting axioms is that quarterbacks need continuity and consistency to fulfill their potential in the NFL. Yet the recent decade of quarterbacks taken No. 1 overall almost never gets it, often not even a semblance of coaching stability.

It makes sense; teams picking No. 1 are inherently already bad, and throwing a top pick into a poor team--often with unrealistic expectations of immediate impact and success--is almost inevitable. It's hard to have patience in the win-now NFL, as Callahan--and Ward--have learned the hard way.

This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Cam Ward the latest QB taken No. 1 to fall victim to this disturbing NFL trend

Reporting by Jeff Risdon, Draft Wire / Draft Wire

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