Payton McCollum is in his first season with the Titans, his third season coaching in the NFL and his 10th overall season in coaching. He was hired by Tennessee after one season as a defensive assistant with the Indianapolis Colts.

In 2023, McCollum helped coach a defensive unit in Indianapolis that ranked fifth in the NFL with 51 total sacks and posted the league's 11th-best third-down percentage (37.1).

In 2022, McCollum served as an offensive analyst with Eastern Michigan. The Eagles finished with a 9-4 record, which was the school's second-best win total in the 131-year history of the program. EMU also won its first bowl game since 1987. McCollum was part of an offensive staff that helped the Eagles register 2.57 points per drive (first in the MAC) and 5.89 red zone points per possession (third in the NCAA) and convert 45 percent of third downs (first in the MAC).

Prior to EMU, McCollum was the quarterbacks coach at the University of Washington for two seasons (2020-21). In 2020, the Huskies won the PAC-12 North, while the offense averaged 3.36 points per drive (10th in the NCAA, first in the PAC-12) and converted 48 percent of third downs (17th in the NCAA, second in the PAC-12). In 2020, McCollum worked with freshman quarterback Dylan Morris, who garnered honorable mention All-Pac-12 accolades from the coaches while also earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors in consecutive weeks.

McCollum served as wide receivers coach for one season at North Carolina Central University (2019). Five different receivers tallied 20-plus receptions and multiple touchdown receptions on the season.

He spent the 2018 season as an analyst at North Carolina and worked primarily on the offensive side of the ball, assisting with passing game plans and third downs.

McCollum began his NFL coaching career as an offensive coaching assistant for two seasons with the Detroit Lions (2016-17). He worked primarily with the wide receivers and also assisted the offensive staff with cut-ups, weekly film breakdown, and compiling the offensive playbook. McCollum worked with a wide receiver group in 2017 that was the only one in the NFL to have two 1,000-yard receivers (1,101 by Marvin Jones Jr. and 1,003 by Golden Tate). During his time in Detroit, the Lions had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 22 years.

McCollum began his coaching career as an offensive quality control coach at FCS Campbell University in 2015. He worked with quarterbacks and wide receivers, while also playing a role in recruiting the upstate region of South Carolina.

Prior to coaching, McCollum worked as a commercial credit analyst at BB&T.

He was a three-year letterman at Catawba College and graduated cum laude with a degree in economics and finance. In 2012, McCollum averaged 21.3 yards per catch (seventh-highest average in single-season school history).

He and his wife, Emily, were married in 2022.

PAYTON McCOLLUM'S COACHING TIMELINE

2024: Assistant Wide Receivers – Tennessee Titans
2023: Defensive Assistant – Indianapolis Colts
2022: Offensive Analyst – Eastern Michigan University
2020-21: Quarterbacks – University of Washington
2019: Wide Receivers – North Carolina Central University
2018: Analyst – University of North Carolina
2016-17: Offensive Coaching Assistant – Detroit Lions
2015: Offensive Quality Control – Campbell University