The Tennessee Titans are making requests to speak with coaches right and left. The Titans are leaving no stone unturned in their search for the right fit as the head coach. While everyone has landed on different coaches, and some are hoping John Harbaugh decides to come to Nashville instead of going anywhere else, another name is drawing some attention. His name: Robert Saleh. The former head coach of the New York Jets has multiple head-coaching interviews as he prepares his San Francisco 49ers’ defense for the Philadelphia Eagles. One of those names is the Tennessee Titans, and he could be an excellent fit for them.
Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi recently stated this during a press conference when asked what he was looking for in a new head coach:
“We need a leader that's going to show up here every day here to work and really just instill that belief and instill the attention to detail, the accountability piece that we need here and the unity piece to bring everything together here in this organization."
When it comes to putting in the work and holding people accountable, Saleh would be a perfect fit. He is definitely known as a hard worker across the NFL, and he can unite players, as he has shown as a defensive coordinator for the 49ers. Sure, things did not work out for him regarding his previous head-coaching position with the Jets. Still, it seemed more of an issue when the team brought in Aaron Rodgers and gave him significant power within the organization. So much power that it seemed to usurp the authority Saleh had before he arrived and the bond that was there with the team before Rodgers. His passion for success and excellence would help unite the Titans on the field and in the locker room, bringing a level of energy as the head coach that could permeate the team. And generally, this distance
One of the significant drawbacks some have when it comes to hiring Saleh is who will be the offensive mind to help continue the growth Cam Ward showed during the end of the season. Well, that answer could lie in former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. The Miami Dolphins recently fired him after a meeting with team owner Stephen Ross. He is generally known as an inventive, creative offensive mind, and that showed with the Miami offense featuring quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. McDaniel’s offenses ranked in the Top 10 in his first two years in Miami, and he orchestrated the 13th-ranked offense in the NFL in 2024. The relationship he built with Tua, and how McDaniel elevated and got the most out of Tua during his time as coach in Miami, should be something that encourages Titans fans, because Cam Ward has a stronger arm, is younger, taller and healthier, and is a young guy who is coachable and puts in the work. And along with the great things he could do with Ward, he also had one of the best running games in the NFL during his tenure with the Dolphins. That should excite Titans fans who are used to seeing the Titans have a good running game.
The hiring of McDaniel as the offensive coordinator would allow Saleh to focus more on defense if he wanted, or to serve as the head coach and let his staff do what they need to do as he leads the team. And these two do have a connection. Both Saleh and McDaniel were with the 49ers from 2017 to 2020, when McDaniel was the running coordinator, and Saleh was the defensive coordinator. And before the 49ers, their relationship goes back to the Houston Texans from 2006 to 2008, when they were both entry-level assistants. So with that being said, both would know what to expect from each other and because of that previous relationship, McDaniel would be someone Saleh could trust more with the offense, maybe even more than anyone else he could bring in.
To be clear, the coaching search has just started for the Titans. But Saleh, paired with McDaniel as his offensive coordinator, would be a good fit in Tennessee and would help lead this team back to where they want to be.