Bo Hardegree never started a game at Tennessee, but he's now set to chart the course for the NFL's Tennessee Titans on offense.
On Tuesday, embattled second-year Titans head coach Brian Callahan announced that he was stripping away offensive play-calling duties from coordinator Nick Holz and passing the play-calling baton to Hardegree.
"So I said (Monday), lot of things under evaluation," Callahan told reporters. "A lot of things you self-reflect on with the start that we've had so far and things that we've got to get better at.
"One of the things that I think is going to help our football team, help me be a better head coach for our team, I'm going to hand over the play-calling to Bo (Hardegree). Part of that process is, part of the decision-making in that process is Bo's had some interim experience in calling, he's been with a rookie quarterback before. That part of it will make it a little seamless in that regard.
"The other part of that is our offensive staff and game-planning system is going to remain in place. It's still a collaborative process, we'll rely on everybody to do their part. Nick is still the offensive coordinator, he'll still maintain his routine and same exact process that he's gone through to help me."
A Jackson, Tenn., native who was a backup quarterback for the Vols in the early 2000s, appearing in just one game but consistently drawing praise from his teammates for his work in practice and oftentimes leading the scout teams, Hardegree got his coaching career started under David Cutcliffe at Duke.
He also worked in Les Miles's LSU program before he transitioned to the NFL.
In the pros, Hardegree has had stints with the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders, where he was quarterbacks coach and briefly the team's temporary offensive coordinator during the 2023 season.
Callahan and the Titans hired Hardegree for a bit of homecoming prior to the 2024 season.
The Titans have opened the 2025 season 0-3 and scored just 51 points total in losses to the Broncos, Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts. They've done so while ushering in the Cam Ward era atop the team's offense. The Titans selected Ward with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Tennessee was largely non-competitive last Sunday in a brutal, 41-20 loss to the AFC South rival Colts. The Titans and Houston Texans both are winless through the season's opening three weeks.