The Tennessee Titans, coming off their second win of the season, a 31-29 victory over the Cleveland Browns on the road, head west to take on the 49ers. San Francisco is currently in the middle of the playoff hunt with a 9-4 record. Offensively, running back Christian McCaffery has been incredible. He is closing in on another season of having 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving, which would be the second of his career and make him the only player ever to have two of these seasons in their career. Defensively, the 49ers have been injury-riddled, but they remain one of the best scoring defenses in the NFL, allowing only 20.8 points per game, good for eighth in the NFL. The offense can be credited to Kyle Shanahan and his creativity. The defense, however, is led by their defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh.
Saleh is back with the 49ers after leaving his defensive coordinator post in San Francisco in 2021 to take the head coaching position with the Jets. His head coaching journey there was fascinating, especially after they signed veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It ended abruptly, though, as he was fired after Week 5 in the NFL. However, Saleh has designs on being a head coach again in the NFL. Apparently, NFL teams are interested in speaking with Saleh. His name has been thrown out there in the rumor mill for potential head-coaching openings, and one of those places his name has been rumored is the team he will be facing Sunday, the Tennessee Titans. So, with that being said, what would Saleh bring to the Titans if he were the head coach?
One thing that cannot be overlooked is the energy Saleh brings. Throughout his time as the 49ers' defensive coordinator and as a head coach with the New York Jets, cameras captured him expressing his emotions on the sideline. The excitement of seeing a player he coaches make a play is something he can hardly contain, and you see him busting out of the seams with excitement. That type of energy permeates throughout your team when you know a coach is invested in your performance and genuinely happy for you. That type of energy would be great for the Titans to have in a head coach. A head coach who could bring that type of energy to a team that, at times, can appear lifeless. And for a player like Jeffery Simmons, Saleh would be a perfect fit for him as a head coach.
Defensively, Saleh would bring an attacking style defense. He generally does not like to bring extra people when he is getting after quarterbacks. But what he has always done is adjust to the talent and pieces that he has. And with this 49ers defense that has suffered significant injuries, he has shown himself to be flexible with what he can do and has been able to get the best out of players and put them in the best positions to succeed. The Titans have also had injuries at key positions. So with Saleh, he would come in and bring an attacking style defense that would help hide some of the deficiencies the Titans have had over the years.
While that defensive strategy sounds good, Saleh could also switch the Titans' defensive scheme. The Titans have run a 3-4 defense for a while now, but Saleh does like to run a 4-3 or 4-2-5 defense. With that, you have two guys you could plug inside and make it really tough to run in T’Vondre Sweat and Simmons, who is among the top interior defensive linemen. But you would have to figure out whether the players who are 3-4 outside linebackers can adjust to being defensive ends, or if other players are needed to fit his scheme. That could potentially stunt Saleh's ability to figure out how to get this defense the way he wants it.
And the even bigger question, should they go with Saleh, is who does he bring in offensively? With Cam Ward, the 2025 first overall pick, set at quarterback, it will be paramount for Saleh to bring in someone who can continue developing Ward into the quarterback he has the potential to be. While the defense will be necessary, if he is unable to bring in someone to continue Ward's progression, then Saleh would ultimately fail here in Tennessee.
Nothing is set in stone for Saleh to land in Tennessee as the head coach, but he is among many who could get an interview with Tennessee and is a name to watch this offseason.