Titans hire former 49ers defensive coordinator as next head coach

Toran Flores

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Titans hire former 49ers defensive coordinator as next head coach image

The Tennessee Titans have been in search of their next head coach after firing Brian Callahan midseason.

Late Monday night, the Titans agreed to hire former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, NFL insider Ian Rapaport reported.

"Saleh impressed during the interview process, making him the person to lead this young team," Rapaport mentioned. "The ex-Jets coach spent today in Nashville interviewing a second time.

Saleh, 46, will now join his third franchise in less than two years.

What to know about Tennessee Titans' new head coach Robert Saleh

Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Salah brings more than two decades of coaching experience at both the college and NFL levels.

Saleh began his career as a defensive assistant at Michigan State from 2002 to 2003 before spending the 2004 season in the same role at Central Michigan. He then moved to the SEC, joining Georgia's coaching staff as, once again, a defensive assistant.

His NFL career started with the Houston Texans, where he worked from 2005 to 2010 as a defensive intern and assistant linebackers coach. Saleh later joined Pete Carroll's staff in Seattle as a defensive quality control coach, winning a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2014.

He followed that, landing a job as a linebackers coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2014 to 2016.

In 2017, Kyle Shanahan hired Saleh to lead the San Francisco 49ers' defense, a unit that helped guide the franchise to a Super Bowl appearance in 2020.

Saleh was named the head coach of the New York Jets in 2021, leading the team through the 2024 season. He returned to San Francisco in 2025 for a second stint as defensive coordinator before being named the head coach of the Tennessee Titans on Monday night.

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News Correspondent